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At Pathward, we take tremendous pride in our purpose to create financial inclusion for all™. We are a financial empowerment company that works with innovators to increase financial availability, choice, and opportunity for all. We strive to remove barriers that traditional institutions put in the way of financial access, and promote economic mobility by providing responsible, secure, high quality financial products.
We are a team of problem solvers and innovators who celebrate our differences and know that our unique perspectives make us stronger and well-positioned for success. We celebrate, and embrace, our team members through our *HUMBLE*HUNGRY*SMART approach, and we believe that we are strongest when we embrace the voices of our employees, customers, partners, and the communities we serve.
About the Role:
The Financial Crimes Quality Assurance (QA) Analyst I is responsible for executing the quality assurance program focused on Second Line of Defense (2LoD) Financial Crimes activities, including oversight, review, challenge, and governance functions across BSA/AML, Sanctions, and Fraud.
This role ensures that 2LoD processes—such as alert oversight, customer risk rating governance, policy interpretation, and escalation decisions—are performed with consistency, accuracy, and in alignment with regulatory expectations and internal standards. The Analyst I will assess the effectiveness of 2LoD outputs, provide credible challenge within Compliance, and deliver insights to strengthen oversight and risk management practices.
What You Will Do:
QA Review Execution
- Perform detailed QA reviews of 2LoD casework, memos, and decisions to evaluate:
- Accuracy and completeness
- Appropriateness of risk-based judgments
- Alignment with internal standards and regulatory expectations
- Evaluate the quality of 2LoD oversight, including whether issues are appropriately identified, escalated, and resolved
- Identify inconsistencies in decision-making and gaps in challenge or governance
Thematic & Horizontal Reviews
- Conduct horizontal reviews across 2LoD outputs to identify:
- Systemic weaknesses in oversight practices
- Trends in ineffective challenge or missed escalation opportunities
- Inconsistencies in policy interpretation
- Develop insights into emerging risks and control blind spots within 2LoD
Issue Management & Reporting
- Document QA findings with clear articulation of:
- Gaps in 2LoD oversight, challenge, or governance
- Root cause and impact on risk management effectiveness
- Assign severity ratings based on risk exposure and regulatory implications
- Track and validate remediation of identified issues within Compliance
Stakeholder Engagement & Credible Challenge
- Provide independent challenge within the 2LoD function, ensuring high standards of oversight and accountability
- Support regulatory exams by demonstrating the effectiveness and rigor of 2LoD oversight and QA practices
Continuous Improvement
- Identify opportunities to enhance 2LoD QA through:
- Standardization of oversight practices
- Enhanced documentation and governance protocols
- Use of data analytics to identify anomalies or inconsistencies in 2LoD outputs
What You Will Need:
Required
- Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Business, Risk Management, or related field
- 2+ years of experience in Financial Crimes (AML, Sanctions, Fraud), with direct experience in:
- 2LoD Compliance / Financial Crimes oversight, or
- Quality Assurance / Testing of Financial Crimes functions
- Strong knowledge of:
- BSA/AML and sanctions regulatory expectations
- 2LoD roles and responsibilities within a three lines of defense model
- Financial crime risk management frameworks and governance practices
- Experience reviewing complex financial crime cases and providing oversight or challenge
- Strong analytical and judgment skills
Preferred
- CAMS, CFE, CRCM, or similar certifications
- Experience with Transaction Monitoring, Suspicious Activity Investigations, CDD/EDD, or Sanctions compliance
- Experience leveraging data analytics or reporting tools in QA
Key Competencies
- Strong sense of independence and professional skepticism
- Ability to assess quality of judgment and oversight (not just execution)
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills
- Ability to influence and challenge peers within Compliance
- Attention to detail with a focus on consistency and governance
- Strong organizational and problem-solving skills
Success Metrics
- Quality and consistency of 2LoD QA reviews
- Identification of meaningful gaps in oversight and challenge
- Reduction in repeat QA findings within 2LoD
- Timeliness and effectiveness of issue remediation
- Positive feedback from regulators and Internal Audit on 2LoD QA program
- Demonstrated improvement in 2LoD governance and decision-making quality
The responsibilities listed above are not all inclusive and may be changed at any time.
Salary range: $36,000 – $58,000
The salary range reflects the minimum and maximum target for a new hire in this role. Individual pay within the range will be determined by multiple factors which can include but are not limited to a candidate’s experience, qualifications, skills, and location. Your recruiter can share more about the specific salary for your location during the hiring process. Ranges may be modified in the future.
This role is also eligible for an annual performance-based incentive opportunity. Pathward offers a comprehensive benefits package for eligible employees, including health insurance, 401(k) retirement benefits, life insurance, disability benefits, paid time off, and more.
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Don’t have everything listed under qualifications? If you’re excited about this role but your experiences don’t match exactly to everything in the posting, we encourage you to apply anyway. You may be just the right candidate for this or other Pathward roles. Pathward is an equal employment opportunity employer and considers candidates for roles without regard to their race, sex, national origin, ethnicity, age, disability or any other category protected by law.
Who we are:
Our commitment to inclusion is woven into our DNA. We believe that we are strongest when we embrace the voices of our employees, customers, partners, and the communities we serve.
We provide equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, ethnicity, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, transgender status, pregnancy, national origin, age (age 40 and over), disability, genetic information, marital status, hair texture or hairstyle, ancestry, service in the uniformed services, protected veteran status, status as a victim of domestic violence or any other class protected by federal, state and local laws.
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