VP, CTO Governance Leader

Synchrony - Saint Paul, MN

Full-time - Senior

Remote - Saint Paul, MN

Credit Intermediation and Related Activities

About the position

The VP, CTO Governance Leader will play a pivotal role in ensuring the safety and soundness of the CTO organization at Synchrony. This position is responsible for driving the priorities related to governance and risk management, ensuring that the organization is well-prepared for both internal and external examinations. The leader will oversee the execution of exams, manage risk identification and remediation efforts, and enhance the risk and control framework within the CTO organization. Collaboration across all three lines of defense is essential, as this role requires close interaction with various teams to ensure comprehensive risk management practices are in place. In this hands-on role, the VP will lead the governance and risk activities for the CTO organization, coordinating all exams and tasks with a risk-based approach. This includes leading OCC and FRB exams, internal audits, and penetration tests, while also being able to communicate technical challenges and solutions to non-technical leaders. The ability to accurately assess and prioritize risks is crucial, as is the capacity to listen and interpret the level of risk to guide the organization’s next steps effectively. The VP will also be responsible for liaising with the Information Security team on risk management, overseeing the PCI evidence delivery, and driving proactive evaluations of the control environment. This role includes managing the communication of issues remediation work and ensuring timely resolution of issues across the CTO. The VP will facilitate the creation and renewal of policies, standards, and procedures, ensuring compliance with the PRC framework and FFIEC guidance. Additionally, the VP will act as the Product Owner for the CTO Governance board, participating in Agile ceremonies and driving PI Planning for governance initiatives. Strong communication and influencing skills are essential, as the VP will need to facilitate challenging conversations with senior leadership. This position is expected to be deeply involved in the details of exams and audits, driving the team to deliver results within expected timeframes. The VP will also create and update dashboards to communicate status and drive productivity, advocating for good risk practices across the organization. Other duties may include special projects as assigned.

Responsibilities

• Lead the risk and governance activities for the CTO organization.
• Manage and coordinate all exams/tasks using a risk-based approach.
• Drive risk management for the CTO organization.
• Lead OCC and FRB exams, Internal Audits, 2LOD exams, and Pen tests.
• Explain technical challenges and solutions to non-technical leaders.
• Challenge evaluations of true risk to the business.
• Listen and interpret the level of risk to guide appropriate next steps.
• Liaison with the Information Security team on risk management.
• Oversee PCI evidence delivery in the CTO space.
• Evaluate the control environment and identify risks proactively.
• Drive automation in the assessment of the control environment.
• Communicate overall issues remediation work in the CTO environment.
• Liaison for the Tech and Ops Issues Management team.
• Drive timely issues remediation across CTO.
• Participate in continuous improvements in issues management.
• Manage the Audit Readiness program and its tasks.
• Facilitate the creation or renewal of Policies, Standards, and Procedures.
• Collaborate across technology on issues remediation and Sox compliance.
• Act as Product Owner for the CTO Governance board and participate in Agile ceremonies.
• Liaison to the Tech and Ops Governance team and both 2nd and 3rd Line of defense.
• Create and update dashboards to communicate status and drive productivity.
• Advocate for good risk practices across the organization.
• Perform other duties and/or special projects as assigned.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree and a minimum of 8+ years of either Technology, Risk Management, OR in lieu of a degree minimum of 12+ years of Technology and Agile Portfolio Management experience.
• Demonstrated experience of governance and/or risk management.
• Strong people leadership skills.
• Experience working in a matrixed environment with proven experience influencing leaders at all levels.
• Strong presentation and communication skills with a demonstrated business presence while interacting with senior business executives.
• Proven experience with partnering, collaborating and influencing across a large multilayered organization at all levels.
• Proven experience handling multiple, and competing priorities across all stakeholder groups and effectively resolving competing priorities and interests with minimal disruption.
• Minimum 7 years of Technology or Risk Management experience.

Nice-to-haves

• Demonstrate strong risk management mindset and behavior.
• Experience working in the Cloud.
• Action and detail oriented, excellent organization and prioritization skills.
• Independent worker with awareness of when to escalate and engage others.
• Proven experience executing with accuracy, on time and while dealing with ambiguity.
• Demonstrate commitment to continuous improvement.

Benefits

• Annual bonus based on individual and company performance.
• Salary range adjusted according to market in CA, NY Metro, and Seattle.