Sr. Director, Enterprise Payments Risk and Oversight (Hybrid)

Capital One’s Enterprise Payments Governance and Oversight team is seeking a dynamic Senior Director to drive the strategy and execution of the enterprise-wide payments quality assurance program, payments authority, and payments training functions. The team oversees governance and end-to-end core payments functions for all payment types across the enterprise, including monitoring.

About the role

In this role, you will lead operational excellence and payment risk strategies using modern technology. You will modernize and improve quality assurance, payment authority frameworks, and learning programs with automation, artificial intelligence (AI), and cutting-edge tools to eliminate manual friction, mitigate risk, and scale governance. You will develop innovative solutions to resolve complex payment challenges while elevating business-as-usual practices. This position offers high exposure across lines of business and direct engagement with Senior Executives to shape payments governance strategy and execute critical enterprise priorities.

Responsibilities

• Serve as a key thought partner to define the strategic direction for Payments QA, Payments Authority, and Training—integrating AI, smart automation, and advanced analytics to modernize the programs.
• Lead and develop an automated, data-driven QA framework to monitor end-to-end payment lifecycles, detect anomalies, reduce defect rates, and ensure enterprise-wide compliance.
• Oversee the enterprise Payments Authority framework, ensuring clear delegation of authority, automated control gates, and robust oversight across all payment rails and verticals.
• Lead a modern payments curriculum—leveraging AI-powered learning platforms and interactive tech tools—to build deep payments domain expertise across lines of business, risk offices, and operational teams.
• Identify opportunities to deploy automation (e.g., RPA, natural language processing, predictive risk analytics) to streamline manual governance checks, operationalize controls, and improve monitoring efficiency.
• Partner with Accountable Executives, Product, Tech, and Business Risk Offices to assess strategy, operations, and risks across all payment types (ACH, Wire, Cards, Real-Time Payments, etc.) throughout the payment lifecycle.
• Lead, mentor, and inspire a high-performing team, fostering an inclusive, empowering environment focused on innovation, continuous learning, and operational excellence.

Qualifications

The ideal candidate is a proactive problem-solver with strong relationship management, influencing, and communication skills, including storytelling. They will be adept at navigating complex challenges, driving process improvements, and fostering collaboration across teams.

• Strong foundational knowledge of risk management and/or payment types, rails, and operations (or a proven track record of rapidly mastering complex domain spaces).
• Proven ability to translate high-level enterprise goals into actionable, scalable operational strategies and automated models.
• Demonstrated experience or strong passion for process improvement leveraging AI, automation tools, and data analytics to optimize business processes, control environments, and learning programs.
• Passion for people leadership; committed to coaching, growing talent, and building inclusive, high-performing teams.
• Excellent communication and storytelling skills to align diverse stakeholders.
• Ability to effectively collaborate with key stakeholders at all levels across the company to manage, inform, and influence outcomes.
• Adaptable and flexible to change.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s Degree or Military Experience.
• At least 7 years of experience in risk management, payments, project management, process management, operations, or a combination.
• At least 5 years of People Management experience.
• At least 2 years of experience working with executive-level stakeholders.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master’s Degree.
• At least 10 years of experience serving in a strategic initiatives, risk management, payments, operations, or project management lead role in a large, matrixed organization.
• At least 5 years of Financial Industry experience.

Pay

• McLean, VA: $238,700 - $272,400 for Sr. Director, Risk Management.
• Richmond, VA: $217,000 - $247,700 for Sr. Director, Risk Management.

This role is also eligible to earn performance-based incentive compensation, which may include cash bonus(es) and/or long-term incentives (LTI). Incentives could be discretionary or non-discretionary depending on the plan.

Benefits

Capital One offers a comprehensive, competitive, and inclusive set of health, financial, and other benefits that support your total well-being. Eligibility varies based on full or part-time status, exempt or non-exempt status, and management level.

Schedule

Hybrid role based in West Creek (Richmond, VA) or Center 2 (McLean, VA). You will be expected to spend 3 days per week working in the office and the remainder of the week working virtually.