Head of Business Controls & Planning

Requirements

Description and Requirements

JOB OVERVIEW

The Head of Business Controls & Planning will be responsible for driving robust risk management, regulatory compliance, and operational excellence across the customer service and operations functions. This role oversees non-financial risk assessments, control testing, quality assurance, business continuity, and complaints management, while ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements such as FATCA, CRS, Financial Crimes Compliance, and PCI. The role will lead cross-functional initiatives, strengthen internal controls, and embed a culture of continuous improvement to enhance customer experience, operational resilience, and regulatory readiness.

Job Description

Risk & Control Management

• Provide oversight of departmental Non-Financial Risk Assessments (NFRAs), ensuring risks and controls are accurately maintained by responsible teams.
• Monitor the design and implementation of operational and regulatory controls, validating that gaps are addressed and enhancements are made where required.
• Oversee the execution of quarterly control testing, reviewing outcomes and ensuring deficiencies are remediated.
• Ensure risk events are reported, tracked, and closed by the owning teams within agreed timelines.
• Review and challenge the process for self-identification of issues, confirming that submissions are logged, tracked, and remediated appropriately.
• Maintain oversight of audit readiness, ensuring evidence, testing results, and issue closures are up to date.
• Monitor internal audit activities across Operations, reviewing findings and overseeing timely remediation to closure.
  
  
  

Quality Assurance & Continuous Improvement

• Provide oversight of the Quality Assurance (QA) function, ensuring policies, procedures, and QA reviews are consistently applied across Operations.
• Review and validate updates to the Quality Framework, ensuring continuous improvement initiatives are properly designed and implemented by the responsible team.
• Monitor root cause analysis of recurring QA issues, challenging outcomes and ensuring corrective actions are tracked to closure.
• Oversee the continuous improvement program, reviewing progress on transformation projects, streamlining initiatives, and validating delivery against set objectives.
  
  
  

Performance Management & Planning

• Provide oversight and guidance on the preparation and reporting of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to ensure accuracy, relevance, and alignment with business objectives.
• Oversee the annual target-setting process for operational metrics, ensuring it reflects strategic priorities and regulatory expectations.
• Monitor and review budget planning and monthly performance analysis, challenging assumptions and ensuring variances are addressed by responsible teams.
  
  
  

Financial Crime & Regulatory Compliance

• Oversee a centralized unit responsible for Alert Management, including Sanctions, PEP, Transaction Monitoring, KYC work items, CRS, and FATCA alerts.
• Act as a subject matter advisor on FATCA and CRS compliance, ensuring processes remain effective, up to date, and continuously improved.
• Oversight over the PCI Compliance Program, ensuring annual certification and adherence to all mandated controls.
• Act as the Operations point of contact for cross-functional regulatory initiatives and projects.
• Review and interpret new regulations, collaborating across teams to develop and implement compliance action plans.
• Partner with Risk, Compliance, Internal Audit, and External Audit teams to ensure adherence to regulatory requirements and best practices.
  
  
  

Complaints Management & Customer Experience

• Provide oversight of the Complaints Management framework, ensuring policies and processes are consistently applied across Operations.
• Monitor the effectiveness of the complaints handling team, ensuring customer issues are resolved in a timely and effective manner.
• Review root cause analysis of complaints and validate that corrective actions are identified, implemented, and tracked to closure.
• Ensure complaints insights are regularly escalated to management and used as a tool to drive service improvements and process alignment.
• Act as a governance point to confirm that complaints management activities meet regulatory expectations and contribute to enhancing customer experience
  
  
  

Qualifications, Skills, Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Risk Management, Compliance, or related field.
• 8–12 years of experience in risk management, operational risk, compliance, audit, or related functions within the financial services or insurance industry.
• Demonstrated experience in managing non-financial risk assessments, internal controls, and regulatory compliance programs.
• Prior involvement with regulatory audits, FATCA/CRS compliance, sanctions screening, and PCI compliance highly desirable.
• Proven track record of leading cross-functional initiatives and working effectively with senior leadership and regulators.
  
  
  

Competencies Required

• Strong knowledge of risk management methodologies, control frameworks, and regulatory requirements.
• Excellent project management skills, with the ability to drive multiple initiatives simultaneously.
• Exceptional communication, presentation, and stakeholder management skills.
• Strong problem-solving and decision-making capabilities with attention to detail.
  
  
  

About MetLife

Recognized on Fortune magazine's list of the 2025 "World's Most Admired Companies" and Fortune World’s 25 Best Workplaces for 2024, MetLife , through its subsidiaries and affiliates, is one of the world’s leading financial services companies; providing insurance, annuities, employee benefits and asset management to individual and institutional customers. With operations in more than 40 markets, we hold leading positions in the United States, Latin America, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East.

Our purpose is simple - to help our colleagues, customers, communities, and the world at large create a more confident future. United by purpose and guided by empathy, we’re inspired to transform the next century in financial services.

At MetLife, it’s #AllTogetherPossible . Join us!