Director, Business Strategy

Sallie Mae • Newark, DE

509d • Hybrid

About The Position

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. The Director of Business Strategy will support our flagship Private Student Loan & Retail Deposits Businesses to drive broad transformation. The candidate will operate as an internal strategy consultant within Sallie Mae collaborating across multiple functional teams to solve complex business problems. The Director will serve as a thought leader within the organization managing a wide scope of projects across strategic, financial, operational, and technical parameters from ideation through delivery. As one of the functions of this role, you will serve as the business liaison interfacing with the Information Technology and Business Capability organizations. In this capacity, you will be a thought leader ensuring the tight alignment of IT initiatives with core business objectives and help prioritize the book of work based on objective business criteria. That said, you will also have an opportunity to work across a range of other strategic initiatives, including business transformation, innovation, commercial growth, risk mitigation, and several other areas of the business. This role will leverage your strength and experience in the Technology space while also offering the opportunity to grow as a generalist strategic leader. As a proven leader, you will leverage your strong commercial acumen, relationship management prowess, technical expertise, and structured thinking to inspire followership in a matrixed organization to drive change at scale. You will demonstrate an innate intellectual curiosity to question all aspects of the business, and proactively identify optimization opportunities. You will conduct extensive research, both internal and external, to inform the different aspects of the strategies you will develop. You will have the tenacity and resilience to attack business problems from several different angles and not be daunted by roadblocks or headwinds. In essence, you will play an integral role in creating an archetype for thought leadership, business alignment, and operational excellence at Sallie Mae.