Operational Risk Jobs in Phoenix, AZ (NOW HIRING)

Overall Purpose

The Operational Risk Specialist II supports second-line operational risk activities through risk assessments, control testing, monitoring, reporting, and advisory support. The role helps identify, evaluate, and communicate risks; monitor remediation; and promote compliance with established policies, standards, regulatory requirements, and risk appetite.

The position may focus on one of the following areas: Artificial Intelligence Risk Management, or Data Risk Management.

This position helps ensure operational risks are managed in accordance with established policies, standards, procedures, contractual requirements, regulatory expectations, and the organization's risk appetite.

Essential Functions

• Execute operational risk assessments, control evaluations, due diligence reviews, testing, monitoring, and quality assurance activities in accordance with established policies, standards, and methodologies.

• Identify and evaluate risks, control gaps, emerging issues, and remediation needs; document conclusions and recommend appropriate actions.

• Provide independent review and challenge of risk assessments, controls, findings, mitigation plans, and risk acceptance decisions.

• Maintain accurate records of risks, controls, assessments, testing, issues, findings, and remediation activities in applicable systems and repositories.

• Monitor corrective actions, analyze trends and root causes, and escalate material concerns or risks outside established tolerances.

• Support audits, regulatory reviews, customer assessments, management self-assessments, and risk and control self-assessments.

• Develop and monitor risk metrics, dashboards, and reporting for management, governance forums, and other stakeholders.

• Provide guidance to business partners on risk requirements, documentation standards, control expectations, and remediation activities.

• Coordinate with first- and second-line stakeholders to resolve issues, clarify requirements, and support consistent execution of risk processes.

• Identify opportunities to improve the effectiveness, efficiency, and consistency of operational risk practices.

• Support the protection, confidentiality, integrity, and availability of systems, data, and information assets.

Area of Focus

Data Risk Management

• Conduct data risk assessments and provide data-related requirements for stakeholder impact assessments.

• Evaluate risks associated with data governance, data integrity, information classification, data protection, and policy compliance.

• Support the development, maintenance, and enforcement of data risk policies, standards, procedures, and guidelines.

• Manage information classification activities, including intake review, documentation preparation, risk statement development, stakeholder review, approval, distribution, and inventory maintenance.

• Design, execute, and report on internal control testing related to data risk and data integrity.

• Identify data control gaps, document issues, monitor remediation, and conduct root cause analysis.

• Prepare Data Risk and Data Integrity reporting, including metrics, dashboards, testing results, and management materials.

• Support applicable data management, information security, privacy, regulatory, and assurance requirements.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent combination of education and relevant professional experience.

• Typically, has 2 or more years of experience in a risk management function.

• Experience in operational risk, data risk, artificial intelligence risk, compliance, audit, information security, data management, technology risk, third-party risk, or a related discipline.

• Experience conducting or supporting risk assessments, control testing, due diligence, audit activities, issue management, or risk reporting.

• Working knowledge of operational risk management concepts, internal controls, and the three-lines model.

• Ability to collect and analyze information, identify risk or control gaps, document conclusions, and recommend appropriate actions.

• Ability to interpret policies, standards, procedures, contractual requirements, audit criteria, or regulatory guidance.

• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to present findings and explain risk requirements to technical and nontechnical stakeholders.

• Strong analytical, organizational, and problem-solving skills with attention to detail.

• Ability to manage multiple priorities and deadlines in a complex, regulated, and matrixed environment.

• Ability to work independently within established procedures and collaborate effectively with internal and external stakeholders.

• Background and drug screen

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in financial services, financial technology, payments, or another highly regulated industry.

• Experience working within a second-line risk management, consulting, advisory, compliance, or internal audit function.

• Experience using governance, risk, and compliance technology to manage assessments, controls, testing, issues, findings, or remediation activities.

• Experience in one or more of the identified focus areas: Artificial Intelligence Risk Management, or Data Risk Management

• Familiarity with relevant frameworks or standards, such as the NIST AI Risk Management Framework, ISO/IEC 42001, DAMA, NIST information security guidance, ISO 27002, or comparable risk and control frameworks.

• Familiarity with applicable financial services, consumer reporting, data privacy, information security, or regulatory requirements.

• Experience developing risk metrics, dashboards, management reporting, procedures, testing programs, or process improvements.

• Risk management, audit, technology, information security, data, or AI governance-related certification.

Physical Requirements

Working conditions consist of a normal office environment. Work is primarily sedentary and requires extensive use of a computer and involves sitting for periods of approximately four hours. Work may require occasional standing, walking, kneeling, and reaching. Must be able to lift 10 pounds occasionally and/or negligible amount of force frequently. Requires visual acuity and dexterity to view, prepare, and manipulate documents and office equipment including personal computers. Requires the ability to communicate with internal and/or external customers.

Employees must be able to perform essential functions and physical requirements of position with or without reasonable accommodation.