Manager - Compliance - Testing Center of Excellence

About the job

Global Financial Crimes Compliance (GFCC) is an organization within Global Risk & Compliance (GRC) and is responsible for leading the enterprise-wide Anti-Money Laundering, Sanctions, and Anti-Corruption compliance functions. This team has global responsibility for identifying, investigating, and reporting suspicious activity, including money laundering and terrorist financing, and provides broad analytical and operational support for the company’s enterprise-wide GFCC control framework.

Responsibilities

The newly created second line GFCC Enablement organization will lead and synchronize the execution of GFCC strategic and transformational program development initiatives, including technology, data, and tools. The Manager, Testing Center of Excellence will report to the Director, Testing Center of Excellence and manage Functional User Acceptance Testing (UAT) and Post-Implementation Validation (PIV) of GFCC capabilities. The Manager will lead a team of testers responsible for validating business readiness and end-to-end (E2E) user journeys across GFCC processes, ensuring testing is coordinated, consistent, transparent, and aligned with strategic business initiatives and delivery timelines. In addition, the Manager will partner closely with business process owners, Product leaders, Technology teams, and other contributing enablement functions to define critical test scenarios, assess release readiness, and escalate quality risks through appropriate leadership and governance forums.

Key Responsibilities:

• Functional UAT and PIV Leadership: Lead a team of testers responsible for planning and executing Functional UAT and PIV for GFCC capabilities. Establish and maintain testing standards, procedures, traceability artifacts, entry and exit criteria, and approval workflows to ensure testing is comprehensive, repeatable, well-governed, and aligned with business, regulatory, control, and enterprise policy expectations.
• Business Readiness and E2E Validation: Drive business readiness and validation of end-to-end (E2E) user journeys across GFCC processes. Partner closely with business process owners, Product leaders, and Technology teams  to define critical test scenarios, validate expected business outcomes, and ensure capabilities are fit for intended use prior to release and following implementation.
• Defect, Test Reporting, and Release Governance: Provide oversight of defect identification, triage, prioritization, remediation, and closure, including transparent reporting of test progress, results, residual risks, and readiness. Escalate material quality risks and release concerns to senior leadership and appropriate governance forums to support informed go/no-go decisions.
• People Leadership and Quality Excellence: Lead, coach, and develop a high-performing team of testers, setting clear performance expectations and fostering consistent testing practices, strong risk awareness, continuous improvement, and appropriate credible challenge. Provide thought leadership on testing and quality practices across the GFCC ecosystem.
• Demand and Resource Management: Oversee testing demand management, resource planning, capacity allocation, and prioritization across GFCC testing initiatives. Balance competing priorities and delivery timelines to align quality execution with strategic business initiatives, while identifying dependencies, constraints, and risks early and coordinating resolution across stakeholder groups.

Qualifications

Minimum Qualifications:

• Experience within Financial Crimes Compliance, Anti-Money Laundering (AML), Sanctions, Anti-Corruption, or broader risk and compliance domains.
• Prior experience in testing, quality assurance, business readiness, transformation, project management, product, or technology delivery activities in operational and/or risk management environments.
• Demonstrated people leadership experience, with a history of building, coaching, and developing colleagues and effectively leading through change in a fast-paced environment with shifting priorities.
• Experience with agile methodologies, product lifecycle management, and associated program and project management governance tools (e.g., 3iB, JIRA, BRDs, PRDs, User Stories).
• Demonstrated experience managing testing demand, resource capacity, prioritization, and delivery across multiple concurrent initiatives, with the ability to identify dependencies and quality risks and drive timely resolution.
• Demonstrated self-starter with the ability to identify opportunities and drive results with a high degree of independence.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with an ability to interact and obtain buy-in from senior leaders across multiple lines of defense including technology and product counterparts.
• Ability to maintain a positive attitude in the face of challenges.
• 3+ years of relevant work experience.

Employment eligibility to work with American Express in the United States is required as the company will not pursue visa sponsorship for these positions.

About Us

At American Express, our culture is built on a 175-year history of innovation, shared values and Leadership Behaviors, and an unwavering commitment to back our customers, communities, and colleagues. From delivering differentiated products to providing world-class customer service, we operate with a strong risk mindset, ensuring we continue to uphold our brand promise of trust, security, and service.

As part of Team Amex, you’ll experience our powerful backing with comprehensive support for your holistic well-being and many opportunities to learn new skills, develop as a leader, and grow your career. Here, your voice and ideas matter, your work makes an impact, and together, you will help us define the future of American Express.

We back you with benefits that support your holistic well-being so you can be and deliver your best. This means caring for you and your loved ones' physical, financial, and mental health, as well as providing the flexibility you need to thrive personally and professionally:

• Competitive base salaries

• Bonus incentives

• 6% Company Match on retirement savings plan

• Free financial coaching and financial well-being support

• Comprehensive medical, dental, vision, life insurance, and disability benefits

• Flexible working model with hybrid, onsite or virtual arrangements depending on role and business need

• 20+ weeks paid parental leave for all parents, regardless of gender, offered for pregnancy, adoption or surrogacy

• Free access to global on-site wellness centers staffed with nurses and doctors (depending on location)

• Free and confidential counseling support through our Healthy Minds program

• Career development and training opportunities

For a full list of Team Amex benefits, visit our Colleague Benefits Site.

American Express is an equal opportunity employer and makes employment decisions without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran status, disability status, age, or any other status protected by law. American Express will consider for employment all qualified applicants, including those with arrest or conviction records, in accordance with the requirements of applicable state and local laws, including the California Fair Chance Act, the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers, and the City of Los Angeles’ Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance. For positions covered by federal and/or state banking regulations, American Express will comply with such regulations as it relates to the consideration of applicants with criminal convictions.

We back our colleagues with the support they need to thrive, professionally and personally. That's why we have Amex Flex, our enterprise working model that provides greater flexibility to colleagues while ensuring we preserve the important aspects of our unique in-person culture. Depending on role and business needs, colleagues will either work onsite, in a hybrid model (combination of in-office and virtual days) or fully virtually.

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The below represents the expected salary range for this job requisition. Ultimately, in determining your pay, we’ll consider your location, experience, and other job-related factors.​

Additional Information

• Job Identification: 26015163
• Job Category: Compliance, Control & Legal
• Posting Date: 2026-10-15
• Apply Before: 2026-10-29
• Job Schedule: Full time
• Locations: 18850 N 56th Street, Phoenix, AZ, 85054, US (Hybrid)
• Salary Range: $89250 - $150250 annually + bonus + benefits
• Career Area: Operational Risk Management and Control Management