Pathward, N.A. - Manager, Complex Investigations Unit, BSA/AML & Sanctions Operations

• Complex Investigations & Escalation Management • Manage the intake, assignment, and resolution of complex and high-risk investigations across products and customer types, including multi-account, multi-entity, and cross-product matters. • Serve as the day-to-day escalation point for urgent or high-severity matters, elevating to the VP, Complex Investigations where senior leadership awareness or immediate action is required. • Ensure appropriate identification of subjects, activity scope, and risk exposure across the unit's caseload. • Identify emerging typologies, thematic issues, and potential control gaps surfaced through casework and escalate with supporting analysis and recommendations. • People Leadership & Team Management • Directly manage a team of Complex Investigations Analysts; assign work, manage capacity and coverage, and balance inventory against aging and regulatory timeliness requirements. • Partner with People & Culture on hiring and staffing for the unit, including requisitions, interviews, and selection. • Set performance expectations, conduct 1:1s and performance reviews, and deliver coaching and development plans; address performance issues with timely documentation and escalation. • Build team capability through structured onboarding, ongoing coaching, and targeted training on typologies, investigative methods, and narrative quality. • Promote a strong control culture, accountability, and adherence to procedures, desktop procedures, and checklists. • Investigative Oversight, SAR Quality & Documentation • Review and challenge investigative analyses, conclusions, and SAR/no-SAR determinations to confirm they are sound, defensible, and fully documented. • Ensure SAR narratives, Continuing Activity Reports (CARs), and decisioning meet regulatory expectations and withstand examiner, audit, and law enforcement scrutiny. • Confirm investigative documentation meets the five-element documentation baseline and internal quality standards prior to filing or closure. • Oversee the unit's response to QC/QA feedback; drive remediation of identified defects and calibrate standards across analysts to reduce repeat findings. • Support 314(a)/314(b), OFAC, and PEP-related investigative activity assigned to the unit. • Program Execution, Governance & Reporting • Execute the investigative standards, methodologies, and governance frameworks owned by the VP, Complex Investigations, and provide feedback to strengthen them. • Monitor and report unit-level metrics, including inventory, aging, timeliness, SAR volumes, and quality results, to BSA/AML leadership. • Support root cause analysis and remediation activities tied to investigations, escalations, audit findings, and MRAs. • Maintain examiner-ready case artifacts and contribute to procedure, desktop procedure, and checklist updates as processes evolve. • Cross-Functional Collaboration & Regulatory Support • Partner with Sanctions Operations, Fraud Operations, Compliance Advisory, Legal, and Technology on cross-domain and sensitive high-risk matters. • Support regulatory examinations, internal audit, and model/program validation efforts by preparing case artifacts and coordinating responses to information requests. • Bachelor's degree required (Finance, Criminal Justice, Accounting, Business, or related field). • CAMS or equivalent AML certification strongly preferred. • 7+ years of BSA/AML, Sanctions, or Fraud investigations experience, including SAR decisioning and filing. • 2+ years of direct people management experience, including coaching, performance management, and talent development. • Demonstrated experience managing complex, high-risk typologies and multi-account or multi-entity investigations. • Working knowledge of transaction monitoring systems (e.g., Actimize, FCRM) and watchlist/screening tools (e.g., Bridger). • Demonstrated success defending investigative decisions in audit, exam, or regulatory settings. • Strong writing and communication skills, including the ability to review and elevate SAR narrative quality and to present results to senior leadership. • Products & Services Knowledge • SAR narratives and investigative conclusions must accurately describe how funds move through each Pathward product, and the unit reviews activity across the full estate. The Manager must hold product-level knowledge of the funds flows, typologies, and party designations across the Bank's seven product categories and its program-manager model, including: • Card Issuing / Prepaid — GPR, payroll, corporate disbursement, gift, government-benefit and student cards, and the load/spend typologies (structuring, funnel accounts, bust-out) that drive SAR narratives. • Card Issuing / Prepaid • Tax Products (EPS Financial / Refund Advantage) — refund transfers, taxpayer advances (including Emerald Advance®), and tax-office loans, and the IRS/ERO funds flows behind seasonal SAR/CTR volume. • Tax Products (EPS Financial / Refund Advantage) • Acquiring (Merchant & ATM) — merchant/ISO/payment-facilitator activity, transaction laundering, and ATM cash-access typologies. • Acquiring (Merchant & ATM) • Digital Payments & Faster Payments (Visa Direct / Mastercard Send) — push/pull disbursements, P2P, and cross-border rails. • Digital Payments & Faster Payments (Visa Direct / Mastercard Send) • Consumer Lending, Commercial Finance, and Commercial Deposits — the CTR, continuing-activity, and 314(a) obligations Pathward retains as lender/bank of record and depository institution. • Consumer Lending, Commercial Finance, and Commercial Deposits • The Bank-vs-Program-Manager framework — Pathward files all SARs, CTRs, and 314(a) responses, so the Manager and their team must trace activity back through the program-manager escalation model. • The Bank-vs-Program-Manager framework • The responsibilities listed above are not all inclusive and may be changed at any time.