VP of First Line Operational Risk

VP of First Line Operational Risk – Merrick Bank

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At Card Works, we aim to help people connect with possibility and opportunity using our financial servicing expertise. Building meaningful, long‑term relationships with consumers, our employees, and our clients is what matters most.

Card Works, Inc. is a diversified consumer finance service provider and parent company of Card Works Servicing, LLC, Merrick Bank and Carson Smithfield, LLC. Card Works Servicing, LLC provides end‑to‑end operational servicing functions for credit cards, secured cards, and installment loans. We service consumer and small business loans across the credit spectrum and offer backup servicing and due diligence services to capital providers and trustees.

Merrick Bank is an FDIC‑insured Utah Industrial Loan Bank. Merrick operates three main business lines: credit cards, recreational lending, and merchant services. Carson Smithfield, LLC provides a variety of post‑charge‑off debt recovery services, including digital self‑service, IVR, live agent, and external agency management.

The Vice President of First Line of Defense (FLOD) Oversight provides enterprise leadership for the design, implementation, and management of operational risk and control frameworks across all business lines. The role ensures the integrity of risk governance, issues management, control testing, and regulatory compliance within the first line of defense. This leader drives proactive risk identification, transparent reporting, and alignment with enterprise risk appetite, while fostering collaboration with Compliance, Audit, Technology, and Operations leaders.

• Leads the enterprise FLOD program across Non‑Card, Deposits, Merchant, and Lending operations.
• Drives consistency in RCSA development, KRI/KPI monitoring, issue management, and control documentation.
• Ensures operational governance, control evidence, and risk analytics meet regulatory and audit standards.
• Partners with the Second and Third Lines of Defense to sustain effective risk management and remediation outcomes.
• Leads readiness and validation activities supporting FDICIA/SOX, operational resilience, and process optimization.

• Risk Governance & Framework (RCSA, issue management, control validation, loss event tracking)
• Analytics & Reporting (Power BI dashboards, KRI/KPI heat maps, trend analysis, executive summaries)
• Systems & Tools (Archer, Service Now, SharePoint, Power Automate, Snowflake data lineage)
• Change Management Integration (risk assessment, testing evidence, control readiness in major initiatives)
• Audit & Exam Readiness (documentation oversight, sampling coordination, end‑to‑end control reviews)
• Business Continuity & Third‑Party Oversight (partnership with BC/DR and Vendor Management for integrated risk visibility)

• Defines and sustains the enterprise FLOD operating model, policies, and performance routines.
• Establishes standardized governance calendars, templates, and reporting quality standards.
• Chairs or co‑chairs risk and control committee forums, driving accountability for remediation and improvement.

• Leads the design of operational dashboards and Power BI datasets for risk transparency.
• Owns the enterprise KRI/KPI framework and ensures consistent metric reporting across business units.
• Maintains SharePoint governance structure for evidence, SOPs, and control documentation.

• Embeds risk assessments and control validations into product, technology, and operational changes.
• Leads readiness and post‑implementation reviews to ensure sustainable control performance.
• Coordinates with project management, compliance, and audit teams to close risk and issue gaps.

• Mentors and develops AVP‑level and Manager‑level leaders across the FLOD team.
• Builds collaborative relationships with Operations, IT, Compliance, and Risk partners.
• Presents executive‑level briefings to senior leadership and contributes to enterprise governance forums.