Director, Strategic Initiatives

📋 Description

• • Own the end-to-end strategy for First Entertainment Credit Union’s digital future. You will architect, launch, and continuously optimize the member experience across online banking, mobile apps, remote deposit capture, digital account opening, and loan origination—directly shaping how 150,000+ members interact with their money every day.
• • Build and lead a high-impact “startup within a credit union.” From zero, you will stand up new operating models, workflows, and service blueprints that eliminate friction for both members and employees. Your team will become the internal benchmark for agile, member-centric delivery.
• • Translate complex data into clear growth plays. Mine core-banking analytics, digital-behavior metrics, and voice-of-member feedback to uncover trends, size opportunities, and prioritize initiatives that move the needle on acquisition, engagement, and cross-sell.
• • Drive large-scale, cross-functional programs that touch every corner of the organization—IT, marketing, compliance, lending, and branch operations. You will set the vision, define KPIs, secure resources, and keep diverse stakeholders aligned from kickoff through post-launch optimization.
• • Be the voice of the member in every design decision. Create personas, journey maps, storyboards, wireframes, and interactive prototypes (Visio, Figma, or similar) that turn pain points into elegant, compliant, and accessible digital solutions.
• • Own the full product lifecycle: discovery, design, vendor selection, development handoff, QA, launch, and iterative enhancement. You will write user stories, groom backlogs, and ensure every release meets functional, regulatory, and brand standards.
• • Manage scope, schedule, and budget like a seasoned PMO. Establish milestones, track burn-rate, and pivot quickly when requirements or regulations shift—while never losing sight of member value or ROI.
• • Roll up your sleeves as an individual contributor when the mission demands it. Whether facilitating a design sprint, running a vendor demo, or validating accessibility in pre-prod, you model the ownership mindset you expect from others.
• • Communicate with crystal clarity up, down, and sideways. You will brief the C-suite on strategic roadmaps, coach frontline staff through change, and negotiate contracts with fintech partners—always translating technical detail into business impact.
• • Champion a culture of continuous learning. Introduce emerging technologies (AI chatbots, biometric authentication, real-time payments) through pilots and proofs-of-concept that keep First Entertainment ahead of regional and national competitors.
• • Ensure every initiative meets or exceeds regulatory expectations—NCUA, FFIEC, ADA, CFPB, and state-specific rules—by embedding compliance checkpoints into the SDLC and partnering closely with Risk & Legal.
• • Travel up to 20 % to California headquarters, vendor sites, and industry conferences to maintain face-to-face alignment and bring best practices back to the remote team.