VP, Data Science – Model Development

Job Description:

Role Summary/Purpose :

This position, within the Decision Management team, is highly technical and focuses on supporting critical strategies and decisions throughout the consumer and commercial account lifecycle. The role requires significant experience in model validation (second line) and aims to bridge the gap between model development and the risk management framework. The ideal candidate will ensure that business objectives are seamlessly aligned with the risk management framework.

Our Way of Working

We’re proud to offer you choice and flexibility. At Synchrony, our way of working allows you to have the option to work from home, near one of our Hubs or come into one of our offices. Occasionally you may be required to commute to our nearest office for in person engagement activities such as business or team meetings, training and culture events.

Essential Responsibilities:

• Lead, grow and retain a strong team Of data scientists

• Lead model projects working closely with vendors and/or cross-functionally

• Utilize deep insights from previous second line experience to enhance risk identification, assessment, and response strategies within first line activities.

• Foster a proactive risk management culture within the first line teams, enabling them to understand, anticipate, and mitigate risks efficiently.

• Ensure the team has the right tools, processes and agile principles in place to deliver work that is on time and to specification

• Partner with multiple business stakeholders and cross-functional teams to design, develop, and execute advanced statistical and non-statistical solutions

• Drive best in class go-to-market big data modeling and analytics within Analytics by leveraging a broad stack of technologies — Python, H20, Machine Learning, SAS and more

• Act as the primary liaison for multiple cross functional stakeholders managing competing project deliverables in a fast paced and ever-changing business environment

• Partner with Synchrony leadership to drive strategic initiatives both inside the function and cross functionally

• Drive optimization and efficiency initiatives to support reduced cycle time

• Oversee the creation and maintenance of required documentation for all owned deliverables

• Support the model risk management process including model validation, response to independent review questions and assisting in the development of action plans to address model governance/validation findings

• Participate in regulatory reviews as required

• Keep pace with the latest developments in academia, regulatory environment, risk technology (vendor and inhouse) and financial services industry in order to provide expert guidance to the business functions

• Perform other duties and/or special projects as assigned

Qualifications/Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree with emphasis in Statistics, Mathematics, Economics, Decision Science, Operations Research or other quantitative fields OR, in lieu of degree, a high school diploma/GED and 12+ years of work-related analytics experience

• A minimum of 9+ years of progressive work experience to include:

  • 5+ years of experience managing a team or influencing stakeholders

  • 6+ years of experience in the banking or financial services industry

  • 3+ years of experience in model validation for second line

  • 5+ years of experience programming with SAS, SQL, Python, or other relevant languages

  • 5+ years working with large data sets

  • 5+ years of experience in project management

  • Direct experience with the application of regulatory requirements for Model Risk (e.g. SR 11-7/0CC 2011-12)

Desired Characteristics:

• Graduate Degree in a quantitative field (Finance, Economics, Engineering, Math/Stat, Decision Science or similar)

• Experience applying agile principles in a data science environment

• Strong leadership skills to drive change and results

• Strong influencing skills

• Self-motivated, positive attitude takes ownership and initiative to identify and solve problems

• Strong time management skills, ability to work independently, multi-task and quickly respond in a dynamic environment

• Demonstrated written/verbal communication & the ability to convey complex topics to a wide variety of audiences

• Experience using and successfully implementing Al/