Senior Compliance Director – Regulatory Engagement & Policy Governance

Provides enterprise-wide strategic leadership for Vanguard’s regulatory engagement program and Compliance Policy Governance Framework. Establishes program standards, governance, and oversight for regulator interactions and exam management to ensure consistent, timely, and well-controlled communications, documentation, and outcomes. Owns the operating model and data discipline for logging and tracking regulatory interactions in the designated system of record (e.g., Dynamics), including controls, data quality standards, and management reporting. Leads the design and continuous enhancement of a controlled, risk-based, and auditable policy governance framework (taxonomy, ownership, approvals, and lifecycle expectations), supported by the designated system of record (e.g., Archer). Partners with the Global Head of Enterprise Compliance & Governance and key stakeholders to monitor evolving regulatory requirements, translate obligations into clear policy expectations, and deliver transparent, executive-ready materials and reporting for senior leaders and governance forums. 

Core Responsibilities:

• Builds and leads a team responsible for regulatory engagement execution and compliance policy governance. Hires, coaches, and develops crew; sets performance expectations; provides timely feedback; and makes compensation decisions in alignment with Human Resources policies and procedures. 

• Sets the strategy and operating model for Vanguard’s regulatory engagement program, including governance, controls, and routines to manage regulatory inquiries, exams, and ongoing supervisory interactions. 

• Directs execution of regulatory engagements from intake through close-out (scoping, request management, internal reviews/approvals, submissions, meeting preparation, and documentation/evidence retention), applying escalation and decision protocols as needed. 

• Partners with Legal, Government Public Policy, Risk, and business leaders to align messaging and ensure appropriate governance over regulator meetings, commitments, and follow-ups. 

• Coordinates regulatory findings and recommendations and related corrective action plans by establishing ownership, timelines, and evidence standards; monitoring progress to closure; and escalating delays or risk acceptance decisions through appropriate governance forums. 

• Owns the regulatory engagement system of record (e.g., Dynamics) used to log and track regulator interactions, including user/process governance, required data standards, workflow controls, and auditability. Establishes and maintains dashboards and reporting to provide transparency into engagement volumes, response timeliness, open items/commitments, themes, and emerging risks for senior leaders and governance forums. 

• Leads the development and continuous improvement of the Compliance Policy Governance Framework, including policy taxonomy and definitions, required document standards and templates, roles and accountabilities and lifecycle requirements (draft, review, approve, publish, communicate, train, and refresh). Ensures the policy inventory is accurate and maintained in the designated system of record (e.g., Archer), with disciplined version control and audit trail. 

• Drives enterprise adoption of the Compliance Policy Governance Framework by partnering with policy owners to execute policy drafting and refresh cycles, required communications and training, and consistent implementation. Establishes and oversees governance for material vs. non‑material changes, waivers/exceptions, and documentation requirements. 

Core Competencies: 

• Regulatory engagement leadership and exam management 

• Regulator-facing written and verbal communication; executive-ready storytelling 
  Compliance policy governance framework design and lifecycle discipline (taxonomy, ownership, approvals) 

• Program management rigor (controls, metrics, dashboards, and escalation) 
  Executive presence, stakeholder management, and influence across the enterprise 

• Strategic and analytical thinking; translating regulatory expectations into practical requirements 

• Integrity, discretion, and sound judgment in regulator-facing matters 

• Change leadership and continuous improvement 

 
Qualifications: 

• Minimum of eight years related work experience with at least five years in compliance; demonstrated experience engaging with regulators and managing regulatory interactions within a financial services firm. Supervisory experience preferred. 

• Law degree preferred but not required  

• Demonstrated experience developing, revising, and governing enterprise policies/standards, including maintaining policy inventories/taxonomies and ensuring strong documentation and evidence of oversight. 

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to engage with regulators, senior management, and internal teams; strong analytical and problem-solving skills to assess risk and provide strategic solutions; strong attention to detail to manage complex regulatory reporting and documentation requirements. 

Special Factors

Sponsorship

Vanguard is not offering visa sponsorship for this position.

About Vanguard

At Vanguard, we don't just have a mission—we're on a mission.

To work for the long-term financial wellbeing of our clients. To lead through product and services that transform our clients' lives. To learn and develop our skills as individuals and as a team. From Malvern to Melbourne, our mission drives us forward and inspires us to be our best.

How We Work

Vanguard has implemented a hybrid working model for the majority of our crew members, designed to capture the benefits of enhanced flexibility while enabling in-person learning, collaboration, and connection. We believe our mission-driven and highly collaborative culture is a critical enabler to support long-term client outcomes and enrich the employee experience.