Freelance Operational Risk Manager Jobs in Austin, TX

Wise is a global technology company, building the best way to move and manage the world's money.
Min fees. Max ease. Full speed.

Whether people and businesses are sending money to another country, spending abroad, or making and receiving international payments, Wise is on a mission to make their lives easier and save them money.

As part of our team, you will be helping us create an entirely new network for the world's money.
For everyone, everywhere.

More about our mission and what we offer.

We're looking for an Operational Risk Manager to own the day-to-day operational risk and issues management for Wise US Inc and Wise Canada. You'll be a data analyst, process coordinator, and AI-powered problem solver-gathering and synthesizing data to support quarterly Risk Committee and Board materials presented by senior risk leadership. You'll work closely with Product, Compliance, and various business teams to understand issues and risk trends to build that into board and committee-ready reporting.

WHAT YOU'LL BE DOING

Issues Management Operations 

• Support the monthly issues management process by coordinating with issue owners, obtaining timely status updates, maintaining data quality, and helping ensure issue records meet Wise documentation standards.

• Support first-line teams in documenting issues and entering them into AuditBoard / Optro, including guidance on required fields, issue descriptions, risk ratings, action plans, due dates, and remediation evidence.

• Help teams navigate AuditBoard / Optro workflows, including target date extensions, workflow routing, status updates, and issue closure requirements.

• Compile and maintain the monthly Issues Forum materials, working with business functions to ensure updates are complete, timely, and decision-useful.

• Support documentation of issue risk acceptances where senior leadership determines a risk should be accepted, ensuring risks, mitigating factors, residual risk, approvals, and review expectations are clearly captured.

• Identify opportunities to improve issue management routines so they are less administrative and more useful for risk visibility, accountability, and remediation.

Risk Committee and Board Reporting Support

• Support quarterly Operational Risk assessments for Wise US Inc. and Wise Payments Canada by gathering KRIs, issues, incidents, operational loss data, and stakeholder narratives.

• Analyze operational loss, incident, and issue data to identify trends, root causes, emerging risks, and potential control weaknesses.

• Help prepare clear, concise narratives for Risk Committee and Board materials, with appropriate review from first-line stakeholders and senior Risk leadership.

• Coordinate KRI data collection from stakeholders and maintain supporting materials for committee reporting.

• Support maintenance of governance materials, ensuring reporting is timely, accurate, and useful for decision-making.

• Gain exposure to board governance processes and learn how risk reporting flows to senior leadership and entity-level governance forums.

Support Key Risk Projects & Initiatives 

• New Product Risk Assessments: Review product documentation and complete operational risk assessment templates - identifying risk scenarios and documenting controls

• Control Mapping: Support Wise's control framework buildout by conducting interviews with process owners, documenting existing controls, and completing control mapping templates across material processes 

• KRI implementation: Collect and compile Key Risk Indicator (KRI) data from teams and fold into ongoing risk monitoring and tracking materials

• Ad-hoc risk projects: Support incident deep-dives, process improvement initiatives, etc.

Required:

Strong Analytical & Data Skills 

• Comfortable pulling data from multiple systems and dashboards

• Can synthesize disparate data sources into clear, actionable insights

• Experienced with manual data gathering and identifying opportunities to automate it

• Able to spot trends and ask the right follow-up questions

• Strong Excel skills (VLOOKUPs, pivot tables)

Operational/Financial Risk Experience 

• 2-4+ years in operational risk, risk assessments, incident or issues management, or operational controls

• Understanding of operational risk fundamentals (incidents, issues, controls, risk ratings, KRIs)

• Familiarity with risk frameworks and how they connect to business outcomes

• Experience with risk assessments, incident management, or similar risk functions

• **Experience preparing materials for senior leadership or governance committees preferred**

Facilitation & Communication 

• Comfortable interviewing business owners and asking clarifying questions

• Can translate technical risk concepts into business language for varied audiences

• Able to chase down stakeholders and coordinate across teams

• Strong written communication for executive-level reporting

Location Requirements

• Must be based in Austin, TX or willing to relocate to Austin

• Hybrid work arrangement with team collaboration expectations (Not 100% remote)

• Relocation assistance package available for qualified candidates

Preferred:

AI & Data Proficiency 

• Demonstrated use of AI tools (ChatGPT, Claude, etc.) for analysis, documentation, and automation

• Comfortable learning and adapting to new GRC and risk tools

• Interest in exploring AI applications for operational efficiency and reporting automation

• Data-driven mindset with ability to translate complex data into clear insights

Payments or Financial Products Experience 

• Background in fintech (payments, lending, BNPL, crypto, trading platforms), or similar financial services environment

Auditboard Experience 

• Familiarity with Auditboard or other GRC platforms (ServiceNow, Archer, LogicGate) is a plus, but willingness to learn is more important

Additional preferred experience:

• Deep understanding of payment ecosystems, including ACH, card networks, cross-border remittances, and the mechanics of disputes and chargeback recoveries.

• Proven background managing operational risk within a high-growth fintech, payment processor, or digital-first financial services environment.

• Experience overseeing the end-to-end issues management lifecycle, from initial identification through to effective remediation tracking.

• Hands-on experience with risk assessment methodologies, including RCSAs, RAUs, and comprehensive process-level control mapping.

• Ability to develop meaningful Key Risk Indicators (KRIs) and translate complex data into executive-ready risk reporting.

• Background in control testing, quality assurance (QA), or continuous monitoring to ensure operational resilience.

• Proficiency in AuditBoard, Optro, or comparable GRC platforms to drive centralized risk visibility.

• Technical skill set utilizing SQL, Tableau, Power BI, or Superset to synthesize data into actionable visualizations.

• Interest in leveraging AI-powered tools for advanced analysis, automated documentation, and operational efficiency.

WHAT MAKES YOU SUCCESSFUL IN THIS ROLE

• You're analytically sharp and love working with data

• You're interested in eliminating manual work through automation and AI

• You're comfortable with ambiguity and can figure things out on your own

• You can balance attention to detail (monthly updates, data accuracy) with big-picture thinking (board narratives)

• You're a credible stakeholder who can push back on business teams when needed

• You understand payments/fintech and can ask smart questions about operational risks

For everyone, everywhere. We're people building money without borders  - without judgement or prejudice, too. We believe teams are strongest when they are diverse, equitable and inclusive.

We're proud to have a truly international team, and we celebrate our differences.
Inclusive teams help us live our values and make sure every Wiser feels respected, empowered to contribute towards our mission and able to progress in their careers.

If you want to find out more about what it's like to work at Wise visit Wise.Jobs.

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