ERM RCSA Strategy & Governance Senior Manager

Job Description

Job Description

First Merchants is seeking a ERM RCSA Strategy & Governance Senior Manager to join our team! This position offers a hybrid schedule with in-office presence at one of our regional headquarters - Indiana, Michigan, or Ohio. This position will be responsible for leading, implementing, and overseeing key elements of the Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) Program, with a primary focus on the design, execution, and ongoing effectiveness of the RCSA Program. Additionally, this position participates in the development of RCSA policies, procedures and ERM objectives, and helps to serve as a control point. This individual will provide an objective risk perspective, provide credible challenge to business line management to promote fully risk-informed decisions, and will be independent of such decision-making. Desired outcome is to achieve collaboration and communication at the executive and board levels to ensure management is risk-informed. 

As part of this role you will:

• Lead and maintain key elements of an effective Risk and Control Self-Assessment (RCSA) program.
  • Develop, maintain, and periodically review RCSA-related governance and foundational documentation, including the RCSA Methodology, risk and control definitions, scoring criteria, and assessment standards, ensuring alignment with the Bank’s Risk Appetite and ERM framework.
  • Continuously evaluate the design, maturity, and effectiveness of the RCSA program and related reporting through peer benchmarking, regulatory guidance, ongoing education, and examination or audit feedback.
  • Lead and oversee the end-to-end RCSA process, including planning, execution, quality assurance, challenge, and issue escalation, coordinating with Lines 1, 2, and 3 to ensure assessments are complete, accurate, consistently applied, and aligned with established risk and control definitions.
  • Oversee the aggregation, analysis, and reporting of RCSA results for Executive Management, Risk Committees, and the Board, including inherent risk, control effectiveness, residual risk, emerging themes, threshold breaches, and alignment with Risk Appetite.
  • Oversee alignment of RCSA outputs with the Key Risk Indicator (KRI) lifecycle, ensuring RCSA results are informed by KRI results and provide forward-looking insight into key risks and control performance.
  • Ensure effective integration between the RCSA program and issues management and risk event/loss event processes, including linkage of identified control gaps to remediation plans and ongoing monitoring.
• Provide independent Line 2 oversight, consultation, and credible challenge of Line 1 risk and control assessments, analysis of residual risk trends, control effectiveness concerns, root cause drivers, assessment quality, and related assessments (e.g., new products and services, process changes).
• Develop and oversee RCSA-specific training and guidance to promote consistent understanding of risk and control concepts, assessment expectations, scoring discipline, and accountability, reinforcing a strong risk and control culture across the organization.
• Assist, as needed, with preparation of RCSA-related materials, summaries, and themes for RCPC reporting and governance forums.
• Serve as a member, chair, advisor, or attendee of designated risk governance committees, providing RCSA-related analysis, independent challenge, escalation of material concerns, and reporting of key themes, control weaknesses, and emerging risks. Membership duties may be assigned to one or more of the following risk committees:
  • Enterprise Risk Management Working Group (Chair)
  • Enterprise Risk Management Committee
  • Operational Risk Committee
  • Executive Retail Operations Committee
  • Asset Liability Committee
  • Credit Policy Management Committee
  • Information Security Committee
• Participate in enterprise initiatives impacting RCSAs through selected corporate projects and initiatives to assess and advise on RCSA implications, risk and control impacts, and required assessment updates from a Line 2 perspective.
• Oversee the implementation, configuration, and ongoing use of technology tools supporting the RCSA program (e.g., Archer IM and ERM modules), including workflow, data quality, reporting, and user experience.
• Perform ad-hoc RCSA and risk analyses by conducting targeted RCSA-related analyses as requested by the Chief Risk Officer or ERM governance bodies to address emerging risks, control concerns, or regulatory inquiries.
• Assist the Chief Risk Officer in acquisition due diligence and post-integration activities by assessing RCSA maturity, identifying material risks and control gaps, and supporting integration into the Bank’s RCSA framework.
• Participate in regulatory examinations and internal/external audit discussions to support alignment, address findings, and enhance the RCSA program based on feedback and recommendations.
• Stay current on regulatory expectations, industry standards, and leading practices related to RCSA, risk management, control assessment methodologies, and forward-looking risk indicators.

To be successful in this position, we require the following:

• Bachelor’s degree in business, management, law or related field of study.
• Minimum 8 years of banking or financial services experience, including at least 5 years in enterprise risk management, operational risk, compliance, audit, governance, or a related risk discipline.
• Strong analytical skills and experience utilizing enterprise governance, risk and compliance platforms, reporting tools, and data visualization solutions.
• Experience presenting to Executive Management and Risk committees.
• Experience with GRC platforms (Archer, MetricStream, ServiceNow GRC, etc.).

The following would be a plus:

• Master’s degree.

First Merchants offers the following:

• Base Pay PLUS Bonuses
• Medical, Dental and Vision Insurance
• 401k
• Health Savings and Flexible Spending Accounts
• Vacation/Sick Time
• Paid Holidays
• Paid Parental Leave
• Tuition Reimbursement
• Additional Benefits

A little about us:

First Merchants is guided by a genuine philosophy of being a meaningful place to work and having a prosperous impact across all walks of life throughout the communities we serve, including consumers, businesses and other organizations. Our Vision, Mission and Team statement reflect and reinforce that authentic service philosophy.

Our Vision is:

To enhance the financial wellness of the diverse communities we serve.

Our Mission is:

To be the most responsive, knowledgeable, and high-performing financial organization for our clients, teammates, and shareholders.

Our Team:

"We are a collection of dynamic colleagues with diverse experiences and perspectives who share a passion for positively impacting lives. We are genuinely committed to attracting and engaging teammates of diverse backgrounds. We believe in the power of inclusion and belonging."

Apply today to begin your career with us!