Branch Manager

BMO•High River, AB

11d•Onsite

About The Position

This Branch Manager role involves guiding, directing, and coaching employees to deliver exceptional service to BMO customers and prospects. The manager is responsible for understanding customer needs to provide sales and service, advising on financial products and strategies, and making referrals to other business groups. Key responsibilities include supporting sales and customer service activities to achieve strategic customer experience and profitability goals, while ensuring compliance with legal and regulatory requirements and the Bank’s policies. The role requires fostering a culture aligned with BMO's purpose, values, and strategy, promoting diversity and inclusion, and setting inspirational goals with clear accountability. The manager builds interdependent teams, attracts and develops talent, and manages team performance. They are tasked with creating innovative business development strategies, collaborating with BMO partners to grow the business, maximizing branch revenues, sales, and customer satisfaction, and minimizing operating losses. This includes developing and executing a branch business plan, conducting cold calls to prospective customers, and maintaining a strong community network to enhance the Bank’s visibility and generate referrals. The manager also supports community involvement, maintains high-touch relationships with key customers, and resolves customer issues. They fulfill sales and service activities, recommend solutions based on analysis, assist in strategic planning, and influence to achieve business objectives. The role requires identifying emerging issues, implementing work plans, determining business priorities, and conducting independent analysis. The manager works with internal stakeholders to leverage sales and referral opportunities, monitors performance, communicates goals, leads the implementation of new programs and initiatives, and provides technical training and support to branch employees. They are also responsible for planning and controlling unit operating expenses, managing transactional outcomes, resolving complex customer situations, maintaining current industry knowledge, building effective relationships, ensuring confidentiality, reporting suspicious activity, and complying with all legal and regulatory requirements. The position involves specialized consulting, analytical, and technical support, requiring independent judgment to solve problems and manage non-routine situations, all while applying BMO's Risk Management Framework.

Requirements

Typically between 5 - 7 years of relevant experience.
Post-secondary degree in related field of study or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
Previous supervisory or management experience.
In-depth knowledge of retail banking products and services.
In-depth knowledge of competitive marketplace and trends in product offerings.
In-depth knowledge of all branch operational processes and policies.
In-depth knowledge of branch technologies, processes, and performance metrics.
In-depth knowledge of applicable regulations, audit standards, and related policies, procedures, and directives.
Deep knowledge and technical proficiency gained through extensive education and business experience.
Verbal & written communication skills - In-depth.
Collaboration & team skills - In-depth.
Analytical and problem solving skills - In-depth.
Influence skills - In-depth.
Data driven decision making - In-depth.

Responsibilities

Guides, directs, and coaches employees to deliver exceptional service to BMO customers and prospects.
Understands the needs of BMO customers or prospects to provide sales and service in the best interests of the customer.
Advises customers on products and strategies that meet their financial objectives.
Identifies and makes referrals to other business groups.
Supports sales and customer service activities to meet strategic customer experience and profitability goals in compliance with legal and regulatory requirements and the Bank’s policies and processes.
Fosters a culture aligned to BMO purpose, values and strategy and role models BMO values and behaviours in all that they do.
Ensures alignment between values and behaviour that fosters diversity and inclusion.
Regularly connects work to BMO's purpose, sets inspirational goals, defines clear expected outcomes, and ensures clear accountability for follow through.
Builds interdependent teams that collaborate across functional and operating groups to create the highest value for all stakeholders.
Attracts, retains, and enables the career development of top talent.
Improves team performance, recognizes and rewards performance, coaches employees, supports their development, and manages poor performance.
Creates innovative business development strategies, including collaborating with BMO partners to grow the business and maximize branch revenues, sales, and customer satisfaction, and minimize operating losses.
Develops and executes a branch business plan to maximize business growth and wallet share and achieve customer retention and acquisition objectives.
Probes to understand customer personal banking and credit card needs and integrates marketing promotions and programs into customer conversations to provide strategic advice in the best interests of the customer.
Conducts cold calls to prospective customers to develop new customer relationships.
Develops and maintains a network in the community to enhance the Bank’s visibility and builds a strong referral source for new potential business.
Supports the Bank’s community involvement and participates in community activities.
Maintains a high-touch relationship with key branch customers and prospects within the market.
Resolves customer related issues using knowledge of bank services, products, and processes.
Fulfills sales and service activities for the customer in accordance with approved procedures.
Recommends and implements solutions based on analysis of issues and implications for the business.
Assists in the development of strategic plans.
Builds the business plan for the branch.
Influences and negotiates to achieve business objectives.
Identifies emerging issues and trends to inform decision-making.
Implements, reviews, and revises work plans.
Helps determine business priorities and best sequence for execution of business/group strategy.
Conducts independent analysis and assessment to resolve strategic issues.
Works with internal stakeholders and colleagues to leverage sales, fulfillment, and referral opportunities to improve share of wallet, acquire new customers, and provide full financial services to customers.
Ensures alignment between stakeholders.
Monitors sales and service performance against plan to identify gaps, issues, and best practices, and develop and implement action plans that close performance gaps and resolve issues.
Breaks down strategic problems, and analyses data and information to provide insights and recommendations.
Communicates goals, plans, and assignments to achieve financial and customer service goals.
Leads the implementation of new programs, products and processes within the branch.
Coordinates the implementation of national and regional sales and service initiatives.
Monitors the service request and problem resolution processes for adherence to national standards.
Provides technical training and support to branch employees to maintain operational and sales effectiveness and recommends improvements.
Plans and controls unit operating expenses in accordance with forecasts.
Manages transactional outcomes for customer calls or defers to appropriate internal business groups.
Resolves complex or unresolved customer situations or escalates to the next higher manager for resolution.
Maintains current knowledge of personal banking and credit card industries, practices, and trends and integrates into customer conversations.
Builds effective relationships with internal/external stakeholders.
Maintains the confidentiality of customer and Bank information.
Identifies and reports suspicious patterns of activity that are suspected to be related to money laundering.
Complies with all legal and regulatory requirements for the jurisdiction.
Applies our Risk Management Framework in the execution of your role, in line with our Risk Culture and within our approved Risk Appetite, making sound and risk informed decisions that align to business strategy, protect assets, and adhere to applicable policy documents (Frameworks, Policies, Standards, Procedures and Supporting documents), laws and regulations.