SVP - Chief Risk Officer

Catalyst and Your Career

Catalyst is igniting change and unlocking new possibilities for credit unions and the members they serve. Whether through innovative payments, asset management or liquidity solutions, we’re passionate about transforming goals into achievements and helping credit unions grow.

To accomplish this, we actively pursue talented individuals capable of making a positive impact on member credit unions, and we do our best to retain these employees. Among the ways we do this are generous benefits, a safe work environment and promotion of a strong work-life balance. We believe in our employees’ success, and the average employee tenure of 14 years suggests that our employees feel the same way!

The Work Itself

This position is a member of the senior management team and serves in a key leadership role overseeing the identification and measurement of risk throughout the entire corporate credit union. This includes cybersecurity risk, operational risk, strategic risk, interest rate risk, investment credit risk, liquidity risk, and compliance/legal risk. The position is the liaison to the NCUA and coordinates annual examinations. This position directs four departments that oversee particular elements of the corporate’s assets and operations.

The Credit and Balance Sheet Risk Analysis Department reviews and monitors two of Catalyst’s largest risk areas: investment credit risk and interest rate risk.

• This department reviews every investment prior to purchase, assigns a proprietary and internally developed credit rating, and, on a monthly basis, monitors all holdings after purchase.
• This function is responsible for measurement and reporting of liquidity risk, interest rate risk, and investment credit risk, including IRR model development, AI prompt development, risk-to-capital estimates, and limit setting across relevant exposures

The Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) Department oversees the development, integration, and operation of the ERM Program, Enterprise Resilience Program, the Operations Compliance Program, the Vendor Management Program, and the legal contract and vital records retention programs.

• The ERM team identifies and assesses risks associated with Catalyst’s services and operations by documenting key risk drivers, likelihood, and potential monetary impact.
• The team identifies related key controls and documents the mitigation plans in place for each identified risk and third-party vendor relationship.
• The team manages the Enterprise Resilience Program and works with business units and IT to update BIAs, Test Plans, Strategies and Risk Assessment.   
• The team measures cyber security related risks and participates on the Vulnerability Management Committee to measure and report cyber related risks.
• The department also contracts with and directs the outside firms conducting annal penetration testing as required to meet PCI 4.0 and regulatory expectations. Additionally, this team also acts as liaison with internal IT staff during these tests.
• Board related reporting for ERM and NCUA 704 limits for compliance.

The Anti-Money Laundering Compliance Department oversees the development, integration, and operation of the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) and OFAC compliance programs.

• The team manages databases and related operations used to detect and report bad actors across all payment rails that move through Catalyst.
• The team maintains BSA/AML/OFAC policies and procedures to ensure the program’s core pillars comply with FinCEN requirements and support efficient workflows.

The Facilities Department manages the corporate headquarters building and related administrative services.

• Oversee security guard services, confidential document shredding, and off-site document storage when needed.
• Manage space planning, construction management, mail services, purchasing and maintenance of supplies and equipment, and receiving and shipping.
• Manages lease negotiations and relationship with co-owner of the headquarters building.

Committee responsibilities include the following Board-appointed committees:

• Enterprise Risk Management Committee
• Asset/Liability Management Committee (ALCO)
• Technology Steering Committee

Other committee responsibilities include the following management-level and fiduciary committees:

• Chair of the management-level Operations Risk Management Committee
• Vulnerability Management Committee
• Management Investment Credit Committee
• Fiduciary member of the 401(k) Advisory Committee
• Enterprise Resiliency Committee

The Talent You Bring

The Essential Requirements:

• Master’s Degree (MS, MBA, etc.) or equivalent.Awareness and understanding of financial and investment markets
• 10-15 years of experience in enterprise risk management with a heavy concentration in investment credit risk management and/or fixed income risk analysis at a rating agency, broker/dealer, regional or multinational bank with a demonstrated progression of increasing managerial responsibilities related to the creation of loan and investment credit analysis protocols, interest rate risk algorithms and advanced analytics for the assessment of cybersecurity and other operational risks.

Additional skills and experience are a plus:

• 15-20 years of experience in risk management, at the senior management level, preferably in the enterprise risk management function of a large regional bank or bankers’ bank.
• Strong written and presentation skills.
• Very strong math and statistics skills.
• Extensive knowledge of taxable fixed income investments and consumer loans.  
• A PhD with a concentration in risk, finance, mathematics or statistics.  A CFA designation is also preferred.
• Prior experience with statistics packages.
• Prior experience with credit and interest rate risk models such as Empyrean, QRM, KRM, Bancware, INTEX, KRIS and/or KVM software.
• Working knowledge of Bloomberg, Word, Excel, and Access.

How We'll Have Your Back

Catalyst Corporate’s compensation structure offers market-competitive base pay. However, Catalyst's full compensation package is more than just your paycheck and is meant to support and improve your personal and professional life, including:

• Time Away: Federal Holidays, Vacation, Sick Time, and Parental Leave, as well as time off for volunteering.
• Planning for the Future: 401K retirement savings plan with matching and company contributions.
• Supporting your Health & Well-Being: Flexible health and insurance options, including Medical, Dental, and Vision Insurance choices, Long and Short-Term Disability Insurance, Life Insurance, Supplemental Life and AD&D Insurance, as well as a Flexible Spending Account.
• Building a Family: We were named “Best Place for Working Parents” since 2021 due to our commitment to family-friendly policies and practices.
• Work-Life Integration: Other benefits include credit union membership, a casual work environment, paid covered parking, and an onsite fitness facility with showers. In addition, we also offer access to a variety of onsite services, such as a massage therapist and personal trainer, car wash and detail service, vehicle refueling service, and food delivery service.

Who We Are

With innovative payments, asset management and liquidity solutions, Catalyst is unlocking new possibilities for credit unions across the nation, and the members they serve. We are passionate about transforming goals into achievements and helping credit unions grow. Discover why more than 1,500 credit unions are using Catalyst’s solutions today: catalystcorp.org.

Catalyst is an equal opportunity employer committed to diversity and inclusion in the workplace. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, race, color, sex, religion, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, pregnancy status, marital status, military or veteran status, genetic disposition or any other reason protected by la