AVP, Program Governance - BSA/AML & Sanctions Operations

Pathward, National Association; United States; Hybrid; USD 104,000 - 174,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

401(k) retirement benefits

Life insurance

Disability benefits

Paid time off

Job summary

Pathward, National Association in the United States seeks an AVP, Program Governance to centralize governance for BSA/AML & Sanctions Operations. You will own vendor relationships, consolidate KRIs/KPIs, and produce regulator-ready executive reporting.

You will translate operational data into actionable insights for leadership, manage a governance framework for breaches, and partner with Legal, Risk and Security to maintain control health across multiple functions.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Finance, Business, Risk Management, or related field; equiv. experience considered.
• CAMS or PMP certification preferred.
• 8+ years in BSA/AML, compliance operations, risk governance or program management in banking/fintech.
• Experience managing vendor or outsourced-provider relationships and service levels.
• Ability to translate operational data into executive/regulator deliverables.
• Working knowledge of transaction monitoring, cases/SARs and OFAC screening.

Responsibilities

• Manage vendor and outsourced review relationships for domestic and international ops.
• Oversee onboarding, access, and confidentiality for outsourced staff.
• Deliver KPI/KRI, backlog reporting and executive dashboards.
• Coordinate governance with Legal, InfoSec, Vendor Management and Risk.
• Serve as business manager to the SVP, coordinating leadership meetings and actions.
• Translate data into narratives for leadership and regulators.
• Maintain monthly executive reporting packs and standard templates.
• Ensure timely regulatory responses and board/committee materials.
• Escalate breaches and drive remediation with defined controls.

Skills

Vendor management

Data analysis

Executive reporting

Communication

Program leadership

Governance

Excel

PowerPoint

Education

Bachelor's degree in Finance/Business/Risk Management

CAMS or PMP certification preferred

Tools

Excel

PowerPoint

BI tools

Job description

We are a hybrid, remote-office company dedicated to growing our talent anywhere!

We have onsite locations in: Sioux Falls, SD, Scottsdale, AZ, Louisville, KY, Troy, MI, Franklin, TN, Easton, PA.

At Pathward, we take tremendous pride in our purpose to create financial inclusion for all.We area financial empowerment company that works with innovators to increase financial availability, choice, and opportunity for all. We strive to remove barriers that traditional institutions put in the way of financial access, and promote economic mobility by providing responsible, secure, high quality financial products.

We are a team of problem solvers and innovators who celebrate our differences and know that our unique perspectives make us stronger and well-positioned for success. We celebrate, and embrace, our team members through our*HUMBLE*HUNGRY*SMARTapproach, and we believe that we are strongest when we embrace the voices of our employees, customers, partners, and the communities we serve.

About the Role:

The Assistant Vice President (AVP), Program Governance provides centralized governance, vendor and outsourced-review oversight, and operational reporting for Pathward's BSA/AML & Sanctions Operations. Reporting directly to the SVP, BSA/AML Deputy Officer, the AVP owns the relationship with vendors and outsourced review providers, consolidates and maintains the vertical's KRIs, KPIs and backlog reporting, and translates operational metrics into decision-grade executive and regulatory deliverables. The AVP also owns the governance framework for assessing and escalating risk arising from breaches or emerging breaches to established KPIs and service levels, ensuring leadership has early, accurate visibility into performance and control health across Alerts, Cases, Quality Control, Complex Investigations, Sanctions and Merchant Acquiring.

What You Will Do:

Vendor & Outsourced Review Relationship Management

• Serve as the primary relationship owner for vendors and outsourced/managed-service review providers supporting BSA/AML & Sanctions Operations (domestic and international).
• Own engagement governance - statements of work, service level agreements, KPIs, milestone acceptance, change control and escalation - in partnership with Vendor Management, Third-Party Risk, Legal and Information Security.
• Oversee onboarding, least-privilege system access and offboarding for outsourced resources; ensure data-handling, residency and confidentiality controls are met.
• Provide oversight of outsourced review quality and throughput, ensuring deliverables meet Pathward procedures and regulatory expectations before reliance; maintain examiner-ready evidence of third-party oversight.

BSA/AML & Sanctions Operations Reporting - KRIs, KPIs & Backlogs

• Own the consolidated operational reporting for the vertical, bringing together all KRIs, KPIs, production, throughput and backlog/inventory metrics into a single source of truth.
• Maintain and publish recurring KPI/KRI and backlog reporting packages for leadership, committees and regulators, with consistent definitions across teams.

Deliverables & Business Management

• Own a single deliverables calendar for the vertical - regulatory responses, MRA workstream reporting, board and committee materials, offsite packs and resource models.
• Manage intake, prioritization, quality control and on-time delivery of committed deliverables; run the operating cadence that keeps workstreams on track.
• Act as business manager / chief of staff to the SVP, coordinating leadership meetings, tracking decisions and actions, and reducing day-to-day management load on the SVP.

Metrics Translation & Executive Reporting

• Translate raw production, backlog and productivity data into meaningful narratives and visualizations for leadership, committees and regulators.
• Establish and maintain a standard monthly executive reporting pack reconciled to the single source of truth.
• Ensure reporting is decision-grade and framed to support resourcing, risk and remediation decisions.

Governance & KPI Breach Risk Assessment

The AVP owns the framework for identifying, assessing and escalating risk arising from breaches - or emerging breaches - to established KPIs, KRIs and service levels.

• Define KPI/KRI thresholds, tolerances and early-warning triggers across each operational vertical, aligned to Board risk appetite and regulatory expectations.
• Monitor performance against thresholds; identify actual and emerging breaches (e.g., SLA misses, aging inventory, throughput shortfalls, vendor performance gaps) on a proactive basis.
• Assess the risk, root cause and potential regulatory or control impact of each breach, and assign severity to drive appropriate response.
• Maintain a documented escalation protocol - who is notified, within what timeframe, and what remediation or compensating controls are required - and track breaches through to resolution.
• Report breach trends, themes and remediation status to the SVP and BSA Officer, ensuring leadership has early, accurate visibility into performance and control health.

What You Will Need:

• Bachelor's degree in Finance, Business, Risk Management, or related field; equivalent experience considered.
• Professional certification such as CAMS, PMP or equivalent preferred.
• 8+ years in BSA/AML, compliance operations, risk governance or program management within banking or fintech, including people leadership.
• Demonstrated experience managing vendor or outsourced-provider relationships and service levels.
• Proven ability to build KPI/KRI and backlog reporting and translate operational data into executive- and regulator-facing deliverables.
• Working knowledge of transaction monitoring, cases/SARs and OFAC screening operations and the regulatory environment (OCC).
• Strong governance mindset with the ability to build controls, documentation and escalation into everyday operations.
• Analytical rigor - turns complex data into clear thresholds, insights and decisions.
• Excellent written and verbal communication; advanced skills in Excel, PowerPoint and reporting/BI tools.
• Program leadership - drives outcomes across teams and third parties without direct authority over every contributor.
• Sound judgment under regulatory scrutiny; comfortable engaging senior stakeholders and examiners.

Salary range: $104,000- $174,000

The salary range reflects the minimum and maximum target for a new hire in this role. Individual pay within the range will be determined by multiple factors which can include but are not limited to a candidate's experience, qualifications, skills, and location. Your recruiter can share more about the specific salary for your location during the hiring process. Ranges may be modified in the future. This role is also eligible for an annual performance-based incentive opportunity. Pathward offers a comprehensive benefits package for eligible employees, including health insurance, 401(k) retirement benefits, life insurance, disability benefits, paid time off, and more.

Who we are:

Our commitment to inclusion is woven into our DNA. We believe that we are strongest when we embrace the voices of our employees, customers, partners, and the communities we serve.

We provide equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, ethnicity, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, transgender status, pregnancy, national origin, age (age 40 and over), disability, genetic information, marital status, hair texture or hairstyle, ancestry, service in the uniformed services, protected veteran status, status as a victim of domestic violence or any other class protected by federal, state and local laws.