Director of Risk ID, Assessment & OR Advisory

Global Merchant & Network Services brings together American Express' merchant and network-related businesses. This includes the management of our relationships across the globe with both the millions of merchants who accept American Express, as well as our partners in countries and territories that deliver card acceptance, issuance and innovation.

The objective of the GMNS Control Management Risk ID, Assessment & Operational Risk (OR) Advisory team is to identify, assess, mitigate, and report on Operational Risk within business unit (BU) processes for GMNS to ensure adherence to regulatory standards, Amex policy and enhance the BU's resilience through managing a clear methodology of inherent and residual risk.

GMNS is looking for a Director of Risk ID, Assessment & OR Advisory to lead a diverse team of high-performing professionals focused on ensuring control management is embedded in the day-to-day operations of our organization. It will involve extensive collaboration with multiple partners across numerous business units, functional areas, and geographies. 

The Director, GMNS Risk ID, Assessment & OR Advisory will:

• Provide additional identification of risks throughout business processes and systems (along with business process owners)
• Facilitate business unit risk assessment activities, including Risk and Control Self-Assessments (RCSAs) and other operational risk assessments, to evaluate risk exposure, control effectiveness, and adherence to regulatory and internal standards. Enhance risk assessment methodologies and periodically review assessment criteria to align with evolving regulatory and enterprise requirements.
• Evaluate control environment performance through risk assessments, monitoring activities, testing results, issues, and other risk intelligence, and proactively communicate key operational risk trends and emerging risks to senior management to facilitate informed decision-making.
• Proactively identify areas of elevated risk requiring management attention and recommend targeted risk mitigation strategies based on assessment outcomes, testing insights, issue trends, and other risk indicators.
• Compile thematic risk reporting (levels, trends, causes) to provide actionable insights to BU on current risk levels, emerging trends and root causes
• Categorize controls and map against risks and processes (e.g., cross-BU process-control mapping)
• Champion risk management practices within the business
• Develop risk profiles and maintain an updated risk register(s)
• Be a key leader for sharing insights, better practices, themes, etc. across the enterprise

Minimum Qualifications: 

• Significant experience in operational risk management (e.g., within Risk and/or Internal Audit function) Understanding of critical operational risk management lifecycle activities

• Excellent project management, communication, and interpersonal skills, with an ability to interact and obtain buy-in from senior BU counterparts

• Expertise in process governance, with a track record of establishing and overseeing robust decision-making processes that align with policies, regulatory frameworks, and/or operational standards

• Experience within financial services industry

• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with an ability to analyze data, identify trends, and evaluate risk scenarios effectively 

• Demonstrated history and ability to manage large teams, spread over geographies and with varying backgrounds

 

Preferred Qualifications:

• Bachelor's Degree in Finance, Business, Risk Mgmt., or related field; advanced degrees (e.g., MBA, MSc) or certifications are advantageous

• Experience in at least one of the following: 

  • Providing identification of operational risks throughout business processes and systems

  • Facilitating Risk and Control Self-Assessments (RCSAs) and other operational risk assessment programs to evaluate and manage business risks.

  • Enhancing risk assessments and associated methodologies

  • Analyzing control environment effectiveness and identifying opportunities to strengthen controls and reduce risk exposure.

  • Identifying areas of elevated risk and advising on appropriate mitigation strategies using assessment results, testing insights, and risk trends.

  • Compiling thematic risk reporting to provide actionable insights on risk levels, emerging trends and root causes

 

Employment eligibility to work with American Express in the UK is required as the company will not pursue visa sponsorship for these positions.