Retail Card Issuing Risk Oversight Manager

Job Summary:
The Retail Card Issuing Risk Oversight Manager supervises the Community Bank's Third-Party Card Issuing Program, involving credit Card Issuing sponsorships, with Synovus having ownership. This role exposes the organization to significant compliance and reputational risks. Responsibilities include overseeing the Third-Party Card Issuer, providing guidance, and ensuring compliant solutions for business needs. The manager coordinates oversight for other third-party bank products, addressing compliance, credit, operational, and reputational risks. Regulatory requirements the candidate must be aware of include Reg Z, Reg B, FCRA, SCRA, ADA, CCPA, UDAAP, Reg P, Reg E, MLA, FDCPA, Esign, and CanSpam, with a focus on ensuring adherence and conducting independent compliance reviews.
Job Duties and Responsibilities:

• Before establishing a new relationship with a Third Party Issuer, the Retail Card Issuing Risk Oversight Manager conducts thorough due diligence to assess the suitability of the partnership. This involves reviewing operations to evaluate control effectiveness, as well as examining all policies, procedures, processes, training programs, monitoring/self-testing mechanisms, and complaint handling procedures. The role acts as a central coordinator for due diligence efforts conducted by various support units.
• The role will require in-depth knowledge/expertise in Consumer Card Compliance and a working knowledge of broader related areas, including researching, reviewing, and maintaining expertise on banking regulations and laws, banking policies and procedures, and consumer protection.
• This role involves acting as the primary subject matter expert for our Third-Party Issuing partners' compliance with regulations affecting business operations. The individual also serves as the main contact for Regulatory, Internal Audit, and Compliance examinations related to specified third-party programs. They collaborate with external partners and internal business lines to provide necessary information and ensure timely and effective resolution of any compliance issues or findings, ultimately upholding regulatory standards and operational efficiency within the organization.
• Thoroughly review all Third Party Card Issuing related complaints to ensure that each concern is effectively addressed, pinpointing areas for process enhancement. Evaluate for patterns that demand special attention and seize opportunities for continual improvement.
• Establishes and executes a continuous Monitoring/Oversight program. Manages an annual review timetable for oversight tasks, incorporating relevant regulations pertinent to each assigned bank product program. Scrutinizes third-party compliance reviews and Synovus Internal Audit and Compliance reports to verify the enforcement of necessary corrective measures. Examines regular training schedules and completion rates to confirm that all staff members are knowledgeable about relevant compliance matters. Evaluates concentrations, portfolio performance, significant alterations, and trends, highlighting any atypical results.
• Develops and implements audit testing procedures in accordance with the Monitoring/Oversight program, creating precise and coherent work papers that clearly document the testing process, outcomes, and analysis. Gathers, assesses, and validates information on systems and processes utilized in various business functions within the Third Party Issuer or designated bank product programs by reviewing manuals, policies, reports, transactions, and other relevant documentation specified in the audit testing procedures. Ensures that work papers offer comprehensive support for findings and adhere to established standards. Takes necessary corrective measures to mitigate unacceptable or adverse risks. In instances of identified deficiencies, collaborates with internal and external management to devise effective solutions addressing the root cause and resolving business issues. May oversee junior staff in executing audit procedures.
• Prepares routine Risk Score Cards in alignment with risk management oversight criteria. Provides regular updates to the Third-Party Risk Management Committee, presenting no less than quarterly reports that encompass a digest of internal compliance evaluations of card issuers, summaries of bank internal audits or reviews, findings from regulatory examinations of Third Party Issuing Programs, analysis of complaint trends, ongoing risk assessments, testing outcomes, and a summary of portfolio performance. Structures and processes data to generate a variety of reports; adeptly interprets and transforms data into different formats; scrutinizes and consolidates information as needed, summarizing results with appropriate formatting, tables, or graphs.
• Acts as the main point of contact for Third Party Risk management consistently. This involves engaging in discussions concerning regular business affairs and collaborating with legal, compliance, and finance departments as issues emerge. Conducts frequent review sessions (at a minimum monthly) with Third Party Risk management to deliberate on new or potential products, outcomes of internal reviews, suggested regulatory modifications, along with their relevance and execution strategies. Cultivates a constructive rapport with Third Party Risk management to facilitate the exchange of information within the department and across various internal Synovus business sectors.
• Assists in risk coverage of other bank operations (e.g. Debit Card, Core Credit Card) and special projects as they arise. Serves as a subject matter expert on the risk components for Third Party Issuing and any other assigned third party bank products or special projects.
• Oversees the yearly performance management and merit procedures for both direct and indirect reports. Provides guidance and fosters the growth of team members, cultivating a work environment that encourages engagement and fosters a sense of fulfillment among employees regarding their contributions to the company. Collaborates closely with Human Resources on matters such as employee relations, compensation, training, recruitment for vacant positions, and other Human Resources-related issues.
• Every team member is required to recognize risk within their functional area. This involves adhering to all policies, procedures, laws, regulations and risk limits specific to their role. Furthermore, they are expected to promptly raise and report known or suspected violations to the appropriate Company authority in a timely fashion.
• Performs other related duties as required.

The information on this description has been designed to indicate the general nature and level of work performed by employees within this classification. It is not designed to contain or be interpreted as a comprehensive inventory of all duties, responsibilities, and qualifications required of employees assigned to this job.

Synovus is an Equal Opportunity Employer supporting diversity in the workplace.

Minimum Education: Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Finance, Accounting or a related field, or an equivalent combination of education and experience

Minimum Experience: 6 years of job related experience