Sr Program Manager

Citizens Financial Group•Westwood, MA

About The Position

The Branch Transformation Delivery Manager oversees the execution and operational delivery of the Retail Network Transformation program, ensuring the successful implementation of all physical branch actions—including openings, closures, relocations, and renovations—as well as full lifecycle management of branch hardware, ATM, branch quality/improvement initiatives, Mobile Unit deployment, and maintenance of the Branch Locator application. This role provides strategic direction, cross‑functional coordination, and standardized delivery for all transformation initiatives. As the primary connection point across cross-functional teams and external partners, the role drives execution excellence, manages capital spend, ensures regulatory compliance, accelerates issue resolution, and fosters a culture of continuous improvement, transparency, and high performance.

Requirements

10+ years of experience in delivery leadership, including leading project managers and execution teams across large‑scale retail, operational, or enterprise transformation initiatives.
Strong understanding of retail operations, change management, and cross‑functional delivery.
Demonstrated ability to manage complex dependencies and lead through influence in a fast-paced environment.
Exceptional communication, organization, and stakeholder‑management skills.
Strategic Leadership: Translates organizational strategy into actionable operational plans.
Operational Excellence: Ensures discipline, quality assurance, and continuous improvement.
Executive Communication: Skilled at preparing and delivering updates for senior leadership.
Collaboration & Influence: Drives alignment across diverse stakeholder groups.
Problem Solving & Risk Management: Anticipates issues early and develops proactive solutions.
Customer & Colleague Focus: Ensures transformation actions minimize disruption and maximize customer experience.

Responsibilities

Oversee the successful execution and delivery of initiatives within the Retail Network Transformation program, totaling $100+ million in annual capital investment.
Accountable for the strategic allocation, prioritization, and ongoing financial governance of program funding, ensuring capital is deployed effectively to maximize business outcomes and align with enterprise objectives.
Manage execution of physical branch actions (OCR), inclusive of openings, closures, relocations, and significant renovations.
Assume end-to-end accountability for a significant portfolio of execution risk across all transformation activities, ensuring proactive identification, mitigation, and resolution of risks that could impact timelines, operational readiness, customer experience, or financial performance.
Own and actively manage material compliance and regulatory risk associated with branch transformation activities, ensuring all initiatives adhere to applicable regulatory requirements, internal policies, and governance standards, with zero tolerance for compliance gaps.
Oversee end‑to‑end ATM and branch hardware lifecycle management—including deployments, refresh cycles, and decommissioning—while driving annual strategic planning and investment to ensure operational readiness and an improved customer and colleague experience across the Consumer Bank.
Lead Mobile Unit deployment activities including intake, scheduling, colleague readiness, and operational support.
Lead management of a large, complex vendor portfolio supporting OCR execution and branch hardware delivery. This includes negotiating commercial contracts, managing (partnering with procurement ensuring vendors deliver timely expectations while maintaining strong partnerships and accountability.
Maintain and enhance the Branch Locator application to ensure accuracy and optimal performance.
Ensure retail tasks are appropriately sequenced with construction milestones and delivered through POD‑based execution to drive alignment, accountability, and seamless Day 1 operations.
Oversee Technology POD ensuring systems, connectivity, and hardware readiness align with construction milestones and execution POD delivery schedules.
Lead, coach, and develop a team responsible for colleague‑led delivery activities across branch openings, closures, relocations, renovations, and network initiatives.
Establish clear standards, expectations, and accountability for project execution, communication, and issue resolution.
Develop a high‑performing team focused on ownership, collaboration, accountability, and proactive problem‑solving.
Set direction and drive consistency across POD based delivery, removing obstacles and ensuring initiatives conclude in a strong operational state that supports both colleague readiness and an exceptional customer experience.
Lead contract and vendor management activities supporting OCR actions, ATM, and branch hardware programs.
Negotiate and manage vendor contracts conducting monthly performance reviews to enforce SLAs and quality.
Anticipate future challenges and annual expenditure, identify operational opportunities, and plan for long‑term success while identifying savings where possible.
Drive alignment with stakeholders and external partners by managing dependencies, resolving conflicts, and maintaining momentum.
Ensure clear, timely communication to stakeholders and senior leadership on project status, risks, and readiness.
Provide actionable insights that support data‑driven decision making and program transparency.
Standardize and continuously improve execution playbooks, checklists, and delivery frameworks to increase consistency and reduce risk.
Identify execution trends, recurring issues, and opportunities to improve customer and colleague experience.
Support enterprise transformation goals by scaling best practices across the retail network.
Ensure regulatory notifications, filings, and acknowledgements are completed accurately and on time in partnership with Legal, Risk, and Compliance teams.
Serve as a point of escalation for compliance risks, execution gaps, or sequencing concerns that could impact regulatory or customer outcomes.
Promote disciplined documentation, audit readiness, and governance adherence across all projects.