Network Governance Director - Remote

Optum is a global organization that delivers care, aided by technology to help millions of people live healthier lives. The work you do with our team will directly improve health outcomes by connecting people with the care, pharmacy benefits, data and resources they need to feel their best. Here, you will find a culture guided by inclusion, talented peers, comprehensive benefits and career development opportunities.

About the role

This role is responsible for establishing, owning, and scaling the governance framework that enables the S3 Network to operate safely and sustainably as it grows to 100,000+ merchants, including a large population of independent and long-tail merchants. The position serves as the primary First Line of Defense (1LOD) owner for network-wide controls, standards, and processes across merchant onboarding, third-party enablement, funds settlement, fraud prevention, and compliance adherence. You will operate at the intersection of Merchant Operations, Compliance, Legal, Fraud, Product, Data, and third-party partners to translate regulatory requirements into scalable, executable operating models. AI and automation are core enablers: you will identify, prioritize, and institutionalize AI-assisted monitoring and workflow automation to reduce manual effort, improve consistency, and strengthen auditability at scale while ensuring appropriate human oversight and governance.

You'll enjoy the flexibility to work remotely from anywhere within the U.S.

Responsibilities

• Own the network governance framework, including policies, standards, documentation, and operating procedures.
• Serve as 1LOD owner for network compliance controls across AML/KYC/sanctions, fraud prevention, merchant onboarding & oversight, and funds settlement.
• Ensure governance models scale effectively with increased merchant volume and long-tail onboarding.
• Serve as the Network's AI Agent Champion, accountable for identifying, prioritizing, and sponsoring AI agent use cases across Network Operations and Governance.
• Define how AI agents are used to automate manual, governance-heavy workflows (e.g., monitoring, exception routing, evidence collection, SLA tracking).
• Ensure AI agents are deployed with clear purpose, ownership, success metrics, and documented workflows.
• Promote adoption of AI agents across the team through enablement, change management, and best practice sharing.
• Define and implement AI-assisted monitoring for network risk signals (e.g., anomalies in onboarding, screening exceptions, suspicious activity patterns, unsettled funds trends), with clear thresholds and human-in-the-loop escalation.
• Sponsor and prioritize automation for governance-heavy workflows (e.g., evidence collection, exception routing, SLA tracking, remediation follow-ups), reducing manual effort per merchant as scale increases.
• Partner with Product/Data/Engineering to ensure AI outputs are explainable, auditable, and operationally usable, and that automation includes fallback procedures and documented controls.
• Partner closely with Compliance (2LOD) to address audit findings, risk inventories, and remediation actions.
• Implement required compliance policies, standards, and processes.
• Coordinate network responses to compliance issues, including defined owners, timelines, and attestations.
• Proactively identify emerging risks tied to growth, automation, or third-party enablement models.
• Operationalize compliance and regulatory requirements into measurable controls.
• Provide regular metrics and reporting to Compliance (2LOD) demonstrating adherence to established compliance requirements, control effectiveness, and third-party oversight standards.
• Define and enforce governance standards for merchant onboarding, activation, monitoring, and offboarding.
• Establish clear expectations, control requirements, and 1LOD-owned monitoring responsibilities for third-party partners supporting network growth, including defined oversight of partner performance against Optum Financial Services (OFS) standards.
• Support development and adoption of standardized screening, alert clearing, and monitoring tools.
• Oversee governance for unsettled funds processes, including escalation paths, SLAs, and remediation workflows.
• Partner with Finance and Operations to reduce backlog, prevent recurrence, and improve control effectiveness.
• Ensure alignment with regulatory expectations related to money movement and settlement risk.
• Drive execution across Merchant, Operations, Fraud, Product, Technology, Legal, and Risk without direct authority.
• Clarify ownership, dependencies, and decision rights using disciplined governance and RACI frameworks.
• Act as a central point of coordination for network-wide initiatives impacting risk and compliance.
• Build and maintain governance artifacts, SOPs, control documentation, and audit-ready materials.
• Produce clear, executive-ready updates on risk posture, remediation progress, and governance health.

Requirements

• 12+ years of experience in network operations, governance, risk management, compliance, or regulated environments.
• 10+ years of experience reviewing, investigating, and clearing compliance screening alerts (e.g., Know Your Customer, Sanctions), including documenting dispositions and escalating in accordance with applicable standards frameworks.
• 7+ years of demonstrated experience identifying and operationalizing automation or AI-driven workflows.
• 10 - 20% travel for stakeholder meetings and governance reviews.

Preferred Qualifications

• CAMS, CFE, or similar certifications.
• Experience in healthcare, payments, fintech, retail networks, or other regulated ecosystems.
• Experience with KYC, sanctions screening, fraud controls, and third-party risk management.
• Experience scaling operations across large, distributed, or long-tail merchant populations.
• Prior exposure to audit management or regulatory examinations.
• Solid analytical and systems thinking skills.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including executive-level reporting.

Benefits

In addition to your salary, we offer benefits such as a comprehensive benefits package, incentive and recognition programs, equity stock purchase, and 401k contribution (all benefits are subject to eligibility requirements).

Pay

The salary for this role will range from $134,600 to $230,800 annually based on full-time employment. Pay is based on several factors including but not limited to local labor markets, education, work experience, and certifications.