Sr Controls Assurance & Monitoring Manager (Remote)

As a leading regional bank, SouthState has been providing financial solutions to individuals, families, and businesses in the Southeast for more than 100 years. SouthState team members strive to create remarkable experiences while building meaningful and lasting relationships. We are proud to be a reflection of the communities we serve, and our team members share core values that make SouthState a great place to bank, and a great place to work.

SUMMARY/OBJECTIVES

This role leads enterprise-wide control assurance and issue management programs, directing risk-based monitoring, testing, and validation activities to support compliance with operational, regulatory, and internal standards. The Senior Controls Assurance & Monitoring Manager is responsible for maintaining the Company's library of Internal controls, integrating 1st line monitoring efforts with 2nd line testing, managing issue identification and remediation, and delivering actionable reporting and escalation to senior leadership and governance committees.

This is a fully remote position. To be considered for this role, applicants must reside in one of the following states: Florida, Georgia, Alabama, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Texas or Colorado.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• Development and oversight of formalized processes and procedures that will enhance the overall consistency of control identification, monitoring, and issue management.

• Support South State's ERM Framework and compliance with the Company's Risk Appetite Statement by establishing and maintaining formalized processes for control identification, monitoring, and issue management, leading a team of testers and analysts for the Monitoring, Testing & Validation (MT&V) Program.

• Set priorities, coach team members, and review workpapers for completeness, accuracy, and adherence to methodology.

• Manage team performance and development, ensuring delivery of compliance and operational testing programs.

• Continuously update skills by participating in professional training

• Seek opportunities to improve skills through cross-training offered by the Bank

• All other tasks, responsibilities or duties, as directed by management

Enterprise Control Program Oversight

• Lead the implementation and governance of the Enterprise Internal Control Program (ICP), ensuring alignment with the ERM Framework and regulatory expectations.

• Oversee the enterprise control taxonomy, inventory, ensuring controls are documented to evidence appropriate control design and operating effectiveness.

• Independently assess the adequacy of control design and effectiveness through a 2nd Line Testing Program, and validate remediation of control gaps or failures.

Monitoring, Testing & Validation Program Leadership

• Design and execute an enterprise-wide, risk-based Monitoring, Testing & Validation (MT&V) Program that assesses the effectiveness of controls across all risk stripes defined in the Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) framework, aligned with internal policies, procedures, and best practices.

• Develop and deliver a risk-prioritized monitoring and testing plan, aligned with the Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) framework, incorporating operational risk trends and audit/exam findings.

• Lead planning, scoping, sampling, and execution of test reviews, including development of test scripts and validation steps.

• Ensure all test cases, results, findings, and metrics are entered in the GRC platform and meet documentation expectation.

• Maintain a proficient knowledge of applicable banking key risks, processes, systems and controls to ensure testing remains current and relevant.

• Establish and enforce standards for 1st line monitoring, ensuring consistency in execution, documentation, and escalation.

• Provide effective challenge to 1st line assessments and support training for control owners and testers.

Issues Management Program Oversight

• Lead the Enterprise Issues Management Program (IMP), ensuring timely identification, classification, and resolution of issues.

• Oversee root cause analysis, corrective action planning, and sustainability validation

• Ensure issue ownership is clearly assigned and escalate unresolved or overdue issues to appropriate governance forums.

• Maintain oversight of the Centralized Issue Management System (CIMS) in Archer, ensuring data integrity and alignment with reporting requirements.

Oversight, Reporting & Escalation

• Develop and maintain dashboards and reporting routines for control effectiveness, issue status, and monitoring/testing outcomes.

• Aggregate results into reporting to senior leadership, Management Risk Committee (MRC), and Board Risk Committee (BRC).

• Escalate systemic control failures, policy breaches, or regulatory violations in accordance with governance protocols.

• Track and report on key performance indicators (KPIs) and key risk indicators (KRIs) , as related to the control and issue environment.

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

COMPETENCIES

• Proven experience executing Operational Risk controls testing, Compliance testing, or Internal Audit frameworks.

• Strong analytical and organizational skills with high attention to detail and accuracy.

• Demonstrated ability to communicate complex ideas clearly and appropriately for executive, technical, and operational audiences.

• Excellent problem-solving skills and ability to translate ambiguous issues into actionable plans.

• Strong collaboration and relationship-building skills across all levels and functions.

• Self-motivated and adaptable, with the ability to manage multiple priorities in a dynamic environment.

• Proven ability to influence decision-making and drive accountability across stakeholder groups.

• Extensive working knowledge of the financial services industry, products, and services

• Proven ability to manage a team to deliver risk management programs/activities

• Strong organizational skills or project management experience

• Demonstrated independent thought leadership, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills.

• Effective written and verbal communication skills

• Ability to develop and maintain strong, collaborative relationships with mid to senior level management, other internal clients, peers, and audit.

Qualifications, Education, and Certification Requirements

• Education: Bachelor of Arts or Science in Finance/Accounting, Business, or related field

• Experience: 8+ years of experience with previous Risk Management and/or Internal Audit experience in banking preferred. Prior management and/or supervisory experience leading risk management programs.

• Certifications/Specific Knowledge: Strong computer skills (Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint). Experience with Governance Risk and Control (GRC) applications.

TRAINING REQUIREMENTS/CLASSES

Required annual compliance training, New Employee Orientation; 40 hours of annual risk based training

PHYSICAL DEMANDS

Must be able to effectively access and interpret information on computer screens, documents, reports, and cash denominations, and identify customers. This position requires a large amount of time in front of a computer. This can be done sitting or standing with use of the right desk.

WORK ENVIRONMENT

For telecommuters or hybrid: Telecommuting roles no matter if hybrid or 100% full time telecommuting must have a secure home office environment that is free from background noise and distractions. They must also have a reliable private internet connection that is not supplied by use of cellular data (hot spot). Cable or fiber connections are preferred. Requirements are subject to change, as new systems and technology is delivered.

TRAVEL

Travel may be required to come to meetings as needed.

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