Vice President of Operational Risk

Vice President, Operational Risk
Location: United States | Full-Time | Remote / Hybrid / On-site
Reports To: Chief Risk Officer
About the Role
We are looking for a Vice President, Operational Risk to lead the development and management of the organization’s operational risk framework and ensure that key business processes are supported by effective risk identification, monitoring, and control mechanisms.
This is a senior leadership role responsible for identifying operational risks, assessing control effectiveness, establishing risk mitigation standards, monitoring operational incidents, and strengthening the organization’s ability to manage operational disruptions.
You will work closely with executive leadership and partner across Operations, Risk, Compliance, Finance, Technology, Product, Legal, Information Security, and Business Development. The role will have significant influence over operational risk policies, control frameworks, incident management, business continuity, risk reporting, and remediation programs.
The ideal candidate combines strong operational risk expertise with practical business judgment and the ability to translate complex operational risks into clear actions and sustainable controls.
Responsibilities
• Lead the Operational Risk function and establish a comprehensive framework for identifying, assessing, monitoring, and mitigating operational risks.
• Develop and maintain operational risk policies, procedures, standards, risk appetite parameters, and governance frameworks.
• Conduct regular operational risk assessments across business functions, processes, systems, products, and third-party relationships.
• Identify critical operational risks, control weaknesses, process gaps, and emerging risk trends and establish appropriate mitigation plans.
• Develop and monitor key risk indicators, control metrics, operational loss indicators, incident trends, and other risk measurements.
• Establish processes for identifying, documenting, escalating, investigating, and resolving operational risk events and control failures.
• Lead root-cause analysis of significant operational incidents and ensure appropriate corrective and preventive actions are implemented.
• Work closely with Operations and business leaders to strengthen internal controls, procedures, approvals, segregation of duties, and operational safeguards.
• Partner with Technology and Information Security teams to assess technology, systems, cybersecurity, data, access, and infrastructure-related operational risks.
• Work with Compliance and Legal to ensure operational processes appropriately address regulatory, policy, and governance requirements.
• Develop and maintain business continuity, disaster recovery, operational resilience, and crisis management frameworks.
• Conduct scenario analysis and stress assessments to evaluate the potential impact of significant operational disruptions.
• Assess operational risks associated with new products, systems, processes, markets, vendors, partnerships, and strategic initiatives.
• Establish appropriate third-party and vendor risk management processes for critical external service providers.
• Monitor remediation activities and ensure identified control deficiencies and operational risks are addressed within appropriate timeframes.
• Develop executive-level operational risk reports, dashboards, risk assessments, and management presentations.
• Support internal audits, external reviews, regulatory examinations, and other risk-related assessments.
• Establish operational risk training and awareness programs for relevant employees and business teams.
• Evaluate risk management systems, monitoring tools, workflow solutions, and automation opportunities that can strengthen operational oversight.
• Partner with senior leadership to ensure material operational risks are appropriately escalated and incorporated into business decisions.
• Build, lead, and develop a high-performing Operational Risk team as organizational requirements expand.
• Maintain a strong culture of risk awareness, accountability, transparency, control discipline, and continuous improvement.
What We're Looking For
We are looking for a senior operational risk leader who understands how complex businesses operate and can build practical risk and control frameworks without unnecessarily slowing business execution.
The strongest candidates will typically have:
• 20+ years of progressive experience in operational risk, enterprise risk, risk management, internal controls, operational resilience, or a related field.
• Significant senior leadership experience as a VP of Operational Risk, Head of Operational Risk, Director of Risk, Chief Risk Officer, or equivalent role.
• Demonstrated experience developing and implementing operational risk frameworks, policies, risk assessments, and control programs.
• Strong understanding of operational risk management, internal controls, incident management, business continuity, and operational resilience.
• Experience identifying control weaknesses, conducting root-cause analysis, and implementing sustainable remediation programs.
• Experience working in financial services, fintech, banking, payments, brokerage, trading, investment management, or another complex operating environment.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to assess operational issues and translate them into practical risk mitigation strategies.
• Experience developing KRIs, risk dashboards, control metrics, operational risk reports, and executive-level risk materials.
• Strong understanding of technology, cybersecurity, data, third-party, process, and people-related operational risks.
• Demonstrated experience partnering with Operations, Compliance, Legal, Finance, Technology, Information Security, and senior business leaders.
• Strong project and change management skills, with experience leading cross-functional risk and control initiatives.
• Excellent communication skills and the ability to explain operational risk issues clearly to both executives and business teams.
• Strong judgment, independence, attention to detail, and the ability to manage sensitive operational incidents and escalations.
• Bachelor's degree in Finance, Business, Risk Management, Economics, Operations, or a related field required. Master's degree, MBA, FRM, PRM, CRMA, or similar credentials are preferred.
Experience with cryptocurrency, digital assets, derivatives, or blockchain-related businesses is a plus, but it is not required.
We are also interested in candidates from banks, broker-dealers, asset managers, fintech companies, payment companies, technology organizations, consulting firms, and other complex or regulated businesses.
Location and Work Arrangement
This position is based in the United States. The company offers remote, hybrid, and on-site working arrangements depending on the individual, location, and business needs.
Travel may be required as needed for leadership meetings, risk reviews, audits, operational assessments, training, strategic planning, and industry events.
Compensation and Benefits
The company offers a competitive executive compensation package, including:
• Competitive executive base salary
• Annual performance-based incentive
• Equity appreciation opportunities
• 401(k) retirement benefits
• Medical, dental, and vision insurance
• Paid time off and company holidays
• Professional development and industry training
• Reimbursement for approved business travel
Final compensation will depend on experience, qualifications, and the scope of the role.

Work arrangement
Yes