VP, Suspicious Activity Reporting (SAR) ​/ Relationship Role — BSA​/AML & Sanctions Operations

VP, Suspicious Activity Reporting (SAR) / Relationship Role — BSA/AML & Sanctions Operations

Remote

We are a hybrid, remote-office company dedicated to growing our talent anywhere!

We have onsite locations in:
Sioux Falls, SD, Scottsdale, AZ, Louisville, KY, Troy, MI, Franklin, TN, Easton, PA.

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 VP, Suspicious Activity Reporting owns Pathward's end-to-end SAR and CTR filing program and serves as the single accountable relationship owner for external/outsourced review capacity, the “relationship role” that governs the domestic and international consultant workforce engaged to support alert/case review, lookbacks, and surge capacity. This dual mandate exists because inventory reduction depends on external assistance that must be supervised to the same validated standards as internal work: the VP produces the examiner‑ready evidence documenting Pathward's reliance on third‑party output, while Pathward retains all decisioning authority.

The role leads the internal SAR team and manages the escalation of SARs surfaced by external reviewers back into Pathward for filing.

What You Will Do:

• Own the SAR and CTR filing program end-to‑end: timeliness, quality, continuing‑activity monitoring, and FinCEN e‑filing accuracy.
• Lead the internal SAR team (SAR Lead/QA Reviewer and SAR/CTR filing analysts).
• Serve as relationship owner for external/outsourced reviewers (domestic and international) — the point of accountability for SOW/SLA definition, KPIs, milestone acceptance, and change control.
• Manage the escalation channel through which consultants surface potential SARs; ensure Pathward independently reviews and retains all filing/decisioning authority.
• Coordinate least‑privilege system access, data‑handling, residency, and offboarding controls for domestic and offshore consultant staff.
• Provide independent QA of consultant output and ensure third‑party dispositions meet expectations before reliance.
• Ensure offshore access and activity comply with OFAC/sanctions, GLBA/privacy, and Information Security policy; maintain examiner‑ready artifacts evidencing third‑party supervision.
• Feed consultant throughput and SAR volume into the inventory wind‑down reporting; report program performance to the SVP, Deputy BSA Officer and BSA Officer.
• Interface with Vendor Management, Third‑Party Risk, Legal, Privacy, and Information Security for BSA/AML consultant engagements.

What You Will Need:

• Bachelor's degree required; advanced degree (MBA, JD, or Master's) preferred.
• CAMS required; CFE, CFCS, or CRCM preferred.
• 10+ years of BSA/AML experience, including direct SAR program ownership.
• 5+ years of people leadership, including leadership of investigators or filing teams.
• Demonstrated experience governing third‑party/managed‑service or outsourced review engagements, including offshore resources.
• Experience presenting SAR metrics and program performance to senior leadership, examiners, and the Board.
• Deep expertise in SAR/CTR filing standards, continuing‑activity monitoring, and FinCEN requirements.
• Vendor/relationship governance: SOW/SLA design, quality assurance, and reliance documentation.
• Strong grasp of offshore data‑residency, GLBA/privacy, Info Sec, and OFAC/sanctions‑nexus risk.
• Ability to evidence Pathward's supervision of outsourced work to an examiner standard.
• Executive communication and cross‑functional leadership across Legal,…