Director, UCC & Tax Lien Compliance

Openkrill; United States; Remote; USD 149,000 - 304,000; Full time

Job summary

Toast is seeking a Director, UCC & Tax Lien Compliance to own and grow the end-to-end liens/levies program. You will build a governance framework, establish SOPs, and lead the transition of this function in-house, collaborating with Legal, Product, Engineering, and Risk to ensure compliant, scalable operations.

You will manage complex cases, set KPIs, and communicate progress to executives while shaping the future of in-house compliance at Toast.

Qualifications

• 7+ years of experience with UCC, tax liens, levies, bankruptcies, and garnishments; leadership experience.
• Experience developing compliance programs for regulated functions.
• Experience handling complex escalations with customers, creditors, and attorneys.
• Deep subject matter expertise in mechanics, regulatory distinctions, and compliance for liens/levies/garnishments, including UCC-1 and priority issues.
• Knowledge of regulatory landscape for merchant funds handling and money transmission obligations; UCC Article 9 concepts.
• Ability to build operating models, teams, and governance in ambiguous transitions.
• Proven cross-functional leadership to align Legal, Risk & Compliance, Engineering, Finance, and Care.
• Experience managing vendor/partner transitions and insourcing.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills; translate complex details for frontline and executives.
• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent; banking/legal/compliance background a plus.

Responsibilities

• Build and maintain state-by-state policy framework.
• Establish governance: SOPs, decision frameworks, case tracking, quality review.
• Determine tools/systems for Liens & Levies compliance; collaborate with product/stakeholders.
• Own transition plan for insourcing from third-party partner; data-sharing and handoffs.
• Lead Liens & Levies oversight team within Fintech Risk; define roles and training.
• Be subject matter expert on liens, levies, garnishments, and related orders; develop clear policies.
• Represent team in cross-functional planning with Legal, Fintech, and Engineering on system scope.

Skills

UCC lien compliance

Tax lien compliance

Garnishments

Change management

Cross-functional leadership

Regulatory compliance

Communication

Education

Bachelor's degree or equivalent

Tools

Case management systems

Data-sharing platforms

Job description

At Toast, we are passionate about creating raving fans and delivering an unparalleled customer experience — and that includes assisting our restaurant customers when their business becomes entangled in a creditor dispute. When a lien, levy, or garnishment is filed against a merchant, our customers need a partner who moves quickly, communicates clearly, and gets it right the first time. As Toast brings the end-to-end management of liens and levies in-house, we need an experienced subject matter expert to build and lead this function from the ground up.

As the Director, UCC & Tax Lien Compliance, you will own the day-to-day operational management of Toast's merchant liens and levies and bankruptcy compliance programs, build the specialized team and processes required to run it well, and lead the insourcing of this function in close partnership with Compliance, Care, Product and Engineering and Legal. This is a hands-on, build-it role: you'll inherit an active, high-visibility function with real customer and compliance stakes, and you'll be the person who turns it into a well-governed, scalable operation.

About this role

Strategic Ownership

• Build and maintain a state-by-state policy framework.
• Build the governance backbone for the function: SOPs, decision frameworks, case tracking, and closed-loop quality review, so that policy is applied consistently across the team and holds up to audit and legal scrutiny.
• Determine the right tools and systems required to manage an effective Liens & Levies compliance process, work with product and impacted stakeholders to minimize losses to Toast.
• Own the phased liens and levies compliance transition plan with Toast's third-party partner, including data-sharing, visibility, and handoff of withholding and remittance responsibilities.
• Establish and own the escalation path for complex or high-risk cases (e.g., competing creditor claims, disputed releases, bankruptcy proceedings, fraudulent or ambiguous documentation), partnering with Risk, Legal, and third-party fintech partners (e.g., payment processors) to reach sound, consistent decisions.
• Define and track operational KPIs (e.g., resolution time, case volume, escalation rates) and report progress and risk to cross-functional and executive stakeholders.

Operational Ownership

• Own the day-to-day management and execution of Toast's merchant liens and levies compliance program, including customer communications, intake, validation, withholding, escalations, complex/unique scenario handling, remittance, and release, serving as the subject matter expert to bring and operate this function in-house.
• Drive the operational process work required to insource the liens and levies compliance functions currently managed by a third-party partner, including business requirements, workflow design, and transition sequencing, in partnership with Fintech Product, Engineering, Legal and other cross-functional stakeholders.
• Build and lead a dedicated liens & levies oversight team within Fintech Risk, defining roles, workflows, staffing needs, and training as case volume scales.
• Serve as the organization's subject matter expert on handling liens, levies, garnishments, and similar legal orders — including UCC filings, judgment liens, tax levies, bankruptcy implications, lien priority, and change-of-ownership/change-of-legal-entity scenarios — and translate that expertise into developing, owning, and maintaining clear, defensible policies, procedures and processes.
• Represent the team in cross-functional planning with Legal, Fintech, and Engineering as the technical build (case management, funds management, and reporting systems) is scoped and delivered.

Do you have the right ingredients?

• 7+ years of experience working with UCC and tax liens, levies, bankruptcies, and garnishments and the associated compliance requirements, as well as change and people leadership experience.
• Experience developing compliance management programs for regulated functions.
• Experience managing complex, sensitive escalations directly with customers, creditors, and their attorneys, exercising sound judgment on matters with real legal and financial consequences.
• Deep subject matter expertise in the mechanics, legal/regulatory distinctions, and compliance requirements applicable to different types of liens, levies, and garnishments — including UCC-1 filings, judgment liens, tax levies, and lien priority—and how each is impacted by different events impacting merchants, such as bankruptcy, business organizational changes (e.g., change of ownership and mergers/acquisitions), and know your customers (KYC)/know your business (KYB) requirements and events.
• Working knowledge of the regulatory landscape surrounding merchant funds handling, such as state-by-state garnishment and levy requirements, and money transmission/payment facilitator obligations, and strong knowledge of UCC Article 9 concepts as they apply to secured creditor claims.
• Demonstrated ability to build an operating model, team, and governance structure where none previously existed, with comfort operating in ambiguity while a function transitions between partners and systems.
• Proven cross-functional leadership skills — able to align Legal, Risk & Compliance, Engineering, Finance, and Customer Care around a shared process and drive decisions to closure without direct authority over every stakeholder.
• Experience managing a vendor or partner transition (e.g., insourcing a previously outsourced function), including defining business requirements and partnering with technical teams on system design.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to translate complex legal/operational nuance into clear guidance for frontline teams and concise updates for executive stakeholders.
• Bachelor's degree or equivalent practical experience; a background in banking operations, legal/paralegal work, or compliance is a plus but not required.

AI at Toast

At Toast, one of our company values is that we're hungry to build and learn. We believe learning new AI tools empowers us to build for our customers faster, more independently, and with higher quality. We provide these tools across all disciplines, from Engineering and Product to Sales and Support, and are inspired by how our Toasters are already driving real value with them. The people who thrive here are those who embrace changes that let us build more for our customers; it’s a core part of our culture.

Our Total Rewards Philosophy

We strive to provide competitive compensation and benefits programs that help to attract, retain, and motivate the best and brightest people in our industry. Our total rewards package goes beyond great earnings potential and provides the means to a healthy lifestyle with the flexibility to meet Toasters’ changing needs. Learn more about our benefits at careers.toasttab.com/toast-benefits.The base salary range for this role is listed below. The starting salary will be determined based on skills, experience, and geographic location. In addition to base salary, our total rewards components include cash compensation (overtime, bonus/commissions if eligible), equity, and benefits. You can learn more about how we align pay with local labor markets in our Geographic Pay Zone Philosophy.

Zone A$190,000-$304,000 USD

Zone B$165,000-$264,000 USD

Zone C$149,000-$238,000 USD

How Toast Uses AI in its Hiring Process

Throughout the hiring process, our goal is to get to know you. We use AI tools to support our recruiters and interviewers with tasks like note-taking, summarization, and documentation of interviews to ensure they can be fully focused on your conversation. All hiring decisions are made by people. We ask that you complete interviews and assessments on your own, without real-time AI tools, recording, or transcription bots, unless we tell you otherwise in advance. To learn more: https://careers.toasttab.com/a