Sallie Mae

Director, Operations & Controls

Sallie Mae$120K — $150K *
Finance & Insurance
8 - 10 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • Bachelor's degree in finance, accounting, business, or related field
  • 8+ years of relevant experience in financial services, preferably in Capital Markets or risk management
  • Strong knowledge of internal control frameworks and regulatory compliance
  • Preferred MBA or relevant advanced degree
  • Professional certifications such as CPA, CFA, or CIA are a plus
  • Experience with structured finance or securitization is beneficial
  • Familiarity with investor due diligence and rating agency requirements.

Responsibilities

  • Coordinate internal audit reviews of Capital Markets processes
  • Drive remediation efforts for audit findings
  • Oversee external audit engagements for Capital Markets activities
  • Lead ongoing due diligence processes with credit rating agencies
  • Own preparation of periodic trust performance updates
  • Maintain accurate, consistent reporting aligned with expectations
  • Develop and enhance Capital Markets process documentation and controls
  • Identify opportunities to streamline operations and enhance effectiveness
  • Partner cross-functionally with departments to ensure operational readiness.

Benefits

  • Competitive base salaries
  • Bonus incentives
  • Generous PTO and 12 Federal Holidays observed
  • Retirement 401k with employer match
  • Comprehensive health insurance options
  • Employer paid disability and life insurance
  • Flexible hybrid working arrangements
  • Paid parental leave and adoption reimbursement
  • Access to on-site fitness centers and gym subsidies
  • Confidential counseling support and wellness programs
  • Tuition reimbursement and family scholarship opportunities
  • Career development and training programs.
Full Job Description
What You'll Contribute

The Director Operations & Controls will join the Capital Markets organization to strengthen execution discipline, audit readiness, and control oversight as Capital Markets activities scale in size and complexity.

Reporting to a senior leader within Capital Markets, this role will build and lead a robust Operations & Controls capability focused on managing end-to-end audit and due diligence processes, maintaining comprehensive control documentation, and ensuring consistent execution standards. The role will serve as a key point of coordination between Capital Markets and internal and external stakeholders including Internal Audit, Compliance, Risk Management, Legal, Treasury, Accounting, rating agencies, external auditors, and investors.

This position plays a critical role in enabling the Capital Markets team to operate efficiently, consistently, and with strong governance, while supporting the organization's funding, securitization, and investor engagement activities.

What You'll Do

Audit Management and Oversight
  • Coordinate and support internal audit reviews of Capital Markets processes
  • Drive remediation efforts for audit findings
  • Oversee external audit engagements related to Capital Markets activities
  • Serve as the primary point of contact for external auditors and examiners


Due Diligence and External Reviews
  • Lead ongoing due diligence processes with credit rating agencies and investors
  • Manage due diligence information requests and facilitate reviews.


Trust Performance and Reporting
  • Own the preparation and delivery of periodic trust performance updates for securitization trusts and funding facilities
  • Coordinate data gathering across internal teams, analyze key performance metrics, and prepare reporting materials for stakeholders and investors
  • Ensure reporting is accurate, consistent, and aligned with investor and regulatory expectations


Controls, Documentation, and Standards
  • Develop, maintain, and continuously enhance Capital Markets process documentation, control inventories, and execution standards
  • Ensure critical processes have up-to-date control documentation aligned with internal policy, regulatory, and audit requirements
  • Support audit readiness through strong documentation discipline and standardized operating practices


Process Improvement and Execution Discipline
  • Identify and implement opportunities to streamline operational processes and enhance control effectiveness
  • Establish best practices that increase consistency, improve efficiency, and reduce risk as business activity scales
  • Support continuous improvement initiatives across Capital Markets operations


Cross Functional Partnership
  • Partner cross-functionally with Corporate Finance, Legal, Compliance, Audit, Accounting, Treasury, Capital Markets, Product, Operations, and Technology to ensure funding and partnership requirements are reflected in business design, operating processes, reporting capabilities, and control readiness.
  • Facilitate effective two-way communication to address issues, inquiries, and control-related matters
  • Foster a strong control culture in partnership with internal and external stakeholders


The above information is intended to describe the general nature and level of work performed by employees assigned to this job; it is not designed to contain or be interpreted as a comprehensive inventory of all duties, responsibilities and qualifications required of employees in this role.

What you have

Minimum: Indicate minimum education, skills and experience required.
  • Bachelor's degree in finance, accounting, business, or a related field
  • 8+ years of relevant experience in financial services, preferably within banking, Capital Markets, internal audit, risk management, or related operations
  • Strong knowledge of internal control frameworks, regulatory compliance requirements, and risk management practices in a Capital Markets or structured finance environment


Preferred: Indicate "nice to haves" regarding education, skills, and experience.
  • MBA or other relevant advanced degree
  • Professional certifications such as CPA, CFA, CIA, or similar
  • Experience with structured finance or securitization structures, including ABS or trust administration
  • Familiarity with rating agency requirements and investor due diligence processes
  • Exposure to Capital Markets transactions, treasury, funding, or securitization execution
  • Experience driving operational improvements or establishing control processes in a growing organization


Feeling your best helps you do your best:
Our benefits take care of the whole you-so you can build your work around your life (not the other way around!).
  • Competitive base salaries
  • Bonus incentives
  • Generous PTO, Floating Holidays and 12 Federal Holidays observed
  • Support for financial-well-being and retirement 401k with employer match
  • Comprehensive medical, dental, vision, hospital indemnity, critical illness, pet insurance and more
  • Employer paid short-term/long-term disability and basic life insurance
  • Flexible hybrid working arrangements.
  • Paid parental leave and adoption reimbursement programs
  • Free access to on-site staffed fitness centers (in Delaware) and gym subsidy (for locations outside Delaware)
  • Confidential counseling support (EAP), Health Advocacy services and Wellness program with financial incentives
  • Tuition Reimbursement and Family Scholarship Programs
  • Career development and training opportunities

About Sallie Mae

Sallie Mae is a publicly traded U.S. corporation that provides consumer banking. Its nature has changed dramatically since it was set up in 1973. At first, it was a government entity that serviced federal education loans. It then became private and started offering private student loans, although at one point it had a contract to service federal loans. The company's primary business is originating, servicing, and collecting private education loans. The company also provides college savings tools such as its Upromise rewards program. It is headquartered in Newark, Delaware.
Learn more about Sallie Mae
Size
2,400 employees
Industry

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