Regulatory Advisory Practices Manager in London

International Card Services (ICS) brings together our International Consumer and Small & Medium Size Enterprises (SME) issuing activities, as well as our Commercial Large Market sales and account development teams. ICS issues Cards in 27 countries and is responsible for two Joint Ventures covering around a dozen countries. The leaders in these countries are empowered to make decisions at a local level, in partnership with other local business leaders. Local teams are supported by two cross-market teams – the Centre of Excellence and Risk & Control Management.

The Regulatory Advisory Practices Manager sits within the International Card Services (ICS) first line of defence Governance & Control team and owns and maintains the ICS Compliance Program framework. The role is responsible for building and sustaining the central infrastructure of the program — including the framework documentation, standard operating procedures, training curriculum, and program-level reporting — so that first-line teams across the business have clear, practical tools for managing compliance risk.

This is a program management role focused on design, documentation, and maintenance of shared frameworks and tools. It is not a hands-on advisory role embedded in local business or regulatory teams.

Why This Role Matters

The first line of defence is accountable for managing compliance risk. This role makes that accountability practical by creating clear frameworks, usable tools, effective reporting, and targeted awareness activities — enabling business teams to identify, assess, monitor, and evidence compliance risk management consistently and confidently.

What Success Looks Like

In this role, success means:

• A clearly documented, current, and easy-to-navigate ICS Compliance Program framework.
• Consistent program-level reporting that highlights meaningful themes, actions, and areas of focus.
• Usable procedures and playbooks that enable teams to apply compliance requirements reliably.
• A training curriculum that builds regulatory understanding across roles and markets.
• A stronger culture of compliance ownership, where risks are identified early and documented clearly.

Responsibilities

1. Compliance Risk Management Framework - Own the structure, documentation, and maintenance of the ICS Compliance Program, ensuring it clearly defines how compliance risk is identified, assessed, controlled, monitored, reported, and remediated. Keep framework content current and aligned with enterprise policy, regulatory expectations, and business activity.
2. Metrics, Reporting, and Risk Insights - Define minimum standards for compliance risk metrics and reporting. Produce program-level reporting that gives leadership a clear view of the health of the compliance program, including emerging themes, control gaps, and areas requiring management attention.
3. Policies, Procedures, and Playbooks - Translate enterprise compliance policies into clear first-line operating procedures, playbooks, and practical guidance. Develop and maintain playbooks for priority topics and review existing procedures to remove duplication, close gaps, and improve usability.
4. Training, Awareness, and Capability Building - Build and maintain a role-based regulatory awareness curriculum. Oversee the design of targeted learning materials, awareness guides, and knowledge resources. Use completion data, assessments, and feedback to improve training quality and effectiveness over time.
5. Community of Practice and Stakeholder Engagement - Establish and facilitate communities of practice that connect colleagues across jurisdictions, functions, and business teams. Promote consistent approaches to compliance risk management and act as the central coordination point for the program.
6. Continuous Improvement and Corrective Actions - Identify and drive improvements to the compliance program, including clearer procedures, stronger reporting, and more effective training. Support the tracking and delivery of corrective actions and contribute to root cause analysis and lessons learned.
7. Regulatory Change and Business Implementation - Support first-line teams in understanding the business impact of new or changed regulatory requirements. Help coordinate impact assessments and ensure central program documentation reflects relevant regulatory developments.

Qualifications

Minimum Qualifications:

• Experience in regulatory compliance, risk management, controls, audit, legal, governance, regulatory change, or a related role within financial services or another regulated environment.
• Working knowledge of compliance, regulatory risk, control, governance, or risk management concepts.
• Ability to analyze requirements, identify practical implications, and explain complex topics in clear, business-friendly language.
• Strong written communication skills, including the ability to draft procedures, guidance, summaries, training materials, or reporting commentary.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities, work through ambiguity, and deliver high-quality work with attention to detail within deadlines. Confidence working with cross-functional stakeholders and contributing in a matrixed environment.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in law, business, finance, risk management, public policy, economics, or a related discipline.
• Experience supporting compliance programs, regulatory change management, risk assessments, control frameworks, policy implementation, issue management, monitoring, testing, or training.
• Experience writing or improving operating procedures, playbooks, governance documents, training materials, or executive reporting.

Employment eligibility to work with American Express in the UK is required as the company will not pursue visa sponsorship for these positions.

At American Express, our culture is built on a 175-year history of innovation, shared values and Leadership Behaviors, and an unwavering commitment to back our customers, communities, and colleagues. From delivering differentiated products to providing world-class customer service, we operate with a strong risk mindset, ensuring we continue to uphold our brand promise of trust, security, and service.

As part of Team Amex, you’ll experience our powerful backing with comprehensive support for your holistic well-being and many opportunities to learn new skills, develop as a leader, and grow your career. Here, your voice and ideas matter, your work makes an impact, and together, you will help us define the future of American Express.