Deputy Chief Operations Officer

Investar Bank National As•Baton Rouge, LA

About The Position

Supports the Chief Operations Officer by providing strategic, operational efficiency, and M&A support as assigned. Develops and implements strategic plans for the Operations department in accordance with strategic goals/objectives with a focus on meeting regulatory, legal and compliance requirements. Optimizes the use of all systems (FIS Core, Compliance Systems). Develops, implements, documents and maintains deposit and loan operations policies, processes, and procedures. Directs the activities of assigned staff.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience required.
10+ years’ experience in in a Retail or Operations Banking environment required.
Must possess operational knowledge of multiple areas of a financial institution.
Must understand the importance of sales in a community bank environment. This includes program development, training, goal setting, tracking and rewarding employees for sales.
Must possess ability to motivate and encourage staff.
Must possess ability to provide feedback to employees and develop reward systems as appropriate.
Must possess ability to communicate thoughts clearly, both orally and written.
Must possess ability to communicate throughout the bank and to all levels of staff.
Must possess ability to understand the concept of banking products.
Must possess the ability to make recommendations for feature/function changes to help the bank remain competitive and profitable.
Must possess ability to embrace change and see it as an opportunity.
Must be willing to express and support management’s ideas to affected staff.
Must possess knowledge of standard office equipment including computer, ten key adding machine, typewriter, fax machine, scanner and copy machine.
Must possess knowledge of computers and computer operations MS Office software.
Must possess good organizational skills.
Must possess ability to perform detailed tasks with accuracy.
Must possess ability to work through stress and handle difficult situations.
Must possess a sincere passion for sales and a desire to grow customer relationships and develop employees
Must possess a high energy level, strong work ethics and ability to accept and direct accountability.
Must successfully use independent judgment and discretion
Strong knowledge of core processor system (loans/Deposits)
Strong documentation
Strong supervision/Delegation
Strong analytic skills with excel/other

Nice To Haves

Previous management experience preferred.

Responsibilities

Provides operational oversight for the Retail Branch Network, Small Business, CRE and C & I lines of business (loans and deposits).
Ensures that operational processes, policies and systems are conducive to growth of the organization.
Assesses, develops and coaches staff in the skills necessary to support long-term business goals, employee development, product and promotional strategies and customer service.
Ensures relevant SOX Controls are carried out timely and implements or modifies controls when necessary.
Assists COO with overall administration including development of financial institution operating policies and procedures and analyzing operational problems to develop procedures for their resolution.
Reviews and analyzes loan and deposit activity against staffing to enable a quantitative staffing model as well as product performance and profitability metrics.
Coordinates forecasting and related analysis as related to budget processes for assigned areas.
Oversees acquisition bank product evaluations for product alignment and implementation.
Collaborates closely with Regional and Market Presidents to ensure support areas of the bank are performing as expected to ensure delivery of exceptional customer service and that the needs of bank customers are met.
Maintains and Optimizes use of all systems.
Coordinates and manages critical vendors (mainly FIS and CS, ATM vendors, etc.) to ensure statements of works are accurately documented and completed timely. Ensures scope of services under MASTER agreements is as intended.
Coordinates, Communicates, and Trains on all new system releases to include correction of defects, enhancements, and regulatory items,etc.
Reviews and analyzes financial data to ensure accuracy and identify financial/operational items that should be brought to the attention of management.
Ensures that own work is in compliance with all applicable laws, regulations, policies and guidelines.
All other duties as assigned.