Operational Risk Specialist II - Data Risk

Early Warning; Scottsdale (AZ); Hybrid; USD 62,000 - 82,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Healthcare coverage

401(k) match

Paid time off

Parental leave

Maven fertility support

Job summary

Early Warning is seeking an Operational Risk Specialist II to support second-line risk activities, including risk assessments, control testing, and remediation across data and AI risk domains. This role focuses on maintaining policy compliance, governance, and effective risk reporting in a regulated environment.

The position requires strong analytical skills, independent work style, and ability to collaborate with internal and external stakeholders.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent combination of education and relevant professional experience.
• Typically 2+ years of experience in a risk management function.
• Experience in operational risk, data risk, AI risk, compliance, audit, or related discipline.
• Experience conducting or supporting risk assessments, control testing, due diligence, audit activities, issue management, or risk reporting.
• Working knowledge of internal controls and the three-lines model.
• Ability to collect and analyze information, identify risk or control gaps, document conclusions, and recommend actions.
• Ability to interpret policies, standards, procedures, contractual requirements, audit criteria, or regulatory guidance.

Responsibilities

• Execute risk assessments, control evaluations, due diligence, testing, monitoring, and QA per policies and methods.
• Identify and evaluate risks, control gaps, issues, remediation needs; document conclusions and actions.
• Provide independent review and challenge of risk assessments, controls, findings, remediation plans, and risk acceptance decisions.
• Maintain accurate records of risks, controls, assessments, testing, issues, findings, remediation activities in systems.
• Monitor corrective actions, analyze trends, elevate material concerns outside tolerances.
• Support audits, regulatory reviews, customer assessments, and risk self-assessments.

Skills

Risk management

Data risk

AI risk

Regulatory knowledge

Analytical skills

Communication

Education

Bachelor’s degree or equivalent

Job description

At Early Warning, we’ve powered and protected the U.S. financial system for over thirty years with cutting-edge solutions like Zelle®, Paze℠, and so much more. As a trusted name in payments, we partner with thousands of institutions to increase access to financial services and protect transactions for hundreds of millions of consumers and small businesses.

Positions located in Scottsdale, San Francisco, Chicago, or New York follow a hybrid work model to allow for a more collaborative working environment.

Candidates responding to this posting must independently possess the eligibility to work in the United States, for any employer, at the date of hire. This position is ineligible for employment Visa sponsorship.

Overall Purpose

The Operational Risk Specialist II supports second-line operational risk activities through risk assessments, control testing, monitoring, reporting, and advisory support. The role helps identify, evaluate, and communicate risks; monitor remediation; and promote compliance with established policies, standards, regulatory requirements, and risk appetite.

The position may focus on one of the following areas: Artificial Intelligence Risk Management, or Data Risk Management.

This position helps ensure operational risks are managed in accordance with established policies, standards, procedures, contractual requirements, regulatory expectations, and the organization’s risk appetite.

Essential Functions

• Execute operational risk assessments, control evaluations, due diligence reviews, testing, monitoring, and quality assurance activities in accordance with established policies, standards, and methodologies.
• Identify and evaluate risks, control gaps, emerging issues, and remediation needs; document conclusions and recommend appropriate actions.
• Provide independent review and challenge of risk assessments, controls, findings, mitigation plans, and risk acceptance decisions.
• Maintain accurate records of risks, controls, assessments, testing, issues, findings, and remediation activities in applicable systems and repositories.
• Monitor corrective actions, analyze trends and root causes, and elevate material concerns or risks outside established tolerances.
• Support audits, regulatory reviews, customer assessments, management self-assessments, and risk and control self-assessments.
• Develop and monitor risk metrics, dashboards, and reporting for management, governance forums, and other stakeholders.
• Provide guidance to business partners on risk requirements, documentation standards, control expectations, and remediation activities.
• Coordinate with first- and second-line stakeholders to resolve issues, clarify requirements, and support consistent execution of risk processes.
• Identify opportunities to improve the effectiveness, efficiency, and consistency of operational risk practices.
• Support the protection, confidentiality, integrity, and availability of systems, data, and information assets.

Area of Focus

Data Risk Management

• Conduct data risk assessments and provide data-related requirements for stakeholder impact assessments.
• Evaluate risks associated with data governance, data integrity, information classification, data protection, and policy compliance.
• Support the development, maintenance, and enforcement of data risk policies, standards, procedures, and guidelines.
• Manage information classification activities, including intake review, documentation preparation, risk statement development, stakeholder review, approval, distribution, and inventory maintenance.
• Design, execute, and report on internal control testing related to data risk and data integrity.
• Identify data control gaps, document issues, monitor remediation, and conduct root cause analysis.
• Prepare Data Risk and Data Integrity reporting, including metrics, dashboards, testing results, and management materials.
• Support applicable data management, information security, privacy, regulatory, and assurance requirements.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent combination of education and relevant professional experience.
• Typically, has 2 or more years of experience in a risk management function.
• Experience in operational risk, data risk, artificial intelligence risk, compliance, audit, information security, data management, technology risk, third-party risk, or a related discipline.
• Experience conducting or supporting risk assessments, control testing, due diligence, audit activities, issue management, or risk reporting.
• Working knowledge of operational risk management concepts, internal controls, and the three-lines model.
• Ability to collect and analyze information, identify risk or control gaps, document conclusions, and recommend appropriate actions.
• Ability to interpret policies, standards, procedures, contractual requirements, audit criteria, or regulatory guidance.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to present findings and explain risk requirements to technical and nontechnical stakeholders.
• Strong analytical, organizational, and problem-solving skills with attention to detail.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and deadlines in a complex, regulated, and matrixed environment.
• Ability to work independently within established procedures and collaborate effectively with internal and external stakeholders.
• Background and drug screen

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in financial services, financial technology, payments, or another highly regulated industry.
• Experience working within a second-line risk management, consulting, advisory, compliance, or internal audit function.
• Experience using governance, risk, and compliance technology to manage assessments, controls, testing, issues, findings, or remediation activities.
• Experience in one or more of the identified focus areas: Artificial Intelligence Risk Management, or Data Risk Management
• Familiarity with relevant frameworks or standards, such as the NIST AI Risk Management Framework, ISO/IEC 42001, DAMA, NIST information security guidance, ISO 27002, or comparable risk and control frameworks.
• Familiarity with applicable financial services, consumer reporting, data privacy, information security, or regulatory requirements.
• Experience developing risk metrics, dashboards, management reporting, procedures, testing programs, or process improvements.
• Risk management, audit, technology, information security, data, or AI governance-related certification.

Physical Requirements

Working conditions consist of a normal office environment. Work is primarily sedentary and requires extensive use of a computer and involves sitting for periods of approximately four hours. Work may require occasional standing, walking, kneeling, and reaching. Must be able to lift 10 pounds occasionally and/or negligible amount of force frequently. Requires visual acuity and dexterity to view, prepare, and manipulate documents and office equipment including personal computers. Requires the ability to communicate with internal and/or external customers.

Employees must be able to perform essential functions and physical requirements of position with or without reasonable accommodation.

The Base Pay Scale For This Position In

Phoenix, AZ in USD per year is: $62,000 - $82,000.

Additionally, candidates are eligible for a discretionary incentive plan and benefits.

This pay scale is subject to change and is not necessarily reflective of actual compensation that may be earned, nor a promise of any specific pay for any specific candidate, which is always dependent on legitimate factors considered at the time of job offer. Early Warning Services takes into consideration a variety of factors when determining a competitive salary offer, including, but not limited to, the job scope, market rates and geographic location of a position, candidate’s education, experience, training, and specialized skills or certification(s) in relation to the job requirements and compared with internal equity (peers). The business actively supports and reviews wage equity to ensure that pay decisions are not based on gender, race, national origin, or any other protected classes.

Some of the Ways We Prioritize Your Health and Happiness

• Healthcare Coverage –Competitive medical (PPO/HDHP), dental, and vision plans as well as company contributions to your Health Savings Account (HSA) or pre-tax savings through flexible spending accounts (FSA) for commuting, health & dependent care expenses.
• 401(k) Retirement Plan –Featuring a 100% Company Safe Harbor Match on your first 6% deferral immediately upon eligibility.
• Paid Time Off – Flexible Time Off for Exempt (salaried) employees, as well as generous PTO for Non-Exempt (hourly) employees, plus 11 paid company holidays and a paid volunteer day.
• 12 weeks of Paid Parental Leave
• Maven Family Planning – provides support through your Parenting journey including egg freezing, fertility, adoption, surrogacy, pregnancy, postpartum, early pediatrics, and returning to work.

And SO much more! We continue to enhance our program, so be sure to check our Benefits page here for the latest. Our team can share more during the interview process!

Early Warning Services, LLC (“Early Warning”) considers for employment, hires, retains and promotes qualified candidates on the basis of ability, potential, and valid qualifications without regard to race, religious creed, religion, color, sex, sexual orientation, genetic information, gender, gender identity, gender expression, age, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, protected veteran or disability status or any factor prohibited by law, and as such affirms in policy and practice to support and promote equal employment opportunity and affirmative action, in accordance with all applicable federal, state, and municipal laws. The company also prohibits discrimination on other bases such as medical condition, marital status or any other factor that is irrelevant to the performance of our employees.

Early Warning Services LLC is a proud participant in E-Verify, a federal program to help ensure a legal and authorized workforce. As part of our hiring process, we electronically verify the employment eligibility of all new hires through E-Verify. For more information on your rights and responsibilities under E-Verify please visit Home | E-Verify.