Sr. Testing Specialist – GWIM Onsite Testing

Job Description:

At Bank of America, we are guided by a common purpose to help make financial lives better through the power of every connection. We do this by driving Responsible Growth and delivering for our clients, teammates, communities and shareholders every day.

Being a Great Place to Work is core to how we drive Responsible Growth. This includes our commitment to being an inclusive workplace, attracting and developing exceptional talent, supporting our teammates' physical, emotional, and financial wellness, recognizing and rewarding performance, and how we make an impact in the communities we serve.

Bank of America is committed to an in-office culture with specific requirements for office-based attendance and which allows for an appropriate level of flexibility for our teammates and businesses based on role-specific considerations.

At Bank of America, you can build a successful career with opportunities to learn, grow, and make an impact. Join us
 

Team Overview: 

Global Risk Analytics (GRA) and Enterprise Independent Testing (EIT) are sub-lines of business within Global Risk Management (GRM). Collectively, they are responsible for developing a consistent and coherent set of models, analytical tools, and tests for effective risk and capital measurement, management and reporting across Bank of America. GRA and EIT partner with the Lines of Business and Enterprise functions to ensure the capabilities it builds address both internal and regulatory requirements, and are responsive to the changing nature of portfolios, economic conditions, and emerging risks. In executing its activities, GRA and EIT drive innovation, process improvement and automation.  

EIT is transforming the way testing is built and executed with digital transformation, implementing automation, and leveraging cutting edge Artificial Intelligence/Natural Language Processing technologies. EIT carries a portfolio of 8,000+ tests and has a global footprint of testing professionals across the United States, Europe, Asia and Latin America as well as Global Business Services (GBS) associates.  

Enterprise Independent Testing (EIT) for Global Wealth and Investment Management (GWIM) oversees testing for Merrill, Private Banking, and aligned Risk and Operations. EIT serves as the enterprise utility for end-to-end process testing on behalf of the Second Line of Defense, Frontline Units (FLUs), and Control Functions (CFs), driving more efficient and effective risk management.
The Sr. Testing Specialist plays a critical role in ensuring risks are properly addressed, implementing best practices and process improvements, and identifying, communicating, and resolving adverse trends. This position provides compliance support to business partners and the Compliance and Operational Risk team, while completing special and ad hoc reviews and projects accurately and on time.

Key responsibilities include executing onsite and remote risk-based inspections of FINRA-registered and non-registered locations, ensuring quality test execution, reporting, and analysis of results. The Sr. Testing Specialist contributes to identifying themes and trends across FLUs, CFs, and enterprise levels, and may work independently or in collaboration with other testers and Testing Managers to manage the portfolio of test scripts. Additionally, this role will actively gather employee feedback on platform and technology issues, escalate critical items for remediation, and support operational and administrative activities related to the onsite testing program.

As a Sr. Testing Specialist, main responsibilities include: 

• Execution of test scripts designed to identify compliance risk, supervision deficiencies, and process gaps as relates to brokerage supervision

• Apply statistical sampling methodology to gather test samples 

• Socialize results to Senior Leaders and other key stakeholder including Compliance Executive and Second Line of Defense partners

• Detecting and remediating organizational / process weaknesses and deficiencies

• Interact extensively with Testing Team Managers/Executives, Chief Testing Officer, EIT Centralized QA partners to identify, research, analyze and resolve complex problems

• Challenge the status quo and drive change

• Improving the overall performance, productivity, process efficiencies (OpEx) of the organization 

Skills:

• Adaptability

• Attention to Detail

• Collaboration

• Monitoring, Surveillance, and Testing

• Problem Solving

• Data Privacy and Protection

• Influence

• Issue Management

• Reporting

• Underwriting

• Interpret Relevant Laws, Rules, and Regulations

• Quality Assurance

Required Skills:

• Sees opportunities, risks, and connections while engaging with others across different functions and connecting the dots across the organization

• Experience in Issues, Risk and Control Management 

• Applies critical thinking and connects the dots on how processes relate to one another.

• Drives Operational Excellence 

• Acts with Courage and Conviction

• Strong written, verbal and delivery skills.

• Strong Partnership and Influencing Skills

• Attention to Detail

• Working knowledge or background in QA/QC function(s) to support Test Execution QA, Sample & Test Development QA, and Sample & Test Development QC

• Strong critical thinking skills with creative problem-solving skills

• Organized and able to multi-task in a fast-paced environment

• Ability to think independently, solve complex problems, and suggest solutions

• Ability to test across multiple lines of business

• Proficient in the Microsoft suite with an emphasis on excel

Required Education & Experience:

• FINRA licensing: Series 7, Series 66, Series 9 & 10 or equivalent

• 5+ years of minimum experience in regulatory reporting, data, compliance, or risk functions

• Bachelor's Degree or equivalent experience

• Valid US Driver's License and ability to execute independent travel

Desired Qualifications:

• Bachelor's Degree in related field

• Risk control mindset with the ability to formulate and communicate best practices

• Ability to multitask and easily transition between testing assignments

• Ability to execute Independent Compliance Risk testing

• Knowledge of Basic Sampling Methodologies

• Project management experience

Shift:

Hours Per Week: