Operational Risk Analyst (Group Benefits and Retirement)

Lincoln Financial•Charlotte, NC

1d•$75,000 - $120,000•Hybrid

About The Position

As an Operational Risk Analyst within our Group Protection and Retirement Plan Services (RPS) organization, you will provide subject matter expertise on the design and effectiveness of financial and operational controls for various vendor services. You will partner with internal and external stakeholders and auditors to ensure the control environment aligns with the service vendor audit program. You will develop and execute on more complex audit testing to evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of operations and controls, reliability of SOC-1 reporting, and compliance with applicable law. You will also provide control expertise, risk assessment analysis, and implement risk mitigation recommendations for complex projects, processes, and major financial and operational control initiatives. Success in this role requires a balance of technical depth, cross-functional influence, and clear communication as well as strong accountability to deliver positive outcomes. You will drive the evaluation of the control environments, coordinate closely with external auditors on SOC-1 outcomes, and shape risk assessments for senior audiences. From executing complex audit testing to driving risk mitigation across major initiatives, you'll play a key role in keeping the ORM team's control environment sound, informed, and audit ready.

Requirements

5-7+ years of experience with SOC-1 and/or financial/operation controls or other control environment experience within a compliance or audit team that directly aligned to the specific responsibilities of this position.
4 Year/bachelor’s degree or equivalent work experience (4 years of experience in lieu of Bachelor's) in Accounting, Finance, Compliance, or Risk Management

Nice To Haves

CPA and/or CFE
Direct vendor management and/or risk management experience
NAIC general knowledge
Experience creating audit or regulatory work papers
Ability to identify and recommend process improvements

Responsibilities

Serve as the business unit SOC 1 Program Owner, responsible for maintaining accurate control inventories, ensuring control ownership is appropriately documented, and leading interactions between external auditors and internal control owners and subject matter experts.
Serve as the liaison for the annual SOC1 & SOC2 audit work between the business and external stakeholders by working with internal partners to develop action plans as needed, updating the report for issuance, and communicating report outcomes with business partners and management.
Manage report development, review, and issuance; manage report validation and distribution process; and maintain all business records.
Assist internal stakeholders to strengthen the control environment by establishing complex action plans to address financial & operational control deficiencies. Track and monitor progress against these action plans to ensure timely risk mitigation resolution.
Act as the Internal Audit liaison for the business units by ensuring business engagement, responsiveness to audit requests, issue management, communication management, and management action plan execution.
Maintain knowledge on current and emerging developments/trends, assess the impact, and collaborate with management to incorporate new trends and developments in current and future solutions.
Champion and enhance organizational initiatives by positively influencing and supporting change management and/or departmental/enterprise initiatives.
Serve as a resource to team members and applicable internal/external stakeholders on more complex assignments/projects.
Identify and recommend process improvements that significantly reduce workloads or improve quality.
Maintain and map key procedural controls to defined risk scenarios for each operational risk category and document process flows as defined through interviews with subject matter experts.
Partner with appropriate internal stakeholders and management to strengthen the control environment and to address financial and operational control deficiencies.
Track and monitor progress against corrective action plans. Develop and review test plans to ensure mitigation strategies are consistently followed.
Work with management across departments to implement key initiatives to ensure the proper financial and operational controls are contemplated, initiated, executed, and maintained.
Carry out duties in compliance with all state and federal regulations and guidelines. Comply with all company policies and procedures.
Proactively liaise with internal stakeholders and management to anticipate and address internal risks before they become an issue.
Serve as a first alert system to keep management and other internal stakeholders aware of unanticipated problems to be addressed and/or opportunities to be considered.
Communicate with management on internal control activity and serve as a resource during projects & process reviews to advise on implications regarding internal controls.
Partner with internal stakeholders to educate and implement industry best practices on existing and new quality assurance programs, including system support.