At American Express, our culture is built on a 175-year history of innovation, shared values and Leadership Behaviors, and an unwavering commitment to back our customers, communities, and colleagues. As part of Team Amex, you'll experience this powerful backing with comprehensive support for your holistic well-being and many opportunities to learn new skills, develop as a leader, and grow your career.

Here, your voice and ideas matter, your work makes an impact, and together, you will help us define the future of American Express.

The Global Merchant & Network Services (GMNS) organization is responsible for managing relationships with millions of Merchants and Partners around the world that facilitate American Express acceptance and enabling the day-to-day operations of our company’s payment network. The people, processes, and technology that support this vital function are evolving to improve the merchant experience and economics. Within GMNS, the Global Strategy, Operations & Performance (GSOP) team’s mission is to deliver a best-in-class premium merchant member experience that will get merchant to not only accept American Express but openly welcome and recommend us to their customers.

We are seeking an experienced and strategic Director - First Line of Defense (1LOD) Compliance professional to lead compliance risk identification, management, and mitigation across business operations. This role is responsible for advising business leaders on regulatory obligations and ensuring that front-line activities operate within internal policy and external regulatory frameworks. The ideal candidate has strong subject matter expertise across key banking regulations and excels in balancing risk with practical business needs.

Key Responsibilities:

• Serve as the primary compliance partner within the business, ensuring adherence to applicable regulatory requirements (e.g., consumer protection, fair lending, privacy, market conduct, etc.).
• Proactively identify and assess compliance risks inherent in products, services, processes, and controls.
• Consult with business leadership and second line compliance to design and implement effective controls and mitigation strategies.
• Support the execution of business-level compliance risk assessments and control self-assessments.
• Support regulatory exam readiness, issue remediation, and corrective action planning.
• Coordinate with compliance, legal, risk, and audit teams to ensure consistent interpretation and application of rules and policies.
• Provide guidance on new business initiatives, product launches, and system changes to ensure compliance risks are appropriately addressed.
• Monitor and report compliance performance metrics and emerging risk trends.
• Act as a trusted advisor to senior leaders, supporting a culture of compliance and accountability.
• Providing business-specific Compliance expertise to the BU
• Review marketing and other customer-facing materials

Qualifications:

Required:

• 7-10+ years of compliance, legal, or risk experience within a financial institution, preferably in a business-aligned or first line of defense role.
• Deep knowledge of U.S. banking and securities regulations (e.g., BSA/AML, Reg Z, Reg E, Reg W, Fair Lending, UDAAP, etc.).
• Experience designing and implementing compliance controls, programs, and assessments.
• Strong understanding of the regulatory environment and expectations of federal and state banking regulators.

Preferred:

• Advanced degree (e.g., JD, MBA, MPA) or professional certifications such as CRCM, CAMS, or CCEP. Bachelor’s degree in business, finance, law, or a related field.

• Experience working with compliance technology tools and issue management systems.

• Familiarity with global compliance requirements (e.g., GDPR, MiFID II) if applicable.

Key Competencies:

• Strong business acumen and judgment
• Regulatory interpretation and control design expertise
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills
• Ability to influence and advise senior leaders
• Proven ability to manage competing priorities in a complex, matrixed environment

Salary Range: $123,000.00 to $215,250.00 annually + bonus + equity (if applicable) + benefits

The above represents the expected salary range for this job requisition. Ultimately, in determining your pay, we’ll consider your location, experience, and other job-related factors.

We back you with benefits that support your holistic well-being so you can be and deliver your best. This means caring for you and your loved ones' physical, financial, and mental health, as well as providing the flexibility you need to thrive personally and professionally:

• Competitive base salaries
• Bonus incentives
• 6% Company Match on retirement savings plan
• Free financial coaching and financial well-being support
• Comprehensive medical, dental, vision, life insurance, and disability benefits
• Flexible working model with hybrid, onsite or virtual arrangements depending on role and business need
• 20+ weeks paid parental leave for all parents, regardless of gender, offered for pregnancy, adoption or surrogacy
• Free access to global on-site wellness centers staffed with nurses and doctors (depending on location)
• Free and confidential counseling support through our Healthy Minds program
• Career development and training opportunities

For a full list of Team Amex benefits, visit our Colleague Benefits Site .

American Express is an equal opportunity employer and makes employment decisions without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran status, disability status, age, or any other status protected by law. American Express will consider for employment all qualified applicants, including those with arrest or conviction records, in accordance with the requirements of applicable state and local laws, including, but not limited to, the California Fair Chance Act, the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers, and the City of Los Angeles’ Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance. For positions covered by federal and/or state banking regulations, American Express will comply with such regulations as it relates to the consideration of applicants with criminal convictions.

We back our colleagues with the support they need to thrive, professionally and personally. That's why we have Amex Flex, our enterprise working model that provides greater flexibility to colleagues while ensuring we preserve the important aspects of our unique in-person culture. Depending on role and business needs, colleagues will either work onsite, in a hybrid model (combination of in-office and virtual days) or fully virtually.

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Employment eligibility to work with American Express in the U.S. is required as the company will not pursue visa sponsorship for these positions.