Product Due Diligence & Risk Approval Lead (VP-level)

Role: Product Due Diligence & Risk Approval Lead (VP-level) (Pre-Go-Live)

Location: Wilmington, DE/Jersey City, NJ/Plano, TX/ Chicago, IL/Columbus, OH

Interview: Online Interview

Type: Contract

Job Description:

Product Due Diligence & Risk Approval Lead (VP-level) (Execution Support & Pre-Go-Live Conditions Closure)

Role Summary

The Product Due Diligence & Risk Approval (Execution Support) will support the Product Due Diligence and Risk Approval Lead by driving disciplined execution of the bank due diligence and approval process for new and enhanced products by owning the coordination and closure of pre-go-live conditions required for launch readiness. The role ensures required reviews, decisions, and conditions are tracked, evidenced, and closed through effective cross-functional coordination, governance, and escalation support.

Key Responsibilities

• Execution support to the Due Diligence/Risk Approval Lead
• Partner with the Lead to manage day-to-day execution, priorities, and stakeholder engagement across active approvals and launches.
• Prepare materials and recommendations to enable effective decisioning and escalation.
• Process coordination and action management
• Coordinate end-to-end activities across Product, Risk, Compliance, Legal, Technology, Operations, and other stakeholders.
• Drive action tracking to closure; confirm ownership, due dates, dependencies, and deliverable readiness/quality.
• Governance and cadence management
• Plan and run working sessions and checkpoints (agendas, pre-reads, minutes, action items).
• Maintain core program artifacts: workplan, RAID log, decision log, dependency tracker, approval status dashboard.
• Documentation and due diligence readiness
• Ensure due diligence artifacts are complete, consistent, and ready for review per process requirements (e.g., product overview, business rationale, customer impacts, risk/control considerations, testing/rollout and monitoring plans).
• Manage comment adjudication workflow (capture questions, route to owners, track responses, confirm closure).
• Pre-go-live conditions closure (launch readiness)
• Maintain a centralized log of pre-go-live conditions, including condition owner, due date, evidence required, and validation/attestation requirements.
• Drive closure of conditions by coordinating SMEs, ensuring evidence is produced and reviewed, and confirming approvals/attestations are obtained.
• Escalate aging or high-risk conditions with clear options, impacts, and recommended path forward.
• Provide launch readiness reporting and confirm completion criteria are met prior to go-live.
• Status reporting and senior communications
• Produce crisp written updates for stakeholders, including RAG status, key risks/issues, conditions progress, decisions needed, and upcoming milestones.
• Provide concise verbal updates; tailor messaging for working-level vs senior audiences.
• Continuous improvement (execution-focused)
• Identify recurring friction points and implement practical improvements: templates, checklists, intake standards (“definition of ready”), and streamlined governance routines—especially for conditions management.

Required Qualifications

• VP-level experience in program/project management supporting complex, cross-functional execution and governance.
• Strong ability to coordinate across functions and influence outcomes without direct authority.
• Exceptional communication skills (written and verbal), including executive-ready updates and escalation materials.
• Demonstrated ability to learn and apply governance/risk processes quickly, with strong attention to evidence and closure criteria.
• Strong organizational discipline: action tracking, dependency management, meeting facilitation, and detail orientation.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience supporting new product approval / product governance / due diligence processes.
• Experience managing go-live readiness activities, including conditions/actions closure, evidence collection, and control-function sign-offs.
• Familiarity with common control function reviews (e.g., compliance, legal, operational risk, technology risk, information security, data/privacy, third-party).
• Proficiency with workflow/tracking tools (e.g., Jira/Confluence and/or equivalent).

Success Measures

• Due diligence and approval activities progress on schedule, with transparent status and minimal rework.
• Pre-go-live conditions are closed on time with complete evidence and required validations/attestations.
• Stakeholders receive clear, actionable communications and a predictable governance cadence.
• Issues/conditions are surfaced early with well-structured escalation packs enabling timely decisions.