Director of Sponsor Banking

• Location 5005 Maryland Way,Suite 100,Brentwood, TN, 37027,United States
• Job Category Director, fintech, BaaS
• Employee Type Exempt

The Head of Sponsor Banking is a leadership role responsible for building and leading the bank's sponsored banking (Banking-as-a-Service) program. This is a player/coach position that combines strategic vision and team development with hands‑on execution. The Head of Sponsor Banking will work with the CEO to architect the bank's BaaS strategy and governance framework while simultaneously serving as the primary program manager for fintech partner relationships - directly overseeing product builds, partner onboarding, and the assessment of fintech policies and procedures to ensure regulatory compliance and operational soundness.

This individual must be equally comfortable presenting strategic roadmaps to the Board and regulators as they are working at the desk level with fintech partners on API integrations, program documentation, and compliance artifacts. The role is foundational to the bank's growth strategy and requires a leader who can operate with urgency and rigor in a highly regulated environment.

• Develop and own the bank's end-to-end sponsor banking strategy, including target market definition, partnership criteria, risk appetite framework, and revenue model.
• Coordinate with department leaders to design and build the internal BaaS infrastructure: controls, and governance structures required to support fintech partnerships at scale.
• Coordinate with the compliance department to develop the sponsor banking‑related policies and procedures.
• Establish the bank's Fintech Partner Framework, including due diligence standards, onboarding playbooks, and ongoing monitoring protocols.
• Work with the Board, Leadership Team, and regulators (OCC/FDIC/Federal Reserve) to align on BaaS program parameters, risk tolerances, and growth strategy.
• Develop and present program updates, KPI dashboards, and risk reports to senior leadership and the Board of Directors.
• Build internal awareness and bank‑wide alignment around sponsor banking obligations, risks, and strategic opportunities.
• Recruit, hire, and develop the bank's sponsor banking team, including program managers, technology liaisons, and relationship managers.
• Define team structure and role clarity as the program scales from pilot to full production.
• Coach and mentor team members to develop deep expertise in BaaS compliance, fintech operations, and program management.
• Serve as a role model for a culture of compliance, accountability, and partnership excellence.
• Serve as the primary bank relationship owner and program manager for all fintech partners, overseeing the full partner lifecycle from prospecting through termination.
• Lead fintech partner onboarding, including coordinating legal agreements, operational setup, systems integration, and compliance readiness reviews.
• Work directly with fintech product, engineering, compliance, and operations teams to co‑develop program documentation, product specifications, and operational runbooks.
• Manage ongoing partner performance through regular business reviews, issue escalation protocols, and SLA monitoring.
• Serve as the escalation point for critical partner issues, outages, and regulatory inquiries related to fintech programs.

• Collaborate with the bank’s BSA Officer, Chief Compliance Officer, and Risk Management to ensure all partner programs meet regulatory expectations.
• Collaborate with the bank’s compliance team to conduct thorough assessments of fintech partner policies and procedures across all critical domains: BSA/AML, OFAC, fair lending, consumer protection, data privacy, cybersecurity, and operational resilience.
• Identify gaps in fintech compliance frameworks and develop remediation plans with defined timelines and accountability.
• Oversee ongoing third‑party risk management for all fintech partners in accordance with OCC/FDIC third‑party guidance (OCC 2013‑29 / FDIC FIL-29‑2024).
• Liaise with regulatory examiners during examinations related to…