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Citizens, Inc. is an insurance holding company serving the life insurance needs of individuals in the United States since 1969 and internationally since 1975. Citizens is a publicly traded company that has been listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: CIA) since 2002. Through our insurance subsidiaries, we pursue a strategy of offering traditional insurance products in niche markets where we believe we are able to achieve competitive advantages.

THE OPPORTUNITY

Title: Vice President, Compliance

Job Type: Full-time, Exempt

Reports to: Chief Legal Officer 

Location: Austin, TX (Corporate Headquarters located in the Domain), or remote with monthly travel to Austin, TX office required

This is a highly visible leadership opportunity with a publicly traded global life insurance company. Reporting directly to the Chief Legal Officer, the Vice President, Compliance will play a critical role in shaping the Company's compliance strategy, strengthening regulatory relationships, and fostering a culture of integrity while partnering closely with executive leadership and the Board of Directors. The Vice President, Compliance is responsible for the strategic design, implementation, oversight, and continuous enhancement of a risk-based enterprise compliance program. The role provides strategic leadership to ensure the Company conducts its business in accordance with applicable federal and state insurance laws and regulations, regulatory expectations, industry standards, and the Company's Code of Conduct and governance framework. The Vice President, Compliance serves as a trusted advisor to executive leadership and the Board, providing independent oversight and objective guidance regarding compliance risks and regulatory matters.

The ideal candidate will bring deep insurance regulatory knowledge with strong business judgment, executive presence, and the ability to foster a culture of ethics, accountability, and compliance throughout the organization.

WHAT YOU WILL GET TO DO

You will provide independent oversight of the Company's compliance risk profile across all aspects of its operations, including insurance products, distribution, underwriting, claims, policy administration, operations, and third-party relationships.

Key Responsibilities include:

• Enterprise Compliance Leadership. Provide strategic leadership and oversight of the Company's enterprise compliance program, ensuring alignment with business objectives, regulatory requirements, and the Company's values and ethical standards.
• Compliance Risk Management. Establish and maintain a risk-based compliance framework to identify, assess, monitor, and mitigate compliance risks across all business operations.
• Regulatory Oversight. Monitor and interpret regulatory developments, advise executive leadership on emerging compliance obligations and risks, and oversee implementation of regulatory changes.
• Regulatory Examinations and Market Conduct. Maintain productive relationships with state insurance regulators and oversee regulatory and market conduct examinations, inquiries, reporting, and remediation activities.
• Compliance Governance and Reporting. Provide independent reporting and insights to executive leadership and the Board regarding compliance risks, program effectiveness, significant issues, and regulatory developments.
• Strategic Business Partnership. Partner with business leaders to support strategic initiatives while ensuring compliance considerations are integrated into decision-making, product development, operations, and distribution activities.
• Culture, Training and Awareness. Promote a strong culture of integrity, accountability, and ethical conduct through effective policies, training, communication, and leadership engagement.
• Public Company Governance and Controls. Partner with the Chief Legal Officer, Chief Risk Officer, Chief Financial Officer, and executive leadership team to support the Company's governance, risk management, and control framework, including enterprise risk management, disclosure controls, regulatory reporting, and Board governance activities.
• Compliance Team Leadership. Lead, develop, and mentor a high-performing compliance department, fostering operational excellence, collaboration, and continuous improvement.

SUCCESS PROFILE

This role is ideally suited for a compliance leader who thrives at both the strategic and operational levels and is excited by the opportunity to influence business decisions in a growing, publicly traded global insurance organization.

Within the first 12-18 months, the VP, Compliance will:

• Assess and enhance the effectiveness and maturity of the Company's enterprise compliance program.
• Strengthen compliance risk assessment, monitoring, testing and reporting capabilities.
• Further integrate compliance considerations into strategic and operational decision-making.
• Establish trusted relationships with regulators, executive leadership, and the Board.
• Continue to foster a culture of integrity, accountability, and ethical conduct throughout the organization.

WHAT YOU NEED TO APPLY

• Bachelor's degree required; Juris Doctor (JD) or other advanced degree preferred. 
• Minimum of 12 years of progressive experience in insurance compliance, legal, risk or regulatory affairs roles.
• Minimum of 7 years of leadership experience managing enterprise compliance functions within a life insurance, annuity or financial services organization. 
• Experience presenting to executive leadership teams, board committees, and regulators preferred.
• Deep knowledge of: state insurance laws, market conduct requirements, AML / BSA, consumer protection requirements, insurance distribution compliance, corporate governance principles, privacy and data protection requirements, enterprise compliance frameworks
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills; Exceptional analytical and problem-solving abilities, with a focus on business-oriented solutions.
• Ability to lead cross-functional teams to complete entity-level projects.
• Self-motivated, organized team player with ability to work in a fast-paced environment where you will be both a leader and an individual contributor.
• Global business acumen; bi-lingual in Spanish, Portuguese or Mandarin a plus. 
• Strong ethical standards and integrity, with a commitment to upholding the company's values.

BENEFITS (the fun stuff)

As an employee of Citizens, we promise you the opportunity to make a meaningful difference in the lives of our customers, communities, and one another. We believe in camaraderie, rewarding work, community involvement and a focus on your well-being. 

We take a complete approach to our employees’ wellbeing. Our benefits package includes medical, dental, vision, short-term and long-term disability, AD&D, group term life insurance, and a matching 401k. Our benefits plan allows for Virtual Visits and the ability to use the Employee Assistance Program. Our benefits package includes generous Paid Time Off (PTO) and holidays every year.
 

At Citizens, our employees and customers are at the heart of everything we do. Our success as a company begins with our team of employees and departments to service our customers. That’s why we strive to create an environment where employees are equipped and challenged to reach their full potential.

Citizens is an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, or veteran status. We are committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace where every individual is valued, and all qualified applicants are encouraged to apply.