Principal Associate, Process Manager | Retail Bank

Principal Associate, Process Manager | Retail Bank
As a Principal Associate Process Manager, responsibilities will include documenting, monitoring, and controlling critical real estate and construction process points as defined by business policies and standards. In this role, you will serve as the operational anchor and owner of our project governance routines, financial governance alignments, and well-managed programs. Operating with autonomy and a strong ability to navigate ambiguity, you will drive process rigor to ensure our primary third-party project management partners execute retail construction projects efficiently, defensibly, and in full compliance. You will educate and gain buy-in from key stakeholders concerning process utilization to ensure flawless execution each and every time.
This individual must be able to effectively communicate and influence partners across multiple functional areas, including senior leadership, strategic real estate teams, internal Risk/Audit partners, and external vendor leadership. Strong analytical skills, high attention to detail, and a proven proficiency with core systems and processes are essential. You will display proactive leadership skills to manage key governance routines, enforce vendor accountability, adopt innovative tools including AI, and maintain a well-managed process environment that directly protects the company’s bottom line.
What You’ll Do:
Govern Project Intake & Lifecycle Tollgates: Lead project intake validation and tollgate approvals across the construction lifecycle to ensure projects originate from authorized requesters, maintain proper scope parameters, and prevent vendor self-dealing.
Manage Governance Routines: Own, structure, and facilitate recurring governance forums and review agendas, triaging project submittals into live synchronous sessions versus asynchronous offline review streams based on risk and complexity.
Own Formal Internal Controls & Systems of Record: Serve as the primary owner for formal internal governance controls, maintaining official systems of record for risks, controls, and issues, while ensuring continuous audit readiness, record-keeping, and periodic control performance testing.
Drive Third-Party Vendor Accountability: Ensure partner compliance against established SLAs, approval matrices, and documentation standards; track operational performance trends and drive continuous vendor coaching and feedback loops.
Execute Commercial & Financial Governance: Serve as a primary reviewer for commercial workflows, auditing pre-development allocation requests, funding approvals, authority threshold compliance, and portfolio strategy alignments prior to capital commitment.
Adjudicate Change Control & Scope Adjustments: Review change requests and scope/schedule/budget updates post-baseline, analyzing variance drivers and conducting controllability assessments to protect capital spend.
Maintain Process Documentation & Playbooks: Own, update, and manage formal standard operating procedure (SOP) playbooks, document checklists, and process flows to support a well-managed environment.
Collect Data & Produce KPI Metrics: Collect, analyze, and measure process performance data to track portfolio health, design efficiency KPIs, and deliver actionable transparency to senior leadership.
Lead Complex Problem Solving & Continuous Improvement: Identify misalignments and engineer ways to create efficiency, assist in solving complex cross-departmental operational roadblocks, and drive continuous process enhancements aligned with sustainable business practices.
A Great Candidate Will Have:
Operating Independence & System Proficiency: Operates with a high degree of autonomy on core responsibilities and navigates complex, ambiguous tasks with minimal guidance; leverages deep domain expertise to increase team bandwidth and understands upstream/downstream impacts.
Third-Party Vendor Management Discipline: Proven track record of managing and holding external partners accountable to stringent SLAs, performance metrics, and governance controls while fostering a collaborative relationship.
Storytelling & Tailored Communication: Skilled at crafting compelling narratives, distilling complex technical or process data into the "critical few," and tailoring messaging and presentation materials effectively to diverse audiences ranging from technical execution teams to senior executives.
Cross-Functional Influence & Network Building: Maintains a strong network of partner relationships, proposes and influences new ideas within core and partner teams, and respectfully challenges ideas while remaining open to alternative perspectives.
Autonomous Problem Solving & Root Cause Analysis: Proven ability to identify root causes of problems among cross-functional teams, proactively offer grounded actionable solutions, and embrace emerging technologies such as AI to streamline operations and enhance efficiency.
Judgment & Optimization: Identifies priority conflicts before they become issues, delivers grounded recommendations to managers, and proactively identifies leverage points for process optimization
Basic Qualifications:
High School Diploma, GED, or equivalent certification
At least 3 years of Process Management or Risk Management experience
At least 1 year of experience in Continuous Improvement methodologies
Preferred Qualifications:
Bachelor’s Degree
4+ years of Process Management experience in Commercial Real Estate, Construction, or Retail Operations environments
2+ years of experience managing third-party vendor performance, SLAs, or compliance controls
Business Process Management (BPM), PMP, Lean, Agile, or Six Sigma certification
At this time, Capital One will not sponsor a new applicant for employment authorization for this position.
The minimum and maximum full-time annual salaries for this role are listed below, by location. Please note that this salary information is solely for candidates hired to perform work within one of these locations, and refers to the amount Capital One is willing to pay at the time of this posting. Salaries for part-time roles will be prorated based upon the agreed upon number of hours to be regularly worked.
McLean, VA: $108,900 - $124,300 for Principal Process Manager
Richmond, VA: $98,900 - $112,900 for Principal Process Manager
Candidates hired to work in other locations will be subject to the pay range associated with that location, and the actual annualized salary amount offered to any candidate at the time of hire will be reflected solely in the candidate’s offer letter.
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.
Capital One offers a comprehensive, compet