Risk Governance Program Manager

This position is remote within First Interstate's footprint of Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Oregon, South Dakota, Washington and Wyoming.
What’s Important to You
We know your career is just one aspect of a meaningful, complex, and demanding life. That’s why we designed our compensation and benefits package to provide employees and their families with as much choice as possible.

• Generous Paid Time Off (PTO) in addition to paid federal holidays.
• Student debt employer repayment program.
• 401(k) retirement plan with a 6% match.
• The health and happiness of the places we call home matter to us. Learn a little more about what we do for the communities we serve and why we want YOU to be a part of it.

We encourage you to apply. Reach for what you want and tell us why your work ethic and willingness to learn make you a natural fit for #TeamFirstInterstate.
SUMMARY
The Risk Governance Program Manager oversees assigned enterprise risk governance programs and related strategic initiatives. This position coordinates cross-functional stakeholders, manages governance processes and reporting, supports executive and Board risk oversight, and serves as the business owner for designated risk systems and programs. The role promotes consistent, sustainable, and well-documented risk governance practices across the Bank.
ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Supports strategic planning and leads the implementation of initiatives affecting assigned risk governance programs.
• Provides governance, program management, and decision-support expertise to the Risk Leadership Team.
• Coordinates the maintenance of the enterprise risk governance framework, including committee structures, charters, decision authorities, escalation pathways, and reporting standards.
• Builds effective partnerships with Executive Management, Legal, Compliance, Internal Audit, Finance, Privacy, Technology, and business-line stakeholders to align governance responsibilities and resolve cross-functional issues.
• Coordinates governance calendars, agendas, meeting materials, decisions, minutes, action items, and follow-up activities for risk committees.
• Coordinates timely and accurate reporting on strategic initiatives, audit and regulatory matters, issues, risk trends, and other matters requiring executive or Board oversight.
• Develops and conducts quality reviews of executive- and Board-level risk materials to ensure accuracy, consistency, completeness, and alignment with governance standards.
• Coordinates the preparation, validation, approval, and submission of assigned regulatory risk reports in partnership with Legal, Compliance, Finance, and applicable business owners.
• Administers the risk policy governance process, including standards, review cycles, approvals, exceptions, change management, and the escalation of overdue items.
• Maintains complete and examination-ready records of policy decisions, approvals, exceptions, and supporting documentation.
• Leads the Bank’s Issues Management Program, including governance standards, lifecycle requirements, reporting, escalation, system administration, and program effectiveness monitoring.
• Identifies and escalates overdue, disputed, or potentially material issues and governance matters to the appropriate risk leader or governance committee.
• Serves as the business owner for the Bank’s GRC platform, establishing business requirements, governance standards, priorities, access expectations, data quality requirements, and change management processes.
• Partners with Technology, vendors, and stakeholders to oversee system enhancements, testing, implementation, support, data integrity, and alignment with risk governance requirements.
• Leads assigned risk initiatives by establishing scope, governance, milestones, dependencies, resource requirements, risks, decision points, and implementation plans.
• Develops and delivers training, communications, and change management support for assigned risk governance programs, processes, systems, roles, and responsibilities.
• Develops and monitors meaningful metrics to evaluate program performance, identify trends, support decision-making, and drive corrective action.
• Reviews governance submissions for completeness, accuracy, consistency, and adherence to standards, and challenges gaps before escalation.
• Periodically evaluates assigned governance programs against requirements, performance metrics, stakeholder feedback, regulatory expectations, and industry practices, and recommends improvements.

MANAGEMENT RESPONSIBILITIES

• Participates in the selection, placement, evaluation, development, promotion, and termination of employees as needed.
• Coaches employees to develop and enhance the skills required for success in their roles.

QUALIFICATIONS
To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES

• Demonstrates knowledge of enterprise risk management, the Three Lines Model, policy governance, issues management, risk taxonomy, committee governance, and executive and Board reporting.
• Reads, analyzes, and interprets complex regulatory, governance, technical, and business documents.
• Interprets regulatory expectations and coordinates their implementation through policies, procedures, governance processes, reporting, and controls.
• Translates complex regulatory, technical, governance, and process requirements into clear, actionable business requirements.
• Applies quantitative and qualitative analysis to interpret risk data, evaluate trends, assess program performance, and support informed decision-making.
• Interprets metrics, percentages, ratios, thresholds, and trend data used in risk and governance reporting.
• Defines problems, collects and analyzes data, establishes facts, evaluates alternatives, and draws well-supported conclusions.
• Demonstrates sound judgment and strong executive communication, technical writing, facilitation, negotiation, and stakeholder management skills.
• Presents complex risk and governance matters clearly and effectively to senior management, governance committees, and regulators.
• Responds to sensitive inquiries or complaints with professionalism, discretion, and appropriate escalation.
• Demonstrates the ability to prioritize competing demands, manage multiple complex initiatives, and remain adaptable under pressure; travel may be required.
• Demonstrates proficiency with Microsoft Office applications, collaboration tools, data visualization tools, workflow solutions, and GRC platforms.

EDUCATION AND/OR EXPERIENCE

• High School or General Education Degree (GED) required
• Bachelor's Degree in Risk Management, Business, Finance, Accounting, Compliance, or a related field preferred
• 7-9 years of relevant experience in financial services, enterprise risk management, compliance, audit, governance, program management, or a related field required
• Experience managing or supporting risk governance programs, including policy governance, issues management, risk taxonomy, committee governance, and the preparation of executive- and Board-level reporting required
• Experience leading complex, cross-functional initiatives involving governance, process design, technology implementation, change management, or regulatory requirements required
• Experience administering, implementing, or serving as the business owner for a Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC) platform to include Archer preferred
• Experience leading cross-functional teams and influencing stakeholders without direct authority preferred

LICENSES AND CERTIFICATIONS

• Professional certification such as CERP, CRISC, CRCM, PMP, or a comparable risk, compliance, audit, or project management credential preferred

PHYSICAL DEMANDS AND WORKING ENVIRONMENT
The physical demands and work environment are representative of those that must be met or encountered to successfully perform the essential functions of the job. In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, the company provides reasonable accommodation to qualified individuals with disabilities and encourages both prospective and current employees to discuss potential accommodations with the employer.

• Dexterity of hands/fingers to operate computer keyboard and mouse - Frequently
• Sitting - Frequently
• Standing - Occasionally
• Noise Level - Moderate
• Typical Work Hours - M-F (8-5)
• Regular and Predictable Attendance - Required

COMPENSATION & BENEFITS
We offer a competitive total compensation package including base salary and benefits. The anticipated pay range for this position is $98,100 to $161,900 per year (in CO & WA) and depends on a variety of non-discriminatory factors including, but not limited to, job-related knowledge, skills and experience, education, and geographic location. Additionally, this role is eligible to receive annual discretionary cash and stock bonuses. Benefits available for this position include, but are not limited to, medical, dental, vision, short-term and long-term disability benefits and life insurance, flexible spending accounts, health savings account, employee assistance program, 401(k), Paid Time Off (new hires accrue at .069 per hours worked which equates to approximately 18 days per year inclusive of paid sick time) and up to 11 paid Federal holidays. Please note this information is provided for those hired in Colorado and Washington only, and this role is open to candidates outside of Colorado and Washington with compensation that aligns with your location. For more information regarding our benefits, please visit https://www.firstinterstatebank.com/company/about/employee-benefits.php