Head of Risk and Money Services

About Gusto

At Gusto were on a mission to grow the small business economy. We handle the hard stuff payroll health insurance 401(k)s and HR so owners can focus on their craft and their customers. With teams in Denver San Francisco and New York we support more than 500000 small businesses nationwide and are building a workplace that reflects the people we serve.

All full-time employees receive competitive base pay benefits and equity (RSUs) because everyone who helps build Gusto should share in its success. Offer amounts are determined by role level and location. Learn more about our Total Rewards philosophy.

AI is a fundamental part of how work gets done at Gusto. We expect all team members to actively engage with AI tools relevant to their role and grow their fluency as the technology evolves. AI experience requirements vary by role and will be assessed during the interview process.

At Gusto we help more than 500000 small businesses create great places to work for their people. We do this through modern payroll employee benefits expert HR and financial services.

We are searching for a seasoned financial services operator and regulated-domain leader to own one of Gustos most consequential customer-facing functions: Risk & Money Services. This role sits within CX and Gustos Financial Services organization and reports directly to the Head of Financial Services.

Every dollar that moves through Gustos platform payroll being delivered on time wages being deposited into Gusto Wallet cash advances being issued disputes being resolved carries real financial and regulatory weight. Risk & Money Services is the team that protects this trust at the most critical edges of money movement: fraud and payment risk decisioning Reg E dispute operations collections and the consumer money products that sit at the intersection of and its small business mission.

This function spans three interconnected practices:

• Risk Operations fraud ops account takeover detection payment-risk decisioning and collections across both employer and employee money movement. This team makes real-time high-stakes decisions on whether payroll goes out when something looks wrong BSA/AML compliance whether a fund recovery effort can be executed in time and whether a fraud signal warrants action. The financial impact of individual calls is material. Focusing on risk mitigation and exceptional service is no easy task
• Dispute Operations Reg E dispute processing across Gustos banking and money-movement products from intake through resolution and provisional credit decisioning. This team owns Gustos most regulated customer-facing process and operates at the intersection of customer trust and regulatory obligation.
• Money Services and Banking the operational home for Gusto Wallet Cash Advance and Gustos expanding consumer financial products. This team is responsible for building the operational infrastructure that supports Gustos growth in consumer banking while protecting the customers who depend on it.

You will lead this organization through a senior leadership team who carry full ownership for their functions outcomes not just execution within deeply with Compliance Legal Engineering and Product across Gustos products and serve as the operational owner of the functions that sit at the regulated edge of Gustos financial platform

This is a builders role. Risk & Money Services is being stood up as a defined function within a new domain you will set the SLAs design the controls build the metrics framework establish the governance and create the playbook that lets Gusto move money with confidence and scale.

Our mission is to create a world where work empowers a better life and it starts right here at Gusto. Thats why were committed to building a collaborative and inclusive workplace both physically and virtually.

• Own Risk & Money Services end to end. Be the single accountable leader for fraud and payment risk decisioning BSA/AML compliance Reg E dispute operations collections and the operational backbone of Gustos money products. Own the customer experience the regulatory posture and the financial outcomes across this entire function.
• Lead a multi-disciplinary regulated financial services organization through leaders who lead. Direct an organization spanning risk operations dispute and fraud operations and consumer money through leaders who own their function end to end whom youll continue to develop hire and scale. Be the keeper of quality speed and regulatory integrity across all three practices.
• Stand up Risk & Money Services as a defined operational function. Define the governance the metrics framework the SLAs and the reporting infrastructure for a function that is being formalized for the first time. Build the operating muscle controls documentation audit readiness workforce management and escalation frameworks that makes this domain run with the reliability a regulated function requires.
• Own the highest-stakes real-time financial decisions in Gustos customer operations. Be accountable for the decisions your team makes every day on whether payroll goes out when something looks wrong whether a dispute warrants provisional credit whether a fraud signal warrants action and whether a fund recovery effort can be executed in time. These decisions carry material financial impact for customers and for Gusto and they happen in real time.
• Own Gustos Reg E compliance posture at the operational level. Lead the operational program that governs Gustos Reg E dispute obligations intake investigation provisional credit resolution and customer communication in partnership with Compliance and Legal. Ensure the teams practices are auditable scalable and consistently defensible.
• Lead BSA/AML operational response. Own the customer-facing operational work triggered by BSA/AML alert activity transaction monitoring response customer outreach account action in partnership with Gustos Compliance program. Ensure operational response meets the timeliness and documentation standards required by Gustos sponsor bank relationships and regulatory obligations.
• Build Consumer Money for growth. Own the operational infrastructure for Gusto Wallet Cash Advance and Gustos expanding consumer financial product suite. Build the SOPs workforce model controls and SLAs that support consumer product growth while protecting the customers who depend on these products.
• Drive AI-native transformation in a regulated financial domain. Partner with Gustos shared service platform and AI organization to bring AI agents semantic knowledge and automation capabilities into Risk & Money Services accelerating fraud decisioning speed dispute throughput and risk signal accuracy while protecting the regulatory accountability this domain requires.
• Be the operational counterpart to Product Engineering and Risk partners. Operate as the direct customer experience and operational owner across Gustos money and risk product organizations translating the operational and regulatory reality of risk and money movement into product priorities and translating product roadmap into operational and regulatory readiness.
• Represent Risk & Money Services externally. Be the direct voice with Gustos sponsor bank partners regulators and auditors on matters affecting risk and money movement not just the internal operator of the controls they require but the leader they know and deal with directly.
• Build the playbook for new financial products. Establish Risk & Money Services as the operational home for the risk and money movement functions of Gustos growing financial product portfolio including business banking expansion new money services and future consumer financial products with the controls and operational readiness already in place.
• Bring out the best in your people. Care deeply about the Gusties on your team. Help them do the best work of their careers grow into bigger versions of themselves and feel proud of building a risk and money function that protects Gustos customers and the business at the same time.

• 12 years of industry experience leading financial services operations in banking payments money movement fraud and risk or related regulated domains with demonstrated depth in the mechanics of how money moves where it fails and how regulated institutions respond.
• 7 years as a departmental leader running large multi-disciplinary financial services operations teams with experience managing through senior direct reports across distinct operational functions.
• Deep expertise in banking and money movement operations including Reg E dispute processing BSA/AML operational response ACH and real-time payments risk sponsor bank operational requirements and the controls infrastructure that makes regulated money movement auditable.
• Hands-on background in fraud and payment risk experience building or leading fraud operations that make real-time decisioning calls with material financial consequences including payment risk scoring account takeover response and fund recovery operations.
• Experience in consumer financial products operational background in consumer banking digital wallet cash advance or similar products including the SOPs customer communications frameworks and compliance controls these products require.
• Track record of standing up or formalizing regulated financial functions building the SLAs controls documentation governance and reporting infrastructure that make regulated work auditable scalable and defensible under examination.
• Demonstrated experience navigating sponsor bank and regulatory relationships understanding how to operate within the constraints of a bank partnership including audit readiness operational policy alignment and escalation to compliance and legal.
• Track record of leading through high-stakes real-time financial decisions where individual calls carry material financial cost to customers or to the business.
• Experience building reliable scalable AI-native operations in regulated domains with the judgment to know where automation accelerates and where regulatory accountability stays non-negotiable.
• Strong cross-functional muscle with Product Engineering Compliance Legal and Risk particularly in fintech banking or financial product environments where operational leaders must drive product decisions not just react to them.
• Track record of delivering on the diverse needs of multiple senior partners across overlapping financial product lines.
• Demonstrated ability to lead through significant organizational change bringing teams along with clarity candor and consistency during periods of high operational flux.
• Empathetic and employee-focused: you care deeply about the people on your team you help them achieve their personal and professional goals and you enable them to do the best work of their lives.
• Track record of building diverse and inclusive teams.

Our cash compensation range for this role is $170000 to 215000 per year in Denver. Final offer amounts are determined by multiple factors including candidate experience and expertise and may vary from the amounts listed above.

Our customers come from all walks of life and so do we. We hire people from a wide variety of backgrounds not just because its the right thing to do but because it makes our company stronger. If you share our values and our enthusiasm for small businesses you will find a home at Gusto.

Gusto has physical office spaces in Denver San Francisco and New York City. Employees who are based in those locations will be expected to work from the office on designated days approximately 2-3 days per week (or more depending on role). The same office expectations apply to all Symmetry roles Gustos subsidiary whose physical office is in Scottsdale.

Note: The San Francisco office expectations encompass both the San Francisco and San Jose metro areas.

When approved to work from a location other than a Gusto office a secure reliable and consistent internet connection is required. This includes non-office days for hybrid employees.

Our customers come from all walks of life and so do we. We hire great people from a wide variety of backgrounds not just because its the right thing to do but because it makes our company stronger. If you share our values and our enthusiasm for small businesses you will find a home at Gusto.

Gusto is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate in hiring or any employment decision based on race color religion national origin age sex (including pregnancy childbirth or related medical conditions) marital status ancestry physical or mental disability genetic information veteran status gender identity or expression sexual orientation or other applicable legally protected characteristic. Gusto considers qualified applicants with criminal histories consistent with applicable federal state and local law. Gusto is also committed to providing reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities and disabled veterans in our job application procedures. We want to see our candidates perform to the best of their ability. If you require a medical or religious accommodation at any time throughout your candidate journey please fill out this form and a member of our team will get in touch with you.

Gusto takes security and protection of your personal information very seriously. Please review our Fraudulent Activity Disclaimer.

Personal information collected and processed as part of your Gusto application will be subject toGustos Applicant Privacy Notice.