About Patelco Credit Union:
Patelco Credit Union is a not-for-profit credit union with a purpose to build financial health and wellbeing for our members. Since 1936, Patelco has grown from $500 in assets to over $9 billion in assets and is the 7th largest credit union in California with branches throughout Northern California.
We are here for our members throughout all their stages of life. Meeting them with the products and services to help them plan purposefully for their futures and to secure our life-long partnership as their trusted financial advocate. As one team, we are all committed to delivering service, empowering financial literacy, creating products, and providing new technology for our members.
We believe that work should be rewarding, challenging, and enjoyable. We’re dedicated to creating a positive and supportive culture where our team members can thrive. If you’re looking to use your skills and knowledge to make a difference in our members’ lives, Patelco could be the perfect fit for you.
Overview:
The Vice President of Compliance is a senior leadership role responsible for the design, execution and ongoing oversight of the Credit Union’s compliance risk management framework, independently assessing regulatory risk, identifying emerging compliance risk issues, providing credible challenge to the first line activities, and acts as the Compliance Officer.
This role provides independent second-line oversight to ensure adherence to applicable federal and state laws, regulations, and supervisory expectations governing matters such as consumer protection, fair lending, marketing, lending operations and OFAC applicable to a federally insured, state chartered credit union of significant size and complexity. The role also supports senior management and the Board through clear, timely reporting on compliance risk exposures, trends, and control effectiveness.
The VP of Compliance partners closely with executive management, business leaders, Legal, Risk Management, and Internal Audit to proactively identify compliance risks, provide regulatory guidance for new and changed products and services, deliver credible challenge to first-line activities, and ensure the Credit Union maintains a strong mindset of compliance and consumer protection.
Responsibilities:
- Compliance Officer, Governance, & Oversight
- Serve as the designated Compliance Officer, overseeing enterprise-wide adherence to NCUA, CFPB, and California consumer protection laws and regulations (e.g., TILA/RESPA, ECOA, HMDA, UDAAP, FCRA, SCRA, MLA, ADA, privacy).
- Responsible for the design and administration of compliance programs.
- Build the compliance expertise of Patelco with authorized activities including internal Compliance Team Member training.
- Lead and maintain a comprehensive Compliance Management System consistent with NCUA, DFPI, CFPB, and FFIEC expectations.
- Oversee regulatory compliance risk assessments, compliance testing and monitoring program, issue management, and reporting.
- Serve as a key advisor to executive management, management committees, and the Board/Audit & Risk Committee on compliance risk matters, emerging regulatory changes, and remediation progress.
- Regulatory Compliance Program
- Lead compliance integration for new or modified products, services, and delivery channels, ensuring requirements are embedded by design.
- Maintain the regulatory inventory, including applicability determinations and implementation tracking.
- Perform periodic risk assessments of the compliance program and monitor adherence to regulatory requirements.
- Develop and maintain compliance policies, procedures, and monitoring frameworks across lending, deposits, and operations.
- Conduct risk-based reviews, testing, and audit ; identify gaps and drive corrective actions with business partners.
- Serve as primary liaison for regulators and auditors, managing examinations, responses, and remediation efforts.
- Monitor regulatory changes and translate new requirements into actionable updates to policies, controls, and business practices.
- Testing, Monitoring & Issue Management
- Oversee compliance testing and ongoing monitoring activities to assess adherence to laws, regulations, and internal policies.
- Ensure effective identification, escalation, root cause analysis, and remediation of compliance issues, including validation of corrective actions.
- Coordinate with Internal Audit and Risk Management to avoid duplication and ensure comprehensive coverage.
- Fair Lending, Lending Compliance, Quality Control
- Conduct annual fair lending assessments, including statistical analysis, root-cause identification, underwriting and pricing reviews, remediation oversight, and reporting to executive management and the Board.
- Ensure effective identification and mitigation of UDAAP risks across products, marketing, disclosures, servicing, and complaint trends.
- Oversee second-line quality control reviews of pre‑funding and post‑closing loan files to ensure adherence to regulatory requirements, internal policies, and investor (Fannie Mae) guideline, including analyzing root causes for non-compliance.
- Ensure findings are communicated effectively to the first line, tracked through remediation, and reporting findings to senior management and the Board.
- Marketing & Communications Compliance
- Oversee compliance review of marketing, advertising, member communications, disclosures, and digital content to ensure accuracy, fairness, and regulatory compliance.
- Partner with Marketing and Product teams to proactively identify and mitigate compliance risks. Provide timely guidance that supports business objectives while managing regulatory risk.
- Complaints Oversight & Consumer Protection
- Provide independent oversight and credible challenge of first-line complaint handling, root cause analysis, corrective actions and trend reporting, to ensure regulatory expectations and consumer protection standards are met.
- Monitor complaint trends for regulatory, UDAAP, and fair lending risk indicators and ensure appropriate escalation and corrective action.
- Regulatory Engagement & Exams
- Supports Internal Audit in exam preparation, responses, findings remediation, and ongoing supervisory communications.
- Oversee development and delivery of enterprise compliance training programs, including role-based training for high-risk functions. Updating training proactively as laws and regulations change.
- Promote a strong culture of compliance, ethics, and consumer protection throughout the organization.
Functional Competencies
- Ability to demonstrate solid judgment, problem solving, and independent decision-making skills.
- Ability to apply knowledge and experience to develop solutions in partnership with senior leaders of the credit union.
- Communicates clearly with internal and external stakeholders; supports senior management, committees, and Board in presentations and communications.
- Effective management skills, active listening, ability to assess strengths and opportunities in team members, formulate plans to improve performance, provide constructive feedback, delegate tasks, and adapt communication style to suit different team members.
- Effectively collaborates with others to achieve organizational goals.
- Effective planning and organizing skills to deliver workload in timely manner.
- Self-motivated and ability to adhere to deadlines.
Qualifications:
- Bachelor’s degree in law, finance, accounting with an auditing concentration, business, risk management, or a related field.
- Minimum 12–15 years of progressive compliance experience within a financial institution or regulator, including leadership roles.
- Deep expertise in consumer compliance regulations applicable to credit unions and large financial institutions.
- Proven ability to provide independent, effective credible challenge within a three-lines-of-defense framework.
- Experience interfacing with regulators.
- Proven ability to provide effective credible challenge while maintaining constructive partnerships with the first line.
- Strong executive presence, judgment, and ability to communicate complex regulatory issues clearly to senior leaders and Board members.
Target Base Pay:
$240,000 - $260,000/ yr
Compensation at Patelco:
Please note that the salary information is a general guideline only. Patelco Credit Union considers factors such as (but not limited to) scope and responsibilities of the position, candidate's work experience, education/training, key skills, internal peer equity, as well as market and business considerations when extending an offer. We offer a competitive total rewards package including a Short-Term Incentive (STI) program for all regular positions and a wide range of medical, dental, vision, financial, and other benefits.
We Offer:
Physical Health:
- Exceptional Medical, Dental, Vision, and Life Insurance benefits
- Onsite fitness center at HQ and rewards for completing wellness related activities
Financial Health:
- Competitive compensation packages with bonus opportunity
- 401(k) with 3% Safe Harbor and 5% employer match
- Discounts on loan products
- Tuition reimbursement
Emotional Health:
- Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
- PTO for part-time and full-time positions
- Paid holidays
Personal Development:
- On-the-job training and skills development
- Internal transfer opportunities for career growth
- Volunteer work
Flexible work arrangements available for specific positions
Patelco Credit Union is an Equal Opportunity Employer including individuals with disabilities and protected veterans