AVP, Model Validation

Role Summary and Purpose

The AVP, Model Validation is responsible for model validation and ensuring they meet Model Risk Management policies, standards, procedures, and regulations (OCC
2011-12/SR 11-7). The role requires high levels of expertise, minimal technical supervision, the ability to lead validation projects, accountability for validation results across various model categories, and a meaningful contribution to projects.

We’re proud to offer you flexibility. At Synchrony, our way of working allows you to work from home near one of our hubs or come into one of our offices. Occasionally you will be required to commute or travel for in‑person engagement activities such as business or team meetings, training and culture events.

• Field Sales and some Commercial team roles may have varied location requirements based upon partner obligations or preferences.

• Serve as a key contributor and lead analyst performing model validation with minimal supervision for credit acquisition, account management, fraud and marketing models built using both machine learning algorithms and traditional logistic regression techniques.
• Perform the full scope end‑to‑end validation independently for assigned internally and vendor‑developed new models and existing models.
• Lead and perform the review and maintenance of relevant model and validation documentation, performing in‑depth analysis on large data sets and reports to support discussions on key analytics and model risks.
• Work closely within the Risk organization to validate accuracy and performance of all models, whether statistical/AI/ML or non‑statistical, to identify any issues requiring further investigation and resolve problems independently.
• Collaborate with the Synchrony Financial business teams to uncover and highlight risk associated with models.
• Keep pace with the latest model developments in academia, regulatory environment, risk technology (vendor and in‑house) and financial services industries in order to provide expert guidance to the Synchrony Financial functions.
• Support regulatory examinations and internal audits of the modeling process and selected model samples.
• Provide technical consultation and process improvement to model risk management on recommended solutions based on solid research in the academic and industry practice.
• Perform other duties and/or special projects as assigned.

• Master's degree (or foreign equivalent) in Statistics, Mathematics, Data Science, or related quantitative field and 4+ years’ experience in model development / model validation experience in financial services, banking, or retail.
• 4+ years of hands‑on experience with data science and statistical tools including Python, R, SAS, SQL, SPARK, Data Lake, H2O, Sage Maker and AWS.
• 4+ years of statistical analysis and handling large amounts of data and analyzing for trends.
• 4+ years of experience with application of U.S. regulatory requirements for Model Risk Management.
• Ability and flexibility to travel for business as required.

• Strong knowledge of regulatory requirements for Model Risk Management with proven track record of delivering regulatory requirements.
• 5+ years of proven experience in Model Risk Management in modeling and validation in financial services, including analytic/modeling/quantitative experience and governance or other credit/financial discipline.
• Experience in people and project management, with demonstrated ability to develop actionable plan to meet high‑level objectives, strong execution, and timely deliverables.
• Sharp focus on accuracy with extreme attention to detail.
• Knowledge of credit card/consumer finance products and business model.
• Experience with machine learning/AI methodologies and related applications, including generative AI model validation and validation framework development.
• Excellent written and oral communication and presentation skills.

Grade/Level: 10

Salary range for this position is  -  USD annually and is eligible for an annual bonus based on individual and company performance. Actual compensation offered within the posted salary range will be based…