Lead - Strategic Enablement & Optimization

Velera

About The Position

Join the People Helping People Velera is the nation’s premier payments credit union service organization (CUSO) and an integrated fintech solutions provider. The company serves more than 4,000 financial institutions throughout North America, operating with velocity to help our clients keep pace with the rapid momentum of change and fuel growth in the new era of financial services. Our purpose: We accelerate partners’ success through innovative financial technology solutions and inspired service. The Opportunity: The Principal, CGM Strategic Enablement & Optimization is a critical partner to CGM leadership, driving client success through actionable insights, strategic storytelling, and operational excellence. This role combines analytical rigor with strategic influence to enable growth, improve client experience, and create scalable efficiencies. Serving as a consultant and representative of the CGM leadership team, the Principal manages high-level confidential strategic projects including strategic initiatives, process improvements, and data insight activities with discretion and impact. The ideal candidate is agile, highly skilled in business tools, and adept at anticipating leadership needs, shaping deliverables, and guiding complex initiatives across the organization.

Requirements

10+ years of experience in client management, business strategy, or related fields.
Proven track record of leading strategic initiatives and driving measurable growth.
Expertise in data analysis, reporting tools, and business intelligence platforms.
Exceptional written and verbal communication skills; adept at storytelling and executive-level presentations.
Experience working closely with senior executives and cross-functional teams.
Strong process orientation with a passion for operational efficiency and simplification.
Advanced technical skills in Excel, PowerPoint, and data visualization tools; ability to craft compelling narratives and presentations.
Executive presence with the ability to influence, negotiate, and lead through collaboration.
Strategic thinker with a bias for action and problem-solving; comfortable navigating ambiguity.
Bachelor’s degree (Business Administration, Marketing, Communications or similar) or an equivalent combination of education and experience is required.

Responsibilities

Define and document business requirements for reporting and analytics solutions that provide visibility into client performance, business health, and growth opportunities.
Collaborate with internal partners to design and build dashboards and reporting tools using Salesforce, Power BI, and other platforms; oversee testing and validation to ensure accuracy and usability.
Leverage these tools for multiple use cases—performance monitoring, strategic decision-making, and ensuring alignment with expected outcomes (“inspect what we expect”).
Maintain data integrity and apply analytics to identify trends, white space opportunities, and performance gaps.
Partner with the Office of the CEO and senior leaders on client escalations, ensuring timely resolution and strategic alignment.
Build and maintain infrastructure that conveys the story of strategic clients through compelling overview materials and dynamic storyboards.
Create high-impact PowerPoint presentations that tell the story of the department, highlight progress, and support monthly reviews and executive updates.
Gather, synthesize, and report Voice of Market and Voice of Client insights to inform strategy and enhance client experience.
Drive execution of high-impact initiatives that improve scalability, efficiency, and client outcomes, while managing highly confidential projects, strategic initiatives, and merger & acquisition activities with discretion and rigor.
Identify opportunities for automation, process simplification, outsourcing, or elimination to optimize operations, ensuring that process improvements are developed, overseen, and aligned with organizational priorities.
Determine implications and value of strategic changes, providing clear analysis to guide leadership decisions and maximize organizational impact.
Facilitate new training programs and expectations, ensuring teams are equipped to adopt improved processes and deliver consistent results across functions.
Act as a trusted resource for senior leaders—anticipating needs, shaping deliverables, and representing leadership in cross-functional forums with professionalism, influence, and strategic foresight.