Director-Compliance Risk Assessment Program

About the position 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. From delivering differentiated products to providing world-class customer service, we operate with a strong risk mindset, ensuring we continue to uphold our brand promise of trust, security, and service. 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? Global Compliance and Ethics (GCE), is responsible for establishing and maintaining a robust compliance program that ensures American Express is adhering to laws, regulations, and internal policies while fostering a culture of integrity and effective second line independent Compliance oversight. The Director, Compliance Risk Assessment Program, is a key member of the 2nd Line of Defense (2LOD) Compliance Risk Management team responsible for designing, governing, and overseeing the enterprise-wide Compliance Risk Assessment (CRA) framework. This role supports the consistency, integrity, and strategic execution of the CRA program by providing oversight, guidance, and credible challenges to compliance officers who perform the assessments. This position is not responsible for executing business-level CRAs but ensures the methodologies, tools, and procedures are effectively implemented and aligned to regulatory expectations and internal risk governance standards.

Responsibilities

• Lead the design, enhancement, and maintenance of the enterprise CRA methodology, including inherent risk, control effectiveness, residual risk, and risk aggregation criteria.
• Provide governance and oversight of the CRA lifecycle across all lines of business and legal entities.
• Coordinate and facilitate annual CRA planning cycles, timelines, and reporting deliverables.
• Establish and manage controls to ensure consistent application of CRA methodology across business units.
• Partner with Compliance Officers, Risk SMEs, Operational Risk, Audit, and other stakeholders to review results, identify risk themes, and challenge risk rationales.
• Develop executive reporting and dashboards for Compliance, Risk Committees, and senior leadership.
• Monitor regulatory developments and industry best practices to inform updates to the CRA methodology.
• Provide training, communication, and guidance to ensure awareness and understanding of CRA expectations.
• Support regulatory exams, internal audit reviews, and issue remediation activities related to CRA.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in finance, law, business, or a related field.
• 10+ years of experience in Compliance, Risk Management, Internal Audit, or a related field within financial services.
• Strong understanding of regulatory compliance frameworks, enterprise risk management, and control evaluation.
• Experience designing or overseeing risk assessments in a complex, matrixed organization.
• Demonstrated ability to provide effective challenge and influence without direct authority.
• 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.

Nice-to-haves

• Master’s degree or relevant certifications (e.g., CAMS, CRCM) are a plus.

Benefits

• Competitive base salaries
• Bonus incentives
• 6%25 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

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