Senior First Line Risk and Control Officer

The Senior First Line Risk & Control Officer role sits within the first line of defense, working directly with business leaders and control owners and partnering with the second (2LOD) and third (3LOD) Lines of Defense to build and sustain a strong first line risk and control environment.

The role blends two complementary responsibilities at a senior level. The individual sets direction for the function itself by leading the design of risk and control programs, owning process and control documentation, maturing the control inventory, establishing and governing assessment cycles, and shaping the reporting that gives leadership a clear view of the risk profile. In equal measure, the individual owns risk management in a live operating environment by driving complex issues to closure, leading root cause and thematic analysis of operational risk events, representing the first line to auditors and regulators, and serving as a trusted senior risk partner to the business.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES 

•     Issues management. Lead the first line issue lifecycle across assigned business verticals, including validation, root cause analysis, action plan design, owner accountability, escalation of aging or at-risk items, closure evidence, and sustainability validation. Set the standard for issue owner meetings and ensure closed items withstand second line challenge, audit review, and regulatory examination.

•     Risk event management. Direct the capture, triage, and escalation of risk events within established thresholds; lead root cause analysis on significant events; ensure events convert into issues where a control failed or was absent; and own thematic analysis that turns the event population into control improvements.

•     Risk and control self-assessment (RCSA). Own RCSA execution across a portfolio of risk assessable units, including building the process universe, leading process-to-risk-to-control mapping, challenging residual risk ratings with the business, and driving remediation of control gaps under the enterprise methodology.

•     Controls management. Set and apply first line control standards, prioritizing higher-risk controls; ensure control design is documented and owned; safeguard the integrity of the control inventory in the system of record; and lead assessment of design and operating effectiveness.

•     Business partnership and proactive risk identification. Serve as the senior first line risk partner to business leaders, anticipating emerging risk ahead of events and influencing decisions before losses occur, while providing guidance and technical direction to less-experienced risk and control staff.

•     Regulatory and audit engagement. Represent the first line to examiners and internal audit for assigned areas, coordinate and quality-review responses, and assess how regulatory change affects the risk and control environment.

•     Reporting, indicators, and risk culture. Shape recurring risk reporting and Risk and Control Forum materials for senior leadership and second line partners, define and monitor risk and control indicators, and drive a strong risk culture across first line associates and leaders.

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. Additionally, the qualifications listed below are representative of the knowledge, skills, and/or abilities required in this position:

•     Fifteen or more years of related experience in banking or a regulated financial institution, including at least ten years of direct experience in risk management, risk and control, or a comparable control discipline, including a sustained track record leading issues management and risk and control self-assessment (RCSA).

•     Deep, demonstrated expertise across the full first line risk and control toolkit, including issue lifecycle and remediation, operational risk event and loss data management, control design and testing, RCSA methodology, and regulatory and audit engagement, with the ability to set standards that others follow.

•     Proven record designing, building, or maturing a risk and control program, framework, or taxonomy, not only operating one, and driving it to a sustainable, examinable state.

•     Advanced consumer and small business banking knowledge across deposit, payment, digital channel, fraud, origination, and servicing processes, sufficient to challenge process and control owners and anticipate emerging risk.

•     Strong command of the three lines of defense model and the first-to-second line boundary, with a track record of influencing senior business and risk leaders, holding the quality bar under pressure, and representing the first line directly to internal audit and regulators. 

•     Extensive experience inside a first line risk and control or business control function, including in a lead or program-owner capacity.

•     Second line operational risk, First line Risk Management, internal audit, or regulatory examination background, with an authoritative view of supervisory expectations.

•     Track record of helping build, scale, or modernize a risk and control function.

•     Deep familiarity with the risk domains concentrated in a consumer banking profile, including external fraud, manual processing error, technology and third-party dependence, data quality, and workforce and incentive risk.

•     Demonstrated experience building or mapping enterprise risk, control, or process taxonomies, and applying automation and analytics to control testing and monitoring by designing test logic.

•     Experience mentoring or providing technical direction to risk and control staff.

•     Professional certification such as CRCM, CIA, CRMA, CAMS, PRM, or an equivalent; advanced degree a plus.