Position Overview: Vanguard's Cash & Savings business is growing, and we're looking for a Business Unit Strategy Analyst Specialist to join our Rate Strategy team.
The selected individual will own the end-to-end execution of rate changes across our cash products, coordinating implementation, validation, controls, evidence, and downstream activities. You'll partner across the organization to help ensure these business-critical changes are executed accurately and effectively.
Just as importantly, you'll help us improve how we operate. You'll strengthen processes and controls, identify operational risks, simplify workflows, explore automation and AI-enabled solutions, and bring industry best practices into how the team works. Our goal is to build a best-in-class Rate Strategy operating model, and this role will play an important part in helping move us forward.
We're looking for someone who combines strong execution with a continuous improvement mindset and enjoys taking ownership, solving complex operational problems, and finding better ways to work.
The impact you'll make: Rate changes are a critical component of Vanguard's cash products, directly influencing client outcomes, business performance, competitive positioning, and adherence to established policies.
In this role, you will help ensure rate changes are implemented accurately, timely, and within established risk and control expectations. You will coordinate end-to-end execution across a broad network of partners, manage dependencies, validate results, maintain supporting evidence, and ensure downstream activities are completed successfully.
You will also help strengthen the operating framework supporting Rate Strategy by improving procedures, identifying execution risks, enhancing controls, and simplifying workflows. You will look for opportunities to reduce manual effort through process improvement, automation, and thoughtfully governed AI-enabled solutions.
Ideal candidate capabilities:- Operational execution: Manages complex processes end to end with strong attention to detail, clear ownership, and reliable follow-through.
- Risk and control management: Identifies and assesses operational risks, supports effective controls, maintains appropriate evidence, and promotes audit readiness.
- Process improvement: Understands how work operates end to end and continuously identifies opportunities to simplify, standardize, automate, and strengthen processes.
- Operational excellence and innovation: Continuously evaluates how we operate against industry best practices and identifies innovative ways to strengthen efficiency, effectiveness, and scalability, helping advance Rate Strategy toward a best-in-class operating model.
- Cross-functional coordination: Effectively manages dependencies, communication, and execution across multiple teams and stakeholders.
- Technical aptitude: Works comfortably in Excel and can understand, test, validate, and troubleshoot macro-enabled processes and existing VBA.
- Sound judgment: Follows established procedures while effectively navigating exceptions, changing requirements, and ambiguity.
Responsibilities:- Execute approved rate changes from planning through implementation, validation, evidence collection, and post-change confirmation.
- Coordinate cross-functional execution by clarifying ownership, managing dependencies, tracking completion, resolving issues, and driving stakeholder readiness.
- Maintain procedures, checklists, process maps, control documentation, decision records, and supporting evidence to promote consistent execution and audit readiness.
- Identify operational risks and support risk assessment, mitigation, control execution, issue escalation, and remediation activities.
- Maintain and enhance end-to-end process documentation as business requirements, systems, and downstream processes evolve.
- Identify and implement process improvements that reduce manual effort, strengthen consistency, improve accuracy, and increase scalability.
- Support the use of automation and AI-enabled solutions to enhance process execution, documentation, quality assurance, and efficiency with appropriate oversight.
- Support vendor-related activities, including business requirements, deliverables, contract and renewal tracking, spending, performance, and issue resolution.
- Partner across product, operations, technology, finance, risk, compliance, marketing, controls, oversight, and other teams to drive successful execution.
- Provide clear and concise updates on execution status, risks, controls, issues, key decisions, and process-improvement activities.
Qualifications:What you'll bring:- Minimum of 3 years of experience in business operations, process management, risk and controls, product operations, vendor management, financial services, or a related field. Experience in fintech, banking, or investment industries is preferred.
- Undergraduate degree required; a graduate degree is a plus.
- Demonstrated ability to own and execute complex operational processes with strong attention to detail and reliable follow-through.
- Experience creating, maintaining, or improving procedures, process maps, workflows, checklists, or other operational documentation.
- Experience identifying operational risks, supporting controls, maintaining evidence, and contributing to audit or control readiness.
- Strong Excel skills and familiarity with macro-enabled workbooks and VBA, including the ability to understand, test, validate, and troubleshoot existing solutions.
- Demonstrated ability to coordinate work across multiple teams, manage dependencies, resolve issues, and drive work through completion.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to communicate complex execution issues clearly and concisely.
- Demonstrated ability to work effectively through ambiguity, manage multiple priorities, and exercise sound judgment when process variations or exceptions arise.
- Self-directed approach with a strong interest in continuously improving how work is completed.
Preferred qualifications:- Experience with cash, deposit, banking, fintech, investment, or related financial products.
- Experience supporting rate-change, cash-sweep, or comparable operational processes.
- Experience with risk and control frameworks, Archer, SOX controls, internal audit, or control testing.
- Experience with process mapping, process engineering, operational excellence, or procedure development.
- Vendor or contract-management experience.
- Experience with process automation tools, including Power Automate or similar solutions.
- Experience applying AI-enabled tools to process improvement, documentation, quality assurance, or decision support with appropriate human oversight.
- Familiarity with SharePoint, Microsoft Forms, PowerPoint, or evidence-management workflows.
Special FactorsSponsorshipVanguard is not offering visa sponsorship for this position.
