Jobs · Massachusetts

Director, Quality Assurance

Sallie Mae · Newton, MA · 1 mo ago
HybridFull-time

About the role

The Director of Vendor Quality Assurance plays a crucial role in ensuring third-party vendor relationships align with regulatory requirements, internal policies, and organizational standards. This position oversees governance, risk management, and performance oversight, ensuring vendors deliver consistent, high-quality outcomes that support broader business objectives.

Responsibilities

  • Develop and execute the vendor quality assurance strategy for the organization.

  • Establish and maintain vendor quality standards, policies, and procedures that meet or exceed industry standards and customer expectations.

  • Ensure vendor adherence to collections-specific regulatory requirements, including appropriate handling of borrower communications and third-party disclosures.

  • Establish controls to monitor customer interactions, settlement practices, and recovery activities to prevent regulatory violations.

  • Oversee quality review frameworks for call monitoring, correspondence, and account handling activities aligned to risk criteria.

  • Build and lead a team of quality assurance professionals.

  • Develop and implement quality metrics and reporting to measure the effectiveness of quality assurance initiatives.

  • Deliver executive-level reporting on vendor quality/compliance performance, and risk exposure.

  • Work closely with cross-functional teams to ensure quality practices are implemented across the organization.

  • Drive continuous improvement in quality processes and systems.

  • Identify and address quality issues and risks proactively.

  • Conduct quality audits on-site at vendor locations to assess performance, compliance, and control effectiveness.

  • Lead end-to-end vendor lifecycle governance, including due diligence, onboarding, ongoing monitoring, and termination strategies from a quality/compliance perspective.

  • Partner with the business, Vendor Management Office (VMO), Legal, and Compliance on risk tiering and vendor segmentation.

  • Oversee third-party due diligence and ongoing monitoring programs to mitigate operational, compliance, reputational, and strategic risk.

Requirements

  • Minimum: Indicate minimum education, skills and experience required.

  • Experience in the development and implementation of quality systems and processes.

  • Deep knowledge of third-party risk frameworks and vendor governance models.

  • Experience overseeing collections, recovery, or debt settlement vendors.

  • Experience with risk-based quality assurance frameworks and monitoring methodologies.

  • Demonstrated experience managing regulatory exams, audits, or compliance reviews.

  • Strong knowledge of regulatory requirements and standards.

  • Excellent communication, interpersonal, and leadership skills.

  • Strong problem-solving and analytical skills.

  • Demonstrated ability to drive continuous improvement in quality processes and systems.

Qualifications

  • Preferred: Indicate “nice to haves” regarding education, skills, and experience.

  • Bachelor's degree in a relevant field (e.g., Quality Management, Vendor Oversight).

  • 10+ years of experience in quality assurance, vendor management, and/or compliance/risk, with a minimum of 5 years in a leadership role.

  • Experience building or scaling a first line of defense or oversight function.

  • Advanced degree or relevant certification (e.g., compliance, risk, quality, vendor management).

Benefits

Our benefits package includes competitive base salaries, bonus incentives, generous paid time off, and a variety of comprehensive health and wellness offerings. We also offer tuition reimbursement, family scholarship programs, and career development opportunities. Flexible hybrid working arrangements, paid parental leave, and pet insurance are just a few of the perks we offer to help you feel your best so you can do your best.

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