Business Risk Program Director (BSA Advisor)

About the role

This position serves as a first line Business Risk Group (BRG) advisor embedded within the business. The role provides risk-focused guidance on products, partnerships, and strategic initiatives, helping the business make informed decisions while balancing risk and opportunity. The individual collaborates extensively with second line stakeholders, including Compliance, BSA/AML, Risk, and Legal, to align business activities with regulatory expectations and sound risk management practices.

Responsibilities

• Conduct in-depth research and analysis of complex regulatory, compliance, and financial crime topics, including BSA/AML, Customer Identification Program (CIP), Know Your Customer (KYC), beneficial ownership, sanctions compliance, and related regulatory frameworks.
• Partners directly with internal stakeholders and external partners to assess new products, programs, and business models, delivering risk and regulatory guidance that supports innovation while ensuring compliance with applicable laws, regulations, and risk management expectations.
• Produce high-quality regulatory and risk memoranda that clearly articulate issues, analyze alternatives, assess risk, and provide supportable recommendations backed by legal authorities, regulatory guidance, enforcement actions, and industry practices.
• Interpret laws, regulations, examination guidance, and regulatory expectations and translate them into actionable business and risk requirements.
• Advise leadership, legal, compliance, and business partners on complex risk and regulatory matters, providing practical solutions that balance innovation, customer experience, and risk management.
• Collaborates directly with business partners, fintechs, and third-party organizations to evaluate products, services, and business models, providing risk-focused guidance and regulatory expertise to identify obligations, assess compliance, fraud, financial crime, operational, and reputational risks, and develop practical, compliant solutions.
• Monitor regulatory developments, enforcement trends, and industry practices to identify emerging risks and opportunities for program enhancement.
• Challenge assumptions, investigate root causes, and apply critical thinking to resolve ambiguous or novel issues using a reasoned, risk-based approach.
• Leverage data, research, and analytical methodologies to support decision-making and strengthen risk governance.
• Present findings, recommendations, and regulatory positions to senior leadership, auditors, regulators, and other stakeholders.
• Foster a culture of intellectual curiosity, continuous learning, and thoughtful risk management.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent education and work experience. Master's degree preferred.
• Demonstrated ability to conduct independent research on complex and ambiguous regulatory topics.
• Strong writing skills with experience drafting executive-level memoranda, regulatory analyses, legal-risk assessments, and position papers.
• Ability to synthesize complex legal, regulatory, operational, and business considerations into concise and actionable recommendations.
• Intellectual curiosity with a proven ability to identify creative solutions while maintaining regulatory compliance and sound risk management principles.
• Strong judgment and the ability to develop defensible positions under conditions of uncertainty.
• Experience working with regulators, auditors, legal counsel, and senior executives.

Benefits

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.