Senior Manager - IT Audit, Data Governance

About the Internal Audit Group at American Express  

Our Internal Audit Group is a worldwide function with 400+ team members and offices across nine countries within American Express. Our mission is to protect and enhance organizational value by providing independent, objective, risk-based assurance, advisory services and to influence the way the company manages risk. 

We are committed to growing our audit staff significantly as we continue to expand and enhance the Internal Audit Group. Our assurance and risk professionals have diverse backgrounds including internal controls, consumer compliance, technology, operational risk, financial accounting, data analytics, and banking operations. Our audit teams align to key risk areas and business units to ensure IAG can provide comprehensive and risk-based audit coverage. In addition, IAG has a Professional Practices group responsible for managing audit operations, quality, and standards; regulatory relations; reporting; training and professional development; and key internal capabilities and technologies. 

About the Role 

This senior manager role supports the Internal Audit Group’s assurance coverage for Data Management. The colleague will lead audit engagements, leading planning and execution activities, evaluating control design and effectiveness, and providing actionable insights that strengthen data governance, data quality, data architecture, metadata management, data lifecycle management, data risk management, reporting, regulatory compliance, and the use of critical business data across complex technology and business environments.

Minimum Qualifications

• 6+ years of audit experience 
• Prior experience working at a Big Four / G-SIB
• Understanding of data management frameworks and principles, including data governance, data lineage, metadata management, master and reference data, data lifecycle management, end user developed applications, and data risk management.
• Understanding of data risks and associated controls across data quality, data governance and stewardship, fit for purpose, data sharing, data architecture, data movement, data retention and deletion, regulatory reporting, and the use of critical business data across complex technology and business environments.
• Demonstrates strong written and verbal communication skills to deliver deliverables with quality, and actionable value-add feedback to management on issues, opportunity areas, and deficiency solutions 
• Effectively leads a team in a fast-paced environment to drive business results, utilizing related project management skills, employing creative thinking, and the ability to work on competing priorities 
• Applies critical thinking to break-down complex problems into components, and solve using data analysis, process, risk control knowledge, and experience to drive risk-based conclusions and decisions
• Applies control theory and professional auditing practices throughout the audit lifecycle
• Understands regulations, regulatory risks, accounting, and financial industry best practices relevant to the business, including emerging technology and data considerations, and incorporates into the audit approach to enhance outcomes
  

Preferred Qualifications 

• Professional certification: CISA, CPA, CIA, CISM, CISSP or other technology-focused certification.
• Experience in Internal Audit, Data Management, Data Governance, Data Risk Management, Technology Risk, Information Management, Enterprise Data Management, or a related control function within the financial services industry.
• Knowledge of data-related regulatory requirements, industry standards / guidance, with the ability to assess the design and effectiveness of data governance, risk management practices and associated controls.
• Experience or understanding of data quality management, risk data aggregation and reporting, data sharing, and data lifecycle management. 
• Experience assessing governance processes, management reporting, issue identification and remediation, and technology platforms and tools supporting enterprise data management and data risk programs.
• Experience with data related key risk indicators (KRIs), key performance indicators (KPIs), information systems / technology, and scorecards / dashboards, etc.
• Ability to assess data management practices, identify control gaps and emerging data risks, and evaluate alignment with enterprise policies, standards, and regulatory expectations.
  
  Employment eligibility to work with American Express in the United States is required as the company will not pursue visa sponsorship for these positions.
   

• Act as an Auditor in Charge (AIC) on more complex audits and/or lead multiple simultaneous low-risk audits, executing and managing the audit engagement end-to-end, planning audit projects, defining objectives and scope, and coordinating with control groups and external auditors to ensure effective execution; conduct L1 reviews
• Analyze/review audit results and documentation to evaluate effectiveness and efficiency, synthesizing audit findings
• Lead audit client meetings and walkthroughs
• Develop test steps, audit findings, and the audit report in accordance with IAG policies and procedures
• Guide team on how to validate and execute corrective actions / Management Action Plans (MAPs) are impactful, sustainable, and improve the control environment of the business unit
• Support business monitoring activities with audit leadership, tracking key metrics to identify control issues and trends; stay up to date with evolving industry trends, external news and regulatory changes, and analyze the impact to the business exams 
• Delegate tasks to team members; guide Senior/Staff in assessing risks, evaluating control design, and executing audit tests; review and provide feedback on work papers
• Serve as a People Leader, providing mentorship, coaching, and career development support for direct reports 
• Effectively coach, teach, mentor, and develop less experienced colleagues and co-sourced resources in geographically diverse locations across all aspects of their role, the audit and analytic lifecycle, audit methodology and best practices
• Conduct post-audit feedback discussions with audit team members to provide actionable feedback, support development, and recognize accomplishments 
• Guide team to proactively and routinely communicate task status, roadblocks, challenges, suggesting potential solutions to the team 
• Begin to develop subject matter expertise in a specific line of business 
• Serve as the first level of escalation, effectively navigating problems and difficult conversations 
• Attend report / issue conversations with management, work with Director / Team Leader to communicate and action on next steps 
• Report on assigned tasks in client reporting meetings; assist with preparing materials for Regulatory exams 
• Follow-up with management to ensure management action plans are closed effectively and timely.

Salary Range: $103750 - $174750 annually + bonus + benefits