Associate, Quality Assurance

When you join Sallie Mae, you become a champion for all students.

We’re on a mission to power confidence as students begin their unique journey. To help them plan their higher education, successfully finish, and prepare for life after school. To help them Start smart. Learn big.

Students need guidance navigating this important time in their life. They need someone who acknowledges that their education path is unique. They need a partner willing to evolve and not only meet but surpass their expectations. We’re changing. Because students need a better way.

We’re looking for people who are excited to drive this transformation. To break barriers and think of new ways to adapt, help, and create better experiences for students—and for each other.

This is where diverse backgrounds, beliefs, and perspectives matter. It’s where you’re empowered to bring your authentic self to work.

Feeling your best allows you to do your best. Our benefits take care of the whole you—from physical and mental to financial and professional. You’ll get opportunities to further your education and career, support for you and your family (including your pets!), paid time off to volunteer for the things that matter to you, and more.

We’re obsessed with impact and making a real difference. For us, that means putting relationships first, asking “why not?” when tackling challenges, and continuously learning new skills.

Come do more than join something, change something. For students, for future generations, for the future of education.

What You'll Contribute

The Associate, Vendor Quality Assurance is responsible for supporting the organization's third-party vendor oversight program through quality reviews, monitoring activities, risk assessments, and reporting. This role helps ensure vendors operate in accordance with regulatory requirements, internal policies, contractual obligations, and organizational standards while delivering consistent, high-quality service and customer outcomes. The Associate will conduct quality reviews of vendor interactions, identify potential compliance and operational risks, support remediation efforts, and provide actionable insights to business partners and vendor management teams. This role serves as a key contributor to the ongoing monitoring and continuous improvement of vendor performance and quality controls.

What You'll Do

• Conduct quality reviews of vendor customer interactions, correspondence, account servicing activities, and operational processes.
• Monitor vendor adherence to regulatory requirements, company policies, and contractual obligations.
• Evaluate customer communications to ensure appropriate disclosures, customer treatment, and compliance standards are met.
• Perform targeted reviews based on identified risk indicators, trends, complaints, audit findings, or business priorities.
• Document quality findings, identify root causes, and communicate observations to leadership and business partners.
• Support vendor due diligence and ongoing monitoring activities by collecting, reviewing, and validating required documentation.
• Analyze vendor performance data and quality results to identify trends, emerging risks, and opportunities for improvement.
• Prepare routine reporting and dashboards on vendor quality, compliance performance, and monitoring results.
• Partner with Vendor Management, Compliance, Legal, Risk, Operations, and other business stakeholders to support effective vendor oversight.
• Participate in vendor calibrations, business reviews, and governance meetings as needed.
• Perform transaction testing, account reviews, and quality control activities to validate vendor processes and controls.
• Recommend process improvements that enhance quality, strengthen controls, and improve overall vendor performance.
• Maintain thorough documentation of monitoring activities, findings, and quality assessments.
  

The above information is intended to describe the general nature and level of work performed by employees assigned to this job; it is not designed to contain or be interpreted as a comprehensive inventory of all duties, responsibilities and qualifications required of employees in this role.

What you have

Minimum: Indicate minimum education, skills and experience required.

• Experience in quality assurance, vendor oversight, compliance, risk management, operations, or a related field.
• Knowledge of quality monitoring methodologies and quality control practices.
• Understanding of regulatory requirements and consumer protection standards applicable to vendor-serviced operations.
• Experience reviewing customer interactions, correspondence, or operational processes for quality and compliance.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to identify trends and root causes.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Strong organizational skills and attention to detail.
• Proficiency with reporting tools, spreadsheets, and quality tracking systems.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.
• Ability to build effective partnerships and collaborate across teams.
  

Preferred: Indicate “nice to haves” regarding education, skills, and experience.

• Bachelor's degree in a relevant field (e.g., Quality Management, Engineering, or Science)
• 2-5 years of experience in quality assurance, vendor management, collections, customer service, compliance, or operational risk.
• Experience monitoring third-party vendors, collections agencies, recovery vendors, or service providers.
• Familiarity with quality scorecards, call monitoring programs, and transactional testing methodologies.
• Knowledge of collections, recovery, debt settlement, or servicing operations.
• Experience supporting audits, examinations, or regulatory reviews.
• Relevant certification in quality, compliance, risk management, or vendor oversight.
  

The Americans with Disabilities Act

The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) prohibits discrimination by employers, in compensation and employment opportunities, against qualified individuals with disabilities who, with or without reasonable accommodation, can perform the “essential functions” of a job. A function may be essential for any of several reasons, including: the job exists to perform that function, the employee holding the job was hired for his/her expertise in performing the function, or only a limited number of employees are available to perform that function.

• Competitive base salaries 

• Bonus incentives 

• Generous PTO, Floating Holidays and 12 Federal Holidays observed

• Support for financial-well-being and retirement 401k with employer match

• Comprehensive medical, dental, vision, hospital indemnity, critical illness, pet insurance and more

• Employer paid short-term/long-term disability and basic life insurance  

• Flexible hybrid working arrangements.

• Paid parental leave and adoption reimbursement programs

• Free access to on-site staffed fitness centers (in Delaware) and gym subsidy (for locations outside Delaware) 

• Confidential counseling support (EAP), Health Advocacy services and Wellness program with financial incentives

• Tuition Reimbursement and Family Scholarship Programs

• Career development and training opportunities

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