Director, Record Retention and Surveillance of Electronic Communications (PL)

Your Opportunity

Schwab remains committed to providing increased visibility to career growth opportunities and job requirements. This posting announcement is part of increased transparency and while all qualified applicants will be reviewed and considered, this organization has a preferred candidate identified for this role. 

The Director of Record Retention and Surveillance of Electronic Communications is a senior leader in the First Line Risk Management Office (1RMO), responsible for the CSC Record Retention Standard and Corporate Records Team, which drives compliance with SEC Rule 17a-4 (Records to Be Preserved by Certain Exchange Members, Brokers, and Dealers) and Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (17 CFR 275.204-2) across first-line-of-defense business units. In addition, the Director will work across first-line business units to drive consistency in how the firm oversees the supervision and surveillance of electronic communications in accordance with FINRA Rule 3110 (Supervision).

The Director will lead a cross-functional team that partners closely with Compliance, Legal, Risk, Technology, Internal Audit, and business leadership to drive regulatory adherence, operational excellence, and sustainable risk management.

The ideal candidate brings deep expertise in broker-dealer regulatory obligations, strong people leadership, and a demonstrated ability to translate complex regulatory requirements into practical business processes, controls, and technology solutions.

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead teams responsible for the oversight, implementation, and ongoing monitoring of requirements related to SEC Rule 17a-4, Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (17 CFR 275.204-2), and FINRA Rule 3110.
• Own the corporate standard that outlines requirements for records retention, preservation, accessibility, and disposition.
• Partner with Compliance to interpret regulatory requirements and industry expectations; promoting cross-enterprise adherence to applicable policies, standards, and control frameworks. Ensure controls support regulatory, legal, audit, and business needs, including response readiness for examinations, investigations, litigation, and internal reviews.
• Provide leadership on change management, including the introduction of new systems or modifications to existing systems that assist in meeting requirements over record retention and surveillance of electronic communications.
• Centrally orchestrate strategic decision-making and prioritization with key vendors. Identifying opportunities to optimize cost and leverage innovative capabilities that meet the business’ evolving needs.
• Manage requirements from key stakeholders to enhance record retention and surveillance program. Enable continuous improvement and feedback loops, and operationalize solutions based on evolving business needs.
• Communicate effectively with senior leadership and executive stakeholders on program maturity, risk themes, and investment priorities, including serving as a senior point of contact for internal and external stakeholders during regulatory examinations, audits, and inquiries related to record retention and supervision of electronic communications.
• Partner with first-line business leaders and Compliance to strengthen processes for issue identification, escalation, and remediation, including control execution and reporting to identify trends, control gaps, and areas requiring corrective action.
• Establish key risk indicators, control metrics, and management reporting related to supervisory and records compliance. Escalate material risks, control weaknesses, and regulatory concerns to senior leadership clearly and in an actionable manner.
• Partner with Legal and Compliance on regulatory matters, inquiries, and interpretive issues. Coordinate responses to regulatory requests, ensuring documentation is organized, accurate, and delivered in a timely manner.
• Lead, develop, and coach high-performing teams, including managers and subject matter experts. Ensure team structure, capabilities, and resources are aligned to current and emerging regulatory requirements.

What you have

• Bachelor’s degree
• 10+ years of experience in a broker-dealer environment, with specialization in first-line-of-defense risk management or Compliance.
• 5+ years of people leadership experience, including management of managers and/or large, cross-functional teams.
• Deep knowledge of SEC Rule 17a-4, Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (17 CFR 275.204-2), and FINRA Rule 3110, including practical implementation considerations within a broker-dealer environment.
• Familiarity with electronic communications retention, archiving platforms, records repositories, surveillance systems, workflow tools, and supervisory technologies.
• Experience designing or overseeing supervisory control frameworks, books and records programs, and records retention governance.
• Strong understanding of broker-dealer operations, regulatory examinations, control environments, and issue remediation practices.
• Proven ability to lead cross-functional initiatives involving Compliance, Legal, Technology, and business functions.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to present complex regulatory and risk topics clearly to senior leaders.
• Strong analytical, organizational, and problem-solving skills, with the ability to manage multiple priorities, including challenging status quo with strategies to leverage Alternative Intelligence (AI) solutions, in a fast-paced environment.