Vice President, Compliance Risk Assessment

At American Express, our culture is built on a 175-year history of innovation, shared values and Leadership Behaviors, and an unwavering commitment to back our customers, communities, and colleagues. As part of Team Amex, you'll experience this powerful backing with comprehensive support for your holistic well-being and many opportunities to learn new skills, develop as a leader, and grow your career.

Here, your voice and ideas matter, your work makes an impact, and together, you will help us define the future of American Express.

How will you make an impact in this role?

We are seeking an experienced and strategic Vice President of Compliance Risk Assessment to lead and manage the compliance risk assessment and related activities within the second line of defense for the Compliance Risk Management framework at American Express, a leading financial services institution. This individual will be responsible for ensuring that our compliance risk assessment governance framework is robust, aligned with regulatory requirements, and effectively manages compliance risks across our firm, including credit cards and deposit services. This role is responsible for overseeing the design, execution, and ongoing enhancement of the Compliance Risk Assessment (CRA) program and methodology across the enterprise. The successful candidate will ensure the CRA program is robust, risk-based, and responsive to regulatory expectations, while also driving consistent execution by second line compliance officers.

As a key leader in the compliance organization, the Vice President will work closely with senior management, business units, and other risk functions to provide oversight, challenge, and guidance, ensuring that regulatory compliance and risk management processes are embedded in the organization’s operations.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the annual and ongoing compliance risk assessment process enterprise-wide.
• Maintain and enhance the CRA methodology, incorporating regulatory guidance, industry standards, and evolving risk trends.
• Ensure consistent, high-quality execution of the risk assessment by compliance officers in business-aligned functions.
• Serve as a thought partner to compliance leaders and business stakeholders on inherent risk, control effectiveness, residual risk, and overall compliance exposure.
• Provide effective challenge and oversight of CRA inputs and outcomes, ensuring accuracy, completeness, and objectivity.
• Review risk ratings and rationales to promote consistency and defensibility across assessments.
• Escalate material compliance risks, gaps, or assessment weaknesses to senior management and governance committees.
• Own the CRA methodology and supporting documentation (e.g., procedures, guidance, templates).
• Partner with Technology and Data teams to develop and enhance tools and dashboards to facilitate risk aggregation and reporting.
• Drive continuous improvement through lessons learned, feedback loops, and external benchmarking.
• Prepare materials for risk committees and senior leadership, including thematic insights, emerging trends, and key risk indicators.
• Collaborate with the enterprise risk management function to align compliance risk assessment outputs with enterprise risk appetite and taxonomy.
• Support regulatory exams and internal audits relating to the compliance risk assessment program.
• Manage a team of Directors and Analysts supporting program execution and quality assurance.
• Provide coaching, development, and thought leadership to build risk and compliance acumen across the team and enterprise.

Qualifications

• Education: Bachelor’s and/or master’s degree in finance, law, business, or a related field. Master’s degree or relevant certifications (e.g., CAMS, CRCM) are a plus.
• Experience:
• Minimum 15+ years of experience in compliance, risk management, internal audit, or related functions within financial services.
• Deep understanding of compliance risk, regulatory frameworks (e.g., OCC, CFPB, FRB), risk management principles, and financial products and services.
• Demonstrated experience leading enterprise-wide risk assessment or governance programs.
• Strong analytical, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to influence at all levels of the organization.
• Proven ability to manage cross-functional teams and complex projects in a fast-paced environment.

  Skills and Competencies:

• Excellent understanding of compliance risk management frameworks and the three lines of defense model.
• Professional experience in handling Risk Assessments and clear understanding of inherent risk, residual risk and control effectiveness principles.
• Strong leadership and interpersonal skills with the ability to influence and collaborate with people at all levels of the organization.
• Exceptional problem-solving, analytical, and decision-making skills, with the ability to balance business objectives with regulatory requirements.
• Excellent project management and organizational skill, with the ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment while maintaining attention to detail.
• Ability to both work independently and collaboratively with team-members and to navigate a complex organization 
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills for preparing and delivering reports, presentations, and policy documents.
• Experience in delivering high quality work products, reflecting attention to detail. 
• Must be a self-starter flexible, innovative, and adaptive 
•       Advanced analytics, PowerPoint and excel skills with an ability to learn new tools quickly.

Candidates must be willing to work hybrid out of the nearest AMEX location located in New York, North Carolina, Utah, or Arizona.

Salary Range: $200,000.00 to $275,000.00 annually + bonus + equity (if applicable) + benefits

The above represents the expected salary range for this job requisition. Ultimately, in determining your pay, we’ll consider your location, experience, and other job-related factors.

We back you with benefits that support your holistic well-being so you can be and deliver your best. This means caring for you and your loved ones' physical, financial, and mental health, as well as providing the flexibility you need to thrive personally and professionally:

• Competitive base salaries 
• Bonus incentives 
• 6% Company Match on retirement savings plan 
• Free financial coaching and financial well-being support 
• Comprehensive medical, dental, vision, life insurance, and disability benefits 
• Flexible working model with hybrid, onsite or virtual arrangements depending on role and business need 
• 20+ weeks paid parental leave for all parents, regardless of gender, offered for pregnancy, adoption or surrogacy 
• Free access to global on-site wellness centers staffed with nurses and doctors (depending on location) 
• Free and confidential counseling support through our Healthy Minds program 
• Career development and training opportunities

For a full list of Team Amex benefits, visit our Colleague Benefits Site.

American Express is an equal opportunity employer and makes employment decisions without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran status, disability status, age, or any other status protected by law. American Express will consider for employment all qualified applicants, including those with arrest or conviction records, in accordance with the requirements of applicable state and local laws, including, but not limited to, the California Fair Chance Act, the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers, and the City of Los Angeles’ Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance. For positions covered by federal and/or state banking regulations, American Express will comply with such regulations as it relates to the consideration of applicants with criminal convictions.

We back our colleagues with the support they need to thrive, professionally and personally. That's why we have Amex Flex, our enterprise working model that provides greater flexibility to colleagues while ensuring we preserve the important aspects of our unique in-person culture. Depending on role and business needs, colleagues will either work onsite, in a hybrid model (combination of in-office and virtual days) or fully virtually.

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