As an Executive Director, Head of Strategy & Planning for Loan & Agency and Specialty Operations, you will sit at the center of how Operations sets direction and delivers outcomes. Reporting to the Operations Head, you will oversee the Operations Strategy and target operating model, translating vision into measurable results through disciplined roadmaps, governance, and program execution.
This is a high-impact leadership role for a strategic operator who can bring structure to complexity. Beyond execution, you will shape how the organization works and grows — driving organizational design and workforce strategy, strengthening connectivity and consistency across teams, and leading a forward-looking people agenda that builds future skills, engagement, and leadership bench strength.
**Job Responsibilities: **
- Co-lead the 3-year Operations Strategy and target operating model with the Operations Head and leadership team
- Embed operational risk, controls, and regulatory change into the 3-year plan via a unified risk framework and audit/exam-ready evidence
- Own the operations data/metrics architecture including KPI/KRI/OKR definitions, MI standards, and a single source of truth narrative
- Convert strategy into executable roadmaps with clear OKRs, milestones, owners, benefits, and risk/issue management, while building an enterprise capability map and future skills plan with defined upskilling pathways and capability milestones embedded into the 3-year OKRs
- Develop organizational design and workforce strategy covering locations, capacity, skills pipelines, succession, and cost/productivity guardrails with Finance and the HR Business Partner
- Define a connectivity/consistency blueprint across functions (common role taxonomy, standard operating practices where practical, harmonized performance objectives and job descriptions)
- Champion AI/automation with Technology and Product, including an ongoing forum to prioritize use cases, codify standards, accelerate reuse, and ensure cross-team visibility
- Maintain governance and a single repository for AI use cases/practice standards with checkpoints to ensure alignment and consistent execution
- Run a structured Voice of Customer cadence with front office/client service to drive prioritization and measurable client outcomes
- Oversee the strategic program portfolio and governance cadence (QBRs/forums/staff meetings), managing dependencies/critical path/escalations, enforcing change control, benefits realization, post-implementation reviews, and end-to-end change management
- Produce executive communications, act as proxy for the Ops Head as needed, and lead the people agenda (engagement forums/pulse actions, quarterly People Review, community of practice), with an expectation to build/lead a small high-impact team.
Required qualifications, capabilities, and skills:
- 12+ years’ experience in financial services, and with senior strategic planning roles within large, matrixed organizations
- Bachelor’s degree in related field
- Demonstrated ability to set strategy and translate it into execution, including multi-year roadmaps with OKRs/KPIs, milestones, ownership, dependency management, and benefits tracking
- Proven experience in target operating model and organizational design, including role taxonomy/standard practices, location & capacity strategy, skills pipelines, and succession planning
- Strong capability in portfolio/program governance: establishing operating rhythms (staff meetings, QBRs, steerco forums), change control, escalation management, and post-implementation reviews
- Deep understanding of operational risk management and controls in a regulated environment, including control design, regulatory change integration, and producing audit/exam-ready evidence and documentation
- Advanced capability in data, MI, and metrics architecture: defining KPI/KRI/OKR taxonomies, building single-source-of-truth reporting, and creating crisp narratives from complex data for executives
- Experience partnering with Finance/HR to build investment cases, manage cost guardrails, and drive benefits realization (unit cost, productivity, and outcome metrics)
- Executive communication excellence: high-quality storytelling, concise decks/talking points, and comfort serving as proxy for senior leaders with judgment and discretion
- Applied experience driving AI/automation/digital transformation in operations (use-case identification and prioritization, governance/standards, cross-team reuse, adoption measurement, and value realization)
- Strong people leadership and influence: experience leading small, high-impact teams and/or communities of practice; ability to drive measurable improvements in the people experience
Preferred qualifications, capabilities, and skills:
- MBA or relevant field