Operational Risk Manager

Kotak Mahindra Bank; Mumbai; On-site; INR 2,500,000 - 3,900,000; Full time

Job summary

Kotak Mahindra Bank is seeking an AVP/DVP in Operational Risk – Third Party Risk Management in Mumbai to provide independent risk oversight, governance of outsourcing, and regulatory compliance across the vendor lifecycle.

You will lead governance, risk analytics, board reporting, and transformation initiatives, working with First Line of Defence and senior management to strengthen controls and mitigate outsourcing risk.

Qualifications

• 8-10 years' experience in Operational Risk or related fields within Banking/Financial Services.
• Strong understanding of RBI Master Direction on Outsourcing of IT and Non-IT Services.
• Experience in thematic reviews, regulatory gap assessments and board reporting.
• Proficiency with AI-enabled tools for productivity, analysis, and automation preferred.
• Advanced knowledge of Excel, Power BI and data visualisation is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Strengthen the Outsourcing Policy and TPRM Frameworks across the Bank and ensure regulatory compliance.
• Conduct half-yearly reviews of material outsourcing arrangements and assess risk controls.
• Provide independent risk oversight over vendor onboarding, renewal, and off-boarding processes.
• Review exceptions, risk acceptance requests and control deviations, and present independent risk views.
• Prepare dashboards and reporting for senior management and conduct thematic reviews to identify systemic issues.
• Lead transformation initiatives to enhance monitoring methodologies and governance workflows.

Skills

Analytical Thinking

Attention to Detail

Executive Communication & Presentation

Stakeholder Management

Strategic Risk Oversight

Job description

AVP/DVP Operational Risk – Third Party Risk Management

Support the Bank's Third-Party Risk Management and Outsourcing Risk Management function through independent risk oversight, challenge, monitoring and governance of outsourcing arrangements. The role is responsible for assessing the effectiveness of controls implemented by the First Line of Defence (LoD1), identifying emerging outsourcing risks, ensuring regulatory compliance, and strengthening the outsourcing risk framework.

Key Responsibilities:

Governance & Regulatory Compliance

• Strengthen the Outsourcing Policy and TPRM Frameworks across the Bank.
• Perform regulatory gap assessments against RBI guidelines, Master Directions and other applicable regulatory requirements.
• Drive implementation of regulatory changes and monitor compliance across business
• Support regulatory inspections, supervisory reviews and internal audits relating to outsourcing and third-party risk.

Material Outsourcing Review & Oversight

• Conduct half-yearly reviews of material outsourcing arrangements to assess compliance with regulatory and internal policy requirements.
• Evaluate the adequacy of risk assessments, monitoring mechanisms and control environment maintained by business owners.
• Identify gaps, control weaknesses and emerging risks, and recommend appropriate corrective actions and risk mitigants.
• Monitor closure of observations and action plans arising from reviews.

Risk Governance for Vendor Lifecycle

• Provide independent risk oversight over onboarding, renewal, periodic review and off-boarding processes executed by the First Line.
• Assess adherence to policy requirements and approved risk management standards across the vendor lifecycle.
• Review exceptions, risk acceptance requests and control deviations, and provide independent risk views.
• Review and challenge assessments & risk management practices relating to:
• Vendor performance and service delivery.
• Financial health and viability of service providers
• Sub-contracting arrangements
• Information security and cyber risk assessments
• Internal and external incidents
• Audit and regulatory observations.
• Business continuity and resilience arrangements.
• Concentration and dependency risks.
• Adverse media and reputational concerns.
• Assess effectiveness of controls and recommend enhancements to mitigate residual risks.

Board & Senior Management Reporting

• Prepare dashboards and analytical insights for senior management.
• Lead preparation of Bi-annual Annual Board Notes on material outsourcing.
• Present key risk themes, issues and remediation status to governance forums.

Risk Analytics & Thematic Reviews

• Conduct thematic reviews across outsourcing portfolios to identify systemic issues, control deficiencies and risk concentrations.
• Analyse outsourcing inventory, critical service dependencies and material service provider exposures.

Transformation & Strategic Initiatives

• Lead and support automation and risk transformation initiatives within the Third-Party Risk Management function.
• Enhance monitoring methodologies, reporting capabilities and governance workflows through technology-enabled solutions.
• Drive continuous improvement of risk assessment and oversight processes.
• Risk Analytics and Dashboarding
• Regulatory Compliance & RBI Governance Frameworks
• Policy and Framework Development and Control Design
• Board, Committee & Senior Management Reporting
• Strategic Stakeholder Management & Influencing
• Executive Communication & Presentation Skills
• Analytical Thinking with Strong Attention to Detail

Preferred Experience

• 8-10 years' experience in Operational Risk, Third Party Risk, Outsourcing Risk, Internal Audit, Compliance or Enterprise Risk Management within Banking/Financial Services.
• Strong understanding of RBI Master Direction on Outsourcing of IT and Non-IT Services, Third Party Risk Management and Operational Risk Frameworks.
• Experience in conducting thematic reviews, regulatory gap assessments and preparation of Board and senior management reports.
• Proficiency in leveraging AI-enabled tools for productivity, analysis, reporting and process automation shall be preferred
• Advanced knowledge of Excel, Power BI and data visualisation techniques would be an added advantage.