Director, Strategic Growth & New Partnerships

UFCU•Austin, TX

1d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Director, Strategic Growth & New Partnerships is a collaborative partner that seeks opportunities to learn and engage across the organization. The Director directs and oversees UFCU’s strategic growth and new partnership development function, including market expansion, new partnership strategy, pipeline development, prospect cultivation, executive relationship development, strategic initiative execution, and cross-functional coordination in support of UFCU’s long-term growth priorities. The Director works closely with senior leaders to outline and execute organizational goals, identify and cultivate new partnership opportunities, lead expansion into targeted growth markets, and create innovative partnership strategies aligned with UFCU’s business priorities. This role is responsible for developing relationships within priority markets, including higher education and the Houston Medical District, while building a robust pipeline of future strategic partnerships that advance UFCU’s mission, market presence, member growth, and community impact. The Director develops and drives a proactive, collaborative partnership between Business Development and the business, understanding market opportunities, creating engaging conversations with prospective partners, monitoring market and competitive trends, and identifying opportunities to advance UFCU’s overall business strategy and vision. The Director position is an exempt role, reports to the Vice President & Chief Lending Officer and leads the Strategic Growth Business Development team.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Marketing, Communications, Finance, Public Administration, Organizational Leadership, or a related field; Experience considered in lieu of degree
Minimum of ten (10) years of related experience in business development, strategic partnerships, market development, relationship management, community engagement, financial services, or a related discipline
Minimum of seven (7) years of management and supervisory leadership experience developing and leading teams with direct reporting relationships
Demonstrated experience identifying, cultivating, and advancing new business, community, institutional, or strategic partnership opportunities
Demonstrated experience building pipeline, managing prospects, developing market-entry strategies, and executing strategic growth initiatives
Experience developing executive-level relationships and representing an organization with senior external stakeholders, community leaders, or institutional decision-makers
Must be bondable

Nice To Haves

Master's degree in Business Administration, Organizational Leadership, Marketing, Finance, Public Administration, or related field
Minimum of five (5) years of demonstrated strategic leadership experience
Experience working in a credit union or financial services organization
Experience developing partnerships with higher education, healthcare, employer groups, nonprofit organizations, public sector entities or community-based institutions
Experience developing relationships within the higher education ecosystem or healthcare/medical district environments
Experience with CRM platforms, pipeline management, market analytics, partnership performance reporting, proposal development, or strategic account planning

Responsibilities

Identify, cultivate, and advance new strategic partnership opportunities that support UFCU’s long-term growth priorities, member expansion, and community impact
Lead expansion into targeted growth markets, with emphasis on higher education, the Houston Medical District, healthcare ecosystems, employer groups, and other priority community or institutional segments
Develop and execute market-specific growth strategies to increase UFCU’s visibility, relevance, and partnership opportunities within assigned markets
Build, manage, and maintain a robust pipeline of prospective strategic partnerships using defined qualification criteria, relationship stages, opportunity tracking, and forecasting practices
Research, identify, and prioritize prospective partners based on strategic fit, growth potential, member opportunity, community impact, and alignment with UFCU’s mission and values
Develop relationships with executive leaders, decision-makers, centers of influence, and key stakeholders within prospective partner organizations
Create innovative partnership strategies, value propositions, and engagement models that align prospective partner needs with UFCU’s products, services, capabilities, and community impact priorities
Lead discovery conversations, needs assessments, business case development, proposal strategy, presentations, and negotiation support for prospective strategic partnerships
Represent UFCU at industry events, market engagements, higher education forums, healthcare ecosystem events, community convenings, networking opportunities, and prospective partner meetings
Provide market intelligence, competitive insights, and partner feedback to inform UFCU’s business development strategy, product positioning, community engagement, and growth priorities
Partner with the Director, Partnership Success & Strategic Engagement to ensure a smooth transition from new partnership development to ongoing relationship stewardship and partner success
Establish and monitor success measures related to new partnership development, market expansion, pipeline growth, strategic initiative execution, and partnership conversion outcomes
Lead, inspire, motivate, and develop team members by providing guidance and training to attain departmental and individual development goals and support organizational needs
Serve as a role model in transparent communication, two-way dialogue, and proactive communication to the team
Build a successful team to operate according to UFCU guiding principles, providing guidance and resources and removing obstacles as needed
Provide team leadership based on servant leadership principles, caring for the whole person
Plan, monitor, and appraise job results with an emphasis on coaching and developing employees to achieve desired performance results
Help teams achieve their career goals. Ensure team members understand how to have an impact and are aware of that impact when they've made it
Cultivate positive, strong, lasting, and meaningful relationships and connections with leaders, peers, prospective partners, and community stakeholders
Collaborate with departments across the business, including Retail, Marketing, Lending, Wealth Management, Commercial Services, Operations, Legal, Compliance, Risk, and Finance, to support new partnership evaluation and execution
Facilitate joint brainstorming and team collaboration to create market growth strategies, prospective partner solutions, and cross-functional execution plans
Collaborate with business partners to determine future needs, operational readiness, and support required to successfully launch and scale new partnerships
Serve as a strategic connector between external market opportunities and internal business capabilities to ensure new partnership strategies are both market-responsive and operationally executable
Collaborate with senior leaders and actively participate in UFCU's strategic planning process
Develop strategic growth and new partnership strategies in partnership with executive leadership to drive achievement of Credit Union and department goals
Translate UFCU’s growth priorities into actionable market-entry plans, partner prospecting strategies, relationship development plans, and measurable execution milestones
Monitor and evaluate progress toward new partnership development, pipeline growth, market expansion, and strategic initiative goals, making adjustments as needed based on business and market needs
Develop tools, processes, reporting mechanisms, and decision frameworks to support consistent partnership evaluation, pipeline management, and executive visibility
Facilitate procurement or implementation of tools and resources necessary to support market development, prospect tracking, partnership analytics, and strategic growth initiatives
Establish and manage the annual budget for strategic growth and new partnership development activities, including market development, prospect engagement, conferences, events, sponsorships, travel, tools, and related initiatives
Ensure effective control of results and take action to achieve departmental objectives within designated budgets
Monitor expenses on a monthly basis, evaluate performance against budget, and make adjustments based on organizational and department priorities
Collaborate with senior leaders on development of the organizational annual budget in alignment with strategic objectives, market expansion priorities, and partnership development needs
Perform other duties as assigned
Adhere to all organizational policies, procedures, and business ethics codes
Complete required regulatory training as assigned
Maintain strict adherence and compliance to all laws, rules, regulations, policies, procedures, and internal controls specific to the role, including but not limited to the Bank Secrecy Act, Anti-Money Laundering, USA Patriot Act, OFAC, and Fair Lending regulations