Senior Manager, U.S. Merchant Acquiring

Bank of Montreal•Chicago, IL

About The Position

As the Senior Manager, U.S. Merchant Acquiring BMO Partners, you will lead the successful development and execution of product sales strategies to drive business growth in the segments you manage with our acquiring partner, Elavon. You will work with BMO and partner teams, Moneris and BMO sales leaders to effectively execute the strategy, including using scorecards, incentives, targets, training, sales tools, collateral, leads, and marketing campaigns. You will build and manage strong relationships with regional BMO Sales leaders across the segments you manage, attending leadership meetings and gaining a deep understanding of segment performance. You will maintain a regular cadence of leader and sales engagement to build knowledge and maximize banker participation in product referrals. You will also build and manage strong relationships with teams at Elavon, including sales, sales support, marketing, and partnership teams. Additionally, you will work effectively with colleagues from Corporate Support Areas such as Marketing, Learning, Analytics, Risk, Finance, and Technology & Operations to enable strategy. You will selectively manage special initiatives and projects, including evaluating organic growth in new business opportunities, technology development initiatives, and supplier governance. Staying on top of Payment-related industry evolution and representing BMO internally and externally, including with BMO teams, at conferences, and with regulators, is key. You will lead, mentor, and coach team members, make strategy and new initiative recommendations to senior leaders based on an in-depth understanding of the business/group, and act as a subject matter expert on relevant regulations and policies. You may network with industry contacts to gain competitive insights and best practices and assist in the development of strategic plans. You will identify emerging issues and trends to inform decision-making, manage resources, and lead the execution of strategic initiatives to deliver on business and financial goals. You will determine product lifecycle, support the execution of strategic initiatives in collaboration with internal and external stakeholders, and conduct independent analysis and assessment to resolve strategic issues. Developing business cases by identifying needs, analyzing potential options, and assessing expected returns on investment, and providing recommendations on product lifecycle are also part of this role. You will act as the prime subject matter expert for internal/external stakeholders, build effective relationships with internal/external stakeholders, and ensure alignment between them. Defining business requirements for analytics and reporting to ensure data insights inform business decision-making, overseeing the development of business analytics and insights (e.g., portfolio profitability tracking, customer analytics, revenue forecasts, operations metrics, trend analytics, and predictive modeling), and leading, developing, and managing strategies for reporting and forecasting and/or analytics teams within the business are crucial. You will design and produce regular and ad-hoc reports and dashboards, break down strategic problems, and analyze data and information to provide insights and recommendations. Monitoring and tracking performance and addressing any issues, leading change management programs of varying scope and type, and supporting change management of varying scope and type are also expected. You will lead the execution of operational programs, assess and adapt as needed to ensure quality of execution, and provide input into the planning and implementation of operational programs. Executing work to deliver timely, accurate, and efficient service, developing and implementing action plans that meet financial and growth metrics, conducting complex market research, competitive intelligence, and data analysis, and developing problem evaluation frameworks and defining research approaches are also key responsibilities. You will assess customer/consumer and channels analysis and develop recommendations, monitor key product performance and growth metrics to identify trends and recommend action plans, and lead/oversee the management of vendor relationships and external partnerships, providing guidelines for execution and ensuring agreements are met. Resolving internal, complex, or higher risk customer escalations or policy exceptions, which may include interactions with clients and sales, reviewing analysis of issues, and identifying gaps and solutions are also part of the role. Providing competitive analysis and benchmarking to identify product strengths and gaps, and extracting insights, analyzing customer/consumer insights and channel data to identify strengths and gaps, and extracting insights, and completing internal and regulatory reporting and attestations are also required. Identifying existing and potential risks and developing risk management controls and processes, developing and maintaining product directives and policies, and supporting the development of key metrics and identification of trends are also part of the responsibilities. Gathering customer and sales feedback and analyzing issues, participating in and evaluating market research and competitive analysis associated with assigned products, and participating in and evaluating customer/consumer insights and channels information are also expected. You will act as the day-to-day contact for vendors, support the implementation, maintenance, and sustainment of vendor solutions, and resolve internal, first-level customer escalations. Leading/participating in the design, implementation, and management of core business/group processes, gathering basic market research and competitive intelligence, including pricing, from publicly available information, and running analyses and reports that support risk management and policy development are also key. Defining and implementing business cases and strategic roadmaps for banking products and services, including project and budget approvals, designing, implementing, managing, and enhancing a single product or suite of products throughout the product lifecycle, and developing, implementing, and monitoring key metrics and action plans to optimize financial performance are also required. Continuously improving processes to identify issues and deliver optimal customer experience, working with partners to develop salesforce training and materials, and managing change are also part of the role. You may support the sales team in the development of client deals and related presentations, develop and maintain relationships with external partners and vendors, and create the marketing strategy, including offers and campaigns, working with Marketing and other partners to execute. Developing, implementing, and managing product documentation, templates, and requirements to ensure they accurately reflect product and systems functionality, and influencing and/or determining credit product risk parameters and metrics are also key. You will operate at a group/enterprise-wide level and serve as a specialist resource to senior leaders and stakeholders, applying expertise and thinking creatively to address unique or ambiguous situations and to find solutions to problems that can be complex and non-routine. Implementing changes in response to shifting trends and taking measured risks while protecting the bank by applying our Risk Management Framework in the execution of your role, in line with our Risk Culture and within our approved Risk Appetite, making sound and risk-informed decisions that align to business strategy, protect assets, and adhere to applicable policy documents (Frameworks, Policies, Standards, Procedures and Supporting documents), laws and regulations are also expected.

Requirements

Typically 7+ years of relevant experience and post-secondary degree in Business or a related field of study or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
Strong experience with consumer / commercial credit applicable to retail and business financing products.
Strong experience working with retail and business product fundamentals, including product design, functionality, and related policies and procedures
Strong knowledge of product delivery infrastructure systems and underlying product interdependencies.
In-depth retail and business banking environmental awareness / understanding.
In-depth risk management associated with new and existing product development and management.
Strong knowledge of process coordination and management.
Strong knowledge of banking product management and associated industry and regulatory requirements.
Building business cases - in-depth
Researching market trends – in-depth
Relationship management – in-depth
Analytics and reporting – in-depth
Product marketing – in-depth
Negotiation skills – good
Software and systems architecture knowledge – good/in-depth
Financial Understanding – good/in-depth
Seasoned professional with a combination of education, experience and industry knowledge.
Verbal & written communication skills - In-depth / Expert.
Analytical and problem solving skills - In-depth / Expert.
Influence skills - In-depth / Expert.
Collaboration & team skills; with a focus on cross-group collaboration - In-depth / Expert.
Able to manage ambiguity.
Data driven decision making - In-depth / Expert.

Responsibilities

Lead the successful development and execution of the product sales strategies to drive business growth in the segment/s you manage with our acquiring partner, Elavon
Work with BMO and partner teams, Moneris and BMO sales leaders to effectively execute the strategy including using scorecards, incentives, targets, training, sales tools, collateral, leads and marketing campaigns
Build and manage strong relationships with the regional BMO Sales leaders across BMO segment/s you manage, attending all leadership meetings and obtaining deep understanding of the segment performance in total
Maintain regular cadence of leader and sales engagement to build base of knowledge and maximize banker participation in product referrals
Build and manage strong relationships with the teams at Elavon , including sales, sales support, marketing and partnership teams
Work effectively with colleagues from Corporate Support Areas including Marketing, Learning, Analytics, Risk, Finance and Technology & Operations to enable strategy
Selectively manage special initiatives and projects including evaluating organic growth in new business opportunities, technology development initiatives and supplier governance
Stay on top of the Payment-related industry evolution and represent BMO both internally and externally including with BMO teams, at conferences and with regulators
Lead, mentor and coach team members.
Makes strategy and new initiative recommendations to senior leaders on strategy and new initiatives, based on an in-depth understanding of the business/group.
Acts as a subject matter expert on relevant regulations and policies.
May network with industry contacts to gain competitive insights and best practices.
Assists in the development of strategic plans.
Identifies emerging issues and trends to inform decision-making.
Manages resources and leads the execution of strategic initiatives to deliver on business and financial goals.
Determines product lifecycle.
Supports the execution of strategic initiatives in collaboration with internal and external stakeholders.
Conducts independent analysis and assessment to resolve strategic issues.
Develops business cases by identifying needs, analyzing potential options, and assessing expected returns on investment.
Provides recommendations on product lifecycle.
Acts as the prime subject matter expert for internal/external stakeholders.
Builds effective relationships with internal/external stakeholders.
Ensures alignment between stakeholders.
Defines business requirements for analytics and reporting to ensure data insights inform business decision making.
Oversees the development of business analytics and insights (e.g. portfolio profitability tracking, customer analytics, revenue forecasts, operations metrics, trend analytics, and predictive modelling).
Leads, develops, and manages strategies for reporting and forecasting and/or analytics teams within the business.
Designs and produces regular and ad-hoc reports, and dashboards.
Breaks down strategic problems, and analyzes data and information to provide insights and recommendations.
Monitors and tracks performance, and addresses any issues.
Leads change management programs of varying scope and type, including readiness assessments, planning, stakeholder management, execution, evaluation and sustainment of initiatives.
Supports change management of varying scope and type; tasks typically focused on execution and sustainment activities.
Leads the execution of operational programs; assesses and adapts as needed to ensure quality of execution.
Provides input into the planning and implementation of operational programs.
Executes work to deliver timely, accurate, and efficient service.
Develops and implements action plans that meet financial and growth metrics.
Conducts complex market research, competitive intelligence, and data analysis.
Develops problem evaluation frameworks and defines research approach.
Assesses customer/consumer and channels analysis and develops recommendations.
Monitors key product performance and growth metrics to identify trends and recommend action plans.
Leads/oversees the management of vendor relationships and external partnerships and provides guidelines for execution; ensures that all agreements are met as per requirements.
Resolves internal, complex or higher risk customer escalations or policy exceptions, which may include interactions with clients and sales.
Reviews analysis of issues and identifies gaps and solutions.
Provides competitive analysis and benchmarking to identify product strengths and gaps, and extract insights.
Analyzes customer/consumer insights and channel data to identify strengths and gaps, and extract insights.
Completes internal and regulatory reporting, and attestations.
Identifies existing and potential risks and develops risk management controls and processes.
Develops and maintains product directives and policies.
Supports development of key metrics and identification of trends.
Gathers customer and sales feedback and analyzes issues.
Participates in and evaluates market research and competitive analysis associated with assigned products.
Participates in and evaluates customer/consumer insights and channels information.
Acts as the day to day contact for vendors; supports the implementation, maintenance, and sustainment of vendor solutions.
Resolves internal, first level customer escalations.
Leads/participates in the design, implementation, and management of core business/group processes.
Gathers basic market research and competitive intelligence, including pricing, from publicly available information.
Runs analyses and reports that support risk management and policy development.
Defines and implements business cases and strategic roadmaps for banking products and services, including project and budget approvals.
Designs, implements, manages, and enhances a single product or suite of products throughout the product lifecycle.
Develops, implements, and monitors key metrics and action plans to optimize financial performance
Continuously improves processes to identify issues and deliver optimal customer experience.
Works with partners to develop salesforce training and materials and manages change.
May support the sales team in development of client deals and related presentations.
Develops and maintains relationships with external partners and vendors.
Creates the marketing strategy, including offers and campaigns, and works with Marketing and other partners to execute.
Develops, implements, and manages product documentation, templates, and requirements to ensure they accurately reflect product and systems functionality.
Influences and/or determines credit product risk parameters and metrics.
Operates at a group/enterprise-wide level and serves as a specialist resource to senior leaders and stakeholders.
Applies expertise and thinks creatively to address unique or ambiguous situations and to find solutions to problems that can be complex and non-routine.
Implements changes in response to shifting trends.
Broader work or accountabilities may be assigned as needed.
Take measured risks while protecting the bank by applying our Risk Management Framework in the execution of your role, in line with our Risk Culture and within our approved Risk Appetite, making sound and risk informed decisions that align to business strategy, protect assets, and adhere to applicable policy documents (Frameworks, Policies, Standards, Procedures and Supporting documents), laws and regulations.