Head of Compliance Risk Assessment

Job Level: Executive Director

Job Function: Governance & Assurance

Location:

Jersey City, NJ, US, 07311 New York, NY, US, 10172

Employment Type: Full Time

Requisition ID: 7025

SMBC Group is a top-tier global financial group. Headquartered in Tokyo and with a 400-year history, SMBC Group offers a diverse range of financial services, including banking, leasing, securities, credit cards, and consumer finance. The Group has more than 130 offices and 80,000 employees worldwide in nearly 40 countries. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Inc. (SMFG) is the holding company of SMBC Group, which is one of the three largest banking groups in Japan. SMFG’s shares trade on the Tokyo, Nagoya, and New York (NYSE: SMFG) stock exchanges.

In the Americas, SMBC Group has a presence in the US, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, and Peru. Backed by the capital strength of SMBC Group and the value of its relationships in Asia, the Group offers a range of commercial and investment banking services to its corporate, institutional, and municipal clients. It connects a diverse client base to local markets and the organization’s extensive global network. The Group’s operating companies in the Americas include Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. (SMBC), SMBC Nikko Securities America, Inc., SMBC Capital Markets, Inc., SMBC MANUBANK, JRI America, Inc., SMBC Leasing and Finance, Inc., Banco Sumitomo Mitsui Brasileiro S.A., and Sumitomo Mitsui Finance and Leasing Co., Ltd.

The anticipated salary range for this role is between $248,000.00 and $285,000.00. The specific salary offered to an applicant will be based on their individual qualifications, experiences, and an analysis of the current compensation paid in their geography and the market for similar roles at the time of hire. The role may also be eligible for an annual discretionary incentive award. In addition to cash compensation, SMBC offers a competitive portfolio of benefits to its employees.

Role Description

Reporting the Vertical Head covering Regulatory Change Management, Risk Assessment, Monitoring and Testing and Quality Assurance, the Executive Director will lead the firm-wide Compliance Risk Assessment (CRA) program, ensuring robust design, execution, and continuous enhancement of the CRA framework and methodology. This role is responsible for managing the end-to-end delivery of the CRA process, including stakeholder engagement, data analysis, reporting, and integration with broader compliance and risk management strategies. The individual will support development of Annual Compliance Plan leveraging the risk assessment results and work with stakeholders within Compliance and First Line of Defense Teams to uplift control design and frameworks, develop and enhance risk metrics to inform risk assessments.

The successful candidate will serve as a strategic advisor to senior leadership, ensuring the CRA program aligns with regulatory expectations and internal risk appetite.

Role Objectives

Design, implement, and continuously enhance the CRA framework and methodology.
Lead the execution of the annual and ad-hoc compliance risk assessments across business units and legal entities.
Collaborate with Compliance, Risk, Audit, and Business stakeholders to ensure alignment and integration of risk assessment outcomes.
Develop and deliver executive-level reporting and insights to inform risk-based decision-making.
Monitor regulatory developments and industry trends to ensure the CRA program remains current and effective.
Manage a team of risk professionals, fostering a culture of excellence, accountability, and continuous improvement.
Drive automation and data analytics initiatives to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of the CRA process.

Qualifications and Skills

Critical Job Knowledge and Core Competencies/Skills

Deep understanding of compliance risk management principles, frameworks, and regulatory expectations (either U.S. banking regulations (FRB, FDIC, CFPB) or securities/swap dealer regulations (SEC, CFTC, FINRA, NFA).
Proven experience in designing and executing enterprise-wide risk assessments with focus on designing Compliance Risk Assessment framework and methodology along with delivering annual compliance risk assessments for the firm.
Strong knowledge of financial services industry, including products, services, and associated compliance risks.
Familiarity with governance structures, control environments, and risk mitigation strategies.
Experience with risk assessment tools, data analytics platforms, and reporting technologies.
Experience working in a Compliance Advisory role covering either banking products/services or trading/capital markets businesses, ability to act as a subject matter expert on Bank, Broker- Dealer regulations are a strong plus.
Strong interpersonal and communications skills (written and verbal) to successfully interface with all levels of management and maintain solid working relationships in a collaborative group environment.
Experience managing projects, creating project plans, tracking statuses, and reporting issues to management.
Ability to analyze results and identify trends / forecasting using resultant data and other available metrics (e.g., KPI, KRIs, etc.) while promoting measures to mitigate regulatory compliance risk.

Requirements

15 + years of specialized experience in Financial Services
Minimum 8-10 years of compliance experience (e.g., Risk Assessment, Developing Compliance Framework, Compliance Advisory, Bank regulator).
10+ years of management experience preferred.

Education:

BA / BS in a relevant discipline (e.g., Accounting, Finance, Banking, Statistics, Mathematics, or other related field), or equivalent experience.
Preferred: MA / MS / MBA

Licenses / Certifications / Registrations:

Certified Regulatory Compliance Manager-CRCM)
CPA-Certified Public Accountant

Software Systems / Programming Languages

Experience with Microsoft Office Suite, SharePoint
Experience on implementing GRC systems, awareness of toolset like Alteryx and AI applications

#LI-RCH

SMBC’s employees participate in a Hybrid workforce model that provides employees with an opportunity to work from home, as well as, from an SMBC office. SMBC requires that employees live within a reasonable commuting distance of their office location. Prospective candidates will learn more about their specific hybrid work schedule during their interview process. Hybrid work may not be permitted for certain roles, including, for example, certain FINRA-registered roles for which in-office attendance for the entire workweek is required.

SMBC provides reasonable accommodations during candidacy for applicants with disabilities consistent with applicable federal, state, and local law. If you need a reasonable accommodation during the application process, please let us know at accommodations@smbcgroup.com.