Job description
We are a hybrid, remote-office company dedicated to growing our talent anywhere!
We have onsite locations in: Sioux Falls, SD, Scottsdale, AZ, Louisville, KY, Troy, MI, Franklin, TN, Easton, PA.
At Pathward, we take tremendous pride in our purpose to create financial inclusion for all™. We are a financial empowerment company that works with innovators to increase financial availability, choice, and opportunity for all. We strive to remove barriers that traditional institutions put in the way of financial access, and promote economic mobility by providing responsible, secure, high quality financial products.
We are a team of problem solvers and innovators who celebrate our differences and know that our unique perspectives make us stronger and well-positioned for success. We celebrate, and embrace, our team members through our *HUMBLE*HUNGRY*SMART approach, and we believe that we are strongest when we embrace the voices of our employees, customers, partners, and the communities we serve.
About the Role:
The Director of Business Controls & Quality – Consumer Lending is a senior leader within the first line of defense, responsible for driving a strong risk and control environment while overseeing quality assurance (QA) programs across the consumer lending lifecycle. This role leads a team focused on internal control design, audit/exam readiness, compliance alignment, automated testing, and quality assurance practices. The Director collaborates closely with business, compliance, legal, and technology partners to ensure operations meet regulatory expectations and internal standards while fostering a culture of continuous improvement and control ownership.
What You Will Do:
- Lead a combined Business Controls and Quality Assurance team that manages risk assessments, issue remediation, control testing, and QA routines across Consumer Lending Partners.
- Develop and execute a comprehensive quality assurance strategy, aligned to key regulatory, operational, and customer experience goals; ensure consistent quality review processes and accurate root cause analysis.
- Oversee internal and external exam readiness, acting as the primary point of contact for auditors and regulators and ensuring timely, accurate, and complete responses to inquiries and findings.
- Design and evaluate business controls in collaboration with operations and compliance teams; ensure that all controls are aligned with risk appetite and business objectives.
- Drive continuous improvement in QA and control practices, identifying patterns in errors, customer impacts, or emerging risks and translating those into actionable enhancements.
- Lead the implementation of automated control and transactional testing routines, using data and analytics platforms to support proactive monitoring and reduce manual testing.
- Ensure all controls and quality metrics are aligned with regulatory expectations, including those governed by TILA, RESPA, ECOA, FCRA, UDAAP, and other consumer protection regulations.
- Support change risk management activities, partnering with compliance and technology teams to assess and implement controls for new products, services, system changes, or policy updates.
- Oversee the execution of Risk and Control Self-Assessments (RCSA), including documentation of control procedures, risk ratings, test plans, and effectiveness assessments using systems like Archer GRC.
- Report control and quality performance to senior leadership, including audit readiness, testing results, issue tracking, and trends from QA reviews.
- Lead investigations of significant process failures, control breakdowns, or QA findings, providing senior leadership with root cause analysis and remediation recommendations.
- Build and develop a high-performing team, focused on business control, QA, and continuous improvement, while promoting a risk-aware and quality-focused culture.
- Other duties as assigned.
What You Will Need:
- 10+ years of experience in consumer lending, risk management, quality assurance, or audit.
- Strong understanding of consumer lending regulations and operational processes.
- Proven success leading business control or QA teams in a complex financial services environment.
- Hands-on experience with QA programs, automated testing, and data analysis tools.
- Deep knowledge of regulatory frameworks (CFPB, OCC, FDIC) and consumer protection laws.
- Effective communicator with experience presenting to senior leadership and regulatory stakeholders
- Bachelor’s degree or equivalent education and work experience.
- Typically 8+ years with bachelor’s or equivalent.
- Data Analysis
- Strategic/Critical Thinking
- Leadership
- Communication Skills
- Presentation Skills
- Influencing Skills
The responsibilities listed above are not all inclusive and may be changed at any time.
Salary range: $103,511.83 – $191,170.01
The salary range reflects the minimum and maximum target for a new hire in this role. Individual pay within the range will be determined by multiple factors which can include but are not limited to a candidate’s experience, qualifications, skills, and location. Your recruiter can share more about the specific salary for your location during the hiring process. Ranges may be modified in the future.
This role is also eligible for an annual performance-based incentive opportunity. Pathward offers a comprehensive benefits package for eligible employees, including health insurance, 401(k) retirement benefits, life insurance, disability benefits, paid time off, and more.
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Don’t have everything listed under qualifications? If you’re excited about this role but your experiences don’t match exactly to everything in the posting, we encourage you to apply anyway. You may be just the right candidate for this or other Pathward roles. Pathward is an equal employment opportunity employer and considers candidates for roles without regard to their race, sex, national origin, ethnicity, age, disability or any other category protected by law.
Who we are:
Our commitment to inclusion is woven into our DNA. We believe that we are strongest when we embrace the voices of our employees, customers, partners, and the communities we serve.
We provide equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, ethnicity, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, transgender status, pregnancy, national origin, age (age 40 and over), disability, genetic information, marital status, hair texture or hairstyle, ancestry, service in the uniformed services, protected veteran status, status as a victim of domestic violence or any other class protected by federal, state and local laws.
Please click here to learn more about our benefits and review information about our Privacy Policy, Affirmative Action Plan and other notices. Applicants with disabilities may be entitled to reasonable accommodation under the terms of the Americans with Disabilities Act and certain state or local laws. For assistance completing an application, please contact a Pathward People & Culture Representative by emailing – [email protected]
Please click here to view Pathward’s Applicant Privacy Notice.
Applications will be accepted for a minimum of 3 days after posting, and there is no predetermined date by which applications should be submitted.
Knowingly submitting false information will result in disqualification for consideration of future positions, termination of employment and forfeiture of other rights.
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