Senior Director Regulatory Strategy & Readiness

Empower • Overland Park, KS

4d • $138,000 - $200,100

About The Position

The Senior Director, Regulatory Strategy & Readiness is a senior leader responsible for advancing the firm’s proactive regulatory strategy, enterprise regulatory readiness, and regulatory change management capabilities. Reporting to the Head of Regulatory Strategy & Testing, the role identifies emerging regulatory expectations, translates developments into actionable business strategies, and leads cross-functional efforts to prepare the organization for examinations, supervisory engagements, and evolving regulatory risk. The Senior Director advises the Head of Regulatory Strategy & Testing, leads major enterprise initiatives, represents the function in executive and governance forums, and provides leadership depth across the organization.

The role develops regulatory strategy; leads regulatory horizon scanning and enterprise readiness activities; oversees mock examinations and related remediation; and provides strategic oversight of regulatory change management. It partners across Compliance, Legal, Risk, Regulatory Response, Testing, Branch Inspections, Internal Audit, Operations, and business leadership to align regulatory priorities, prepare for significant examinations, and integrate emerging themes into risk assessments, testing, policies, procedures, training, and reporting. The role also builds and develops a high-performing Regulatory Strategy & Readiness function.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree.
• 12 or more years of progressive experience in financial services compliance, regulatory affairs, legal, risk management, audit, or a related discipline.
• Deep knowledge of one or more relevant regulatory regimes, with broad familiarity across SEC, FINRA, DOL, state insurance, state securities, and related supervisory frameworks.
• Demonstrated experience leading regulatory examinations, mock examinations, enterprise compliance initiatives, regulatory change management programs, or complex cross-functional risk programs.
• Strong strategic judgment and ability to connect regulatory developments to business models, products, operations, controls, and enterprise risk.
• Ability to influence senior leaders, lead governance forums, provide constructive challenge, and clearly communicate complex regulatory matters.
• Excellent written communication, presentation, analytical, program management, and organizational leadership skills.
• Ability to operate at both strategic and execution levels in a complex, highly regulated environment.
• Must be authorized to work for any employer in the U.S.; employer is unable to sponsor or take over sponsorship of an employment visa, including CPT/OPT.

Nice To Haves

• Advanced degree, Juris Doctor (JD), or relevant professional certification.
• Experience within a broker-dealer, registered investment adviser, insurance, banking, or diversified financial services organization.
• Experience presenting regulatory strategy, examination readiness, or regulatory risk matters to executive leadership or senior governance committees.
• Experience designing or enhancing enterprise regulatory change management or regulatory intelligence programs.

Responsibilities

• Support development and execution of enterprise regulatory strategy aligned with business priorities, compliance objectives, and the firm’s risk appetite.
• Establish and lead regulatory horizon scanning across relevant federal and state regulatory authorities.
• Provide senior leadership and examination-management support during significant or concurrent examinations, inquiries, and supervisory engagements.
• Analyze rulemaking, examination priorities, enforcement actions, speeches, guidance, industry developments, and supervisory themes to identify emerging risks and potential regulatory scrutiny.
• Translate complex regulatory developments into practical implications and recommendations for senior leadership and relevant stakeholders.
• Develop executive regulatory outlooks, thematic analyses, briefing materials, and recommendations for Compliance leadership and governance committees.
• Maintain a forward-looking view of regulatory risk and recommend changes to priorities, resources, governance, controls, policies, testing, and readiness activities.
• Design and maintain an enterprise Regulatory Readiness Program for anticipated examinations and supervisory engagements.
• Identify priority themes and business areas for mock examinations using regulatory intelligence, prior examinations, complaints, testing, business changes, and risk assessments.
• Plan and lead mock examinations, including scope development, document requests, interviews, walkthroughs, governance reviews, evidence assessments, challenge sessions, and final reporting.
• Assess governance, controls, documentation, supervisory practices, issue management, management information, and compliance evidence against anticipated regulatory expectations.
• Develop regulator-specific examination playbooks, readiness checklists, tabletop exercises, scorecards, and escalation protocols.
• Coordinate remediation from readiness assessments and validate that corrective actions are sustainable, appropriately evidenced, and completed on schedule.
• Incorporate lessons from examinations, inquiries, complaints, and regulator feedback into future readiness activities in partnership with Regulatory Response.
• Provide strategic oversight of the enterprise regulatory change management framework and the Corporate Compliance Manager responsible for day-to-day execution.
• Ensure regulatory developments are identified, inventoried, assessed for applicability and impact, assigned to accountable owners, implemented, and tracked through closure.
• Establish consistent standards for impact assessments, implementation plans, evidence, governance, escalation, and closure validation.
• Lead regulatory change governance forums and report on material changes, implementation risks, overdue actions, and emerging themes.
• Improve regulatory change management through workflow design, automation, data quality standards, and management reporting.
• Partner with Regulatory Response, Compliance Testing, Branch Inspections, Legal, Enterprise Risk, Internal Audit, Operations, and business leadership to align regulatory priorities and readiness activities.
• Ensure emerging regulatory themes are incorporated into compliance risk assessments, testing plans, branch inspection priorities, policies, procedures, training, and management reporting.
• Lead cross-functional preparation for significant examinations and supervisory engagements, including governance, issue escalation, executive preparation, and strategic messaging.
• Coordinate enterprise regulatory initiatives spanning business units, legal entities, or regulatory regimes.
• Represent the Head of Regulatory Strategy & Testing in leadership meetings and governance forums as appropriate, exercising sound judgment in escalation and decision-making.
• Build and lead a high-performing Regulatory Strategy & Readiness function with clear roles, operating routines, performance standards, and development plans.
• Coach and develop team members and contribute to succession planning and leadership development.
• Foster a proactive, intellectually rigorous, collaborative, and outcomes-focused culture.
• Manage competing priorities, allocate resources, and ensure high-quality delivery of strategic and operational commitments.

Benefits

• Medical, dental, vision, and life insurance.
• 401(k) plan with company matching contributions up to 6%, financial advisory services, potential company discretionary contribution, and a broad investment lineup.
• Tuition reimbursement up to $5,250 per year.
• Business-casual environment with the option to wear jeans.
• Paid time off upon hire, plus ten paid company holidays and three floating holidays per calendar year.
• 16 hours of paid volunteer time per calendar year.
• Leave of absence programs, including paid parental leave, paid short- and long-term disability, and Family and Medical Leave (FMLA).
• Business Resource Groups that facilitate inclusion and collaboration.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior