Manager - Partner Due Diligence Oversight – QA and Controls

American Express•New York, NY

7h•Hybrid

About The Position

At American Express, our culture is built on a 175-year history of innovation, shared values, and Leadership Behaviors that guide how we support our customers, communities, and colleagues. As part of Team Amex, you’ll be backed by a company that invests in your growth, empowers your ideas, and encourages you to shape the future of how we work. Here, your expertise drives real transformation. Your voice will influence enterprise processes, your leadership will accelerate modernization, and your work will help redefine the way American Express manages partner risk and delivers seamless global experiences. You’ll collaborate across teams to solve complex challenges—advancing digitization, redesigning end-to-end workflows, and unlocking the power of data, automation, and GenAI/Machine Learning to meaningfully improve outcomes for our partners and our business. As we continue evolving how we serve our Global 3PPP’s (Third Partner Payment Partners), we are committed to building smarter, more efficient, and more resilient operational and Due Diligence (DD) capabilities. Whether developing new digital tooling, streamlining Due Diligence experiences, or enhancing risk and compliance controls within the E2E DD process, you will help shape the next generation of operationalizing digital DD processes and oversight across the American Express 3PPP’s. The Manager, Quality Assurance & Controls will be a key member of a newly formed team responsible for strengthening the quality, control, and operational risk foundation of the Due Diligence program across 3PPP’s (Third Party Payment Partners) within GMNS-GSOP. This role sits on the business and operational side and plays a critical role in ensuring controls are effectively designed, implemented, monitored, and continuously improved as the Due Diligence program undergoes significant digitization and transformation. The Manager role sits within Global Strategy Operations and Performance under Global Merchant and Network Services (GMNS) and plays a key leadership role critical role in supporting and driving closure of Matters Requiring Immediate Attention (MRIA) issued by the Federal Reserve Board (FRB) related to third-party and Due Diligence oversight, supporting RCSA’s, Quality Assurance frameworks, issue and remediation management, and RCSA-aligned process controls. The Manager will partner closely with Compliance, Operations, Operational Risk, Internal Audit, and Control Management to ensure sustainable risk management policies are embedded into both operational workflows and Point of Arrival digital tooling.

Requirements

3-5+ years of experience in Operational Risk, Quality Assurance, Compliance, or Controls within financial services or a highly regulated environment.
Direct ownership or hands-on management of RCSAs, including third-party or partner-related risk frameworks (3PPP experience strongly preferred).
Experience supporting or managing regulatory remediation efforts, including MRIA, MRA, or equivalent supervisory findings.
Hands-on experience managing Issues, OREs, CAPs, audits, and RCSAs.
Strong understanding of QA methodologies, control design, and operational risk frameworks.
Strong written and verbal communication skills, including preparation of executive- and regulator-facing materials.

Nice To Haves

Experience supporting or overseeing Due Diligence, KYC/AML, sanctions screening, fraud risk, or third-party risk management programs.
Experience building or enhancing QA frameworks or control towers.
Familiarity with Due Diligence, third-party risk, Merchant partner onboarding, or 3PPP programs.
Demonstrated experience owning or materially contributing to RCSAs, particularly within third-party, partner, or operational risk domains.
Experience engaging with Internal Audit, Risk Committees, or regulatory stakeholders, including preparation of evidence and governance materials.

Responsibilities

Design, implement, and maintain a comprehensive Quality Assurance (QA) framework for Due Diligence and Third-Party Partner Program (3PPP) activities, aligned to enterprise QA standards and MRIA Long-Term Plan (LTP) commitments.
Establish and operate a QA Control Tower to provide centralized oversight, monitoring, and reporting across all Due Diligence and partner oversight activities in support of FRB expectations.
Define QA methodologies, testing approaches, sampling standards, and performance metrics to assess adherence to policies, procedures, and control requirements.
Own and maintain the 3PPP RCSAs, including risk identification, control design, documentation, testing coordination, issue identification, and ongoing updates.
Implement and maintain process-level controls aligned to RCSA frameworks and operational risk requirements, ensuring alignment to regulatory and supervisory expectations.
Partner with Operational Risk and Compliance teams to support enterprise RCSA assessments and control testing tied to MRIA remediation.
Own end-to-end management of Issues, OREs, Corrective Action Plans (CAPs), audit findings, and MRIA-related remediation items, including intake, root cause analysis, remediation planning, execution tracking, and closure.
Coordinate closely with business owners, Product, Technology, Compliance, and Operational Risk partners to ensure timely, high-quality, and sustainable MRIA remediation.
Prepare executive-ready materials, evidence, and status updates for Internal Audit, Risk Committees, and FRB-facing governance forums.
Maintain a continuous improvement roadmap focused on reducing operational risk, strengthening controls, and meeting MRIA closure milestones.
Identify systemic risk themes and control gaps using QA results, issue trends, audit outcomes, and RCSA insights.
Partner with Product and Technology teams to influence enhancements that leverage automation and digitization to improve control effectiveness and sustainability.
Serve as the primary business owner for QA, controls, and 3PPP RCSA activities across GNS Due Diligence stakeholders.
Collaborate closely with Compliance, Operational Risk, Control Management, Internal Audit, and Operations teams to ensure alignment to FRB and enterprise risk expectations.
Support Audit exams, reviews, and ongoing supervisory engagement through accurate documentation, evidence preparation, and response coordination.

Benefits

Competitive base salaries
Bonus incentives
6%25 Company Match on retirement savings plan
Free financial coaching and financial well-being support
Comprehensive medical, dental, vision, life insurance, and disability benefits
Flexible working model with hybrid, onsite or virtual arrangements depending on role and business need
20+ weeks paid parental leave for all parents, regardless of gender, offered for pregnancy, adoption or surrogacy
Free access to global on-site wellness centers staffed with nurses and doctors (depending on location)
Free and confidential counseling support through our Healthy Minds program
Career development and training opportunities