Program Manager, Investor & Internal Compliance

WS Development; Northern (KY); Hybrid; USD 90,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

WS Development seeks an organized, articulate professional to own internal controls and compliance end-to-end. You will center two workstreams: internal controls/audit and JV compliance with institutional partners.

Reporting to the CFO's Chief of Staff, this high-visibility role interacts with senior executives, investors, and external auditors. The role emphasizes program management, cross-functional collaboration, and scalable processes, with a strong focus on precision, deadlines, and

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree and 5-7 years of relevant professional experience.
• Exceptional written and verbal communication.
• Strong project management skills and disciplined execution.
• High attention to detail and structured, evidence-based work.
• Polished, professional presence for investors and auditors.
• Cross-functional collaboration across departments.
• Fluency with AI tools to drive efficiency and drafting.
• Experience in internal controls, audit, or real estate/investment compliance is helpful but not required.

Responsibilities

• Lead program management: define scope, timelines, and stakeholder coordination.
• Draft clear responses, certifications, and investor/auditor narratives.
• Represent the firm professionally in investor and auditor interactions.
• Create frameworks and templates to scale the compliance function.
• Champion AI and productivity tools to raise team efficiency.
• Coordinate annual internal controls testing with external audit partners.
• Drive remediation and process improvements from testing findings.
• Support user access reviews and SOC report reviews for vendors.
• Maintain control environment documentation and narratives.
• Oversee investor compliance filings and JV-related obligations.

Skills

Project management

Written communication

Verbal communication

Cross-functional collaboration

AI tools

Attention to detail

Stakeholder management

Education

Bachelor's degree

Tools

SOC reports

Job description

We are looking for a sharp, organized, polished and exceptional communicator to own our internal controls and compliance program end to end. This person sits at the center of two connected bodies of work: (1) the firm's internal controls and audit environment, and (2) the compliance obligations we carry to our institutional joint-venture partners.

This is not a traditional audit seat. The work centers on running complex, deadline-driven workstreams, coordinating inputs across departments, and producing clear, polished, and credible work for external audiences.

Reporting to the Chief of Staff to the CFO, you will own a visible, high-trust function with direct exposure to senior executives, our institutional investor relationships, and the full compliance and controls landscape of a leading commercial real estate firm. It is a role where strong execution is recognized quickly and is a natural launchpad into broader operational and strategic leadership work.

What you'll do

This role is designed to be run as a program. We are looking for someone who can manage these responsibilities with the discipline of an experienced project manager — owning scope, timeline, and stakeholder coordination from start to finish.

Program leadership & communication

• Run compliance obligations as projects: scope, timeline, stakeholder coordination, and reliable on-time delivery against hard external deadlines.
• Draft clear, precise, audience-appropriate written responses, certifications, and narratives for institutional investors and auditors.
• Represent the firm professionally and credibly in direct interactions with investors, partners, and external auditors.
• Build frameworks, templates, and documentation that make the compliance function repeatable and scalable.
• Champion the use of AI and other productivity tools to work more efficiently; accelerating drafting, research, evidence review, and workflow, and helping raise the bar for how the broader team adopts them.

Internal controls & audit

• Coordinate the annual internal controls testing program with our external audit partner, including scoping, evidence collection, remediation tracking, and risk ratings across financial reporting, cash management, lease compliance, and vendor management.
• Drive remediation and process improvements that emerge from testing findings — whether refining an existing workflow, or scoping and managing a follow‑on project through to completion.
• Support and help ensure the execution of annual user access reviews and SOC report reviews for third‑party service providers.
• Maintain and continuously improve the control environment including documentation, testing calendars, and control narratives.
• Administer access governance for key financial systems.

Investor Compliance

• Serve as the lead for institutional investor audits, due diligence questionnaires and inquiries, and for ongoing reporting obligations across our JV partners.
• Manage partner‑specific compliance filings and certifications, pulling inputs from departments and assembling them for submission.
• Track and calendar recurring JV compliance obligations and deadlines, ensuring each is anticipated and met on time.
• Support compliance with joint venture and affiliate agreements — translating partner requirements for internal teams and turning recurring obligations into repeatable internal processes.
• Bachelor's degree and 5-7 years of relevant professional experience (consulting, project/program management, operations, finance, or a similar structured environment).
• Exceptional written and verbal communication. You can take a complex, technical requirement and turn it into clear, precise, well‑organized writing tailored to a demanding audience.
• Strong project management skills. You can run multiple complex workstreams simultaneously and consistently deliver against hard deadlines.
• High attention to detail and comfort with structured, evidence‑based work where accuracy matters.
• Polished, professional presence suitable for direct interaction with institutional investors and external auditors.
• Strong cross‑functional collaboration. You're enthusiastic and comfortable pulling inputs from multiple departments and driving a group to a finished product.
• Fluency with, and enthusiasm for, AI tools. You actively use AI to work smarter and faster, and you're excited to champion its thoughtful adoption to drive efficiency in this role.
• Experience internal controls, audit, or real estate/investment compliance is helpful but not required. We will invest in developing subject‑matter depth for the right candidate.