VP, Merchant Experience Sr Product Manager

Synchrony•Orlando, FL

4d•Hybrid

About The Position

Role Summary/Purpose: We are seeking an experienced Product Manager to lead and define the merchant-facing capabilities and experiences required to drive adoption, growth, and scalability of Synchrony’s financing products and platforms across the Health & Wellness, Home & Auto, and Lifestyle business segments. The ideal candidate will be adept at quickly understanding a variety of technologies, possess a strong product management background with a focus on digital financing products, merchant/provider experience, and platform modernization, and have a proven track record of delivering strategic, multi-platform programs on time and within budget. This individual will be responsible for working with cross functional product, technology, sales, and commercialization teams to define, design, and prioritize how new and existing capabilities are incorporated into Synchrony’s point of sale channels and merchant digital experiences—ultimately enabling our 400K+ merchant and provider base to offer, operate, and support financing seamlessly within their business operations. This role will have direct supervision of 5 direct reports. The role will require developing a deep understanding of the existing Synchrony merchant point of sale channels (Provider Center, Business Center, and Integrated Hosted Solution) and the end-to-end merchant lifecycle, including apply and buy experiences, operational workflows (e.g., lookup, estimate payments), and merchant enablement. This leader will guide a team to drive improvements to overarching merchant experiences—most critically the core experiences in our merchant point of sale systems, the merchant reporting suite, and the incorporation of installment products (Synchrony Pay Later) and our additional integrated lender partnerships into those Point of Sale channels. We are looking for a bold, experienced leader who has a proven track record of driving growth and leading change across large, cross-functional teams. The ideal candidate will be a passionate advocate for our merchants and consumers, representing their needs and interests within Synchrony’s supporting organizations and digital product teams. This role involves not only understanding the current landscape but also envisioning new possibilities—and effectively communicating and championing that vision throughout the organization. This role is ideally based out of one of our Synchrony office locations: Cincinnati OH, Stamford CT, Chicago IL, Charlotte NC, Costa Mesa CA, Alpharetta GA, New York City NY, or Orlando FL. Our Way of Working We’re proud to offer you flexibility. At Synchrony, our way of working allows you to have the option to work from home near one of our Hubs or come into one of our offices. Occasionally you will be required to commute or travel for in person engagement activities such as business or team meetings, training and culture events. Field Sales and some Commercial team roles may have varied location requirements based upon partner obligations or preferences.

Requirements

8 plus years of experience related to product management (e.g., product strategy, program management, digital delivery, platform ownership), with end-to-end product lifecycle accountability.
Proven ability to lead diverse teams and influence senior executives in a matrixed environment
Experience working in SAFe Agile frameworks or similar agile methodologies
Ability and flexibility to travel for business as required

Nice To Haves

Bachelor’s Degree preferred, or commensurate experience in product management, sales, or marketing in credit or financial services industries
Proven ability to manage and develop product managers while driving multiple concurrent product workstreams through effective prioritization and delegation.
Passion for innovation and continuous improvement in digital financial products and merchant experiences
Strong business acumen and understanding of compliance/regulatory considerations relevant to financial services
Deep B2B/merchant experience (provider/merchant portals, POS enablement, servicing/operational tools) and comfort balancing merchant needs with internal operational realities.
Proven change leader with experience modernizing legacy platforms/processes and bringing stakeholders along through ambiguity and resistance.
Exceptional executive presence and stakeholder management across Sales/Commercial, Operations, Risk, and Technology in a matrixed enterprise.
Proven experience leading and scaling product teams, including direct people leadership, hiring and developing talent, and creating strong team culture and accountability.
Demonstrated thought leadership coupled with strong communication skills and ability to help teams connect the dots on new ideas, processes and strategy
Ability to leverage technology to create new processes and drive efficiency gains
Demonstrated strategic, analytical and problem-solving skills
Excellent influencing and relationship-building skills at multiple levels of organization

Responsibilities

Set direction for merchant distribution experiences by defining the product vision, strategy, and prioritized roadmap to drive adoption of financing products, features, and capabilities across channels.
Lead, coach, and develop a team of product managers (5 direct reports) by setting clear priorities/OKRs, establishing operating rhythms, building talent (hiring/onboarding as needed), and driving accountability for outcomes
Drive cross-functional alignment and prioritization by partnering with stakeholders across the business to define, sequence, and govern the features/capabilities needed to support multiproduct and multi-source financing solutions; ensuring clarity on requirements, dependencies, and trade-offs.
Sponsor and oversee merchant experience modernization (e.g., portal redesign, improved navigation, alerts/notifications, streamlined workflows such as Apply/Buy/Lookup/Estimate Payments) by setting objectives, securing resourcing, removing blockers, and holding delivery teams accountable for efficiency and consistency improvements.
Oversee end-to-end merchant lifecycle experience including onboarding/enablement, POS workflows, reporting/insights, and operational servicing experiences.
Champion insight-led prioritization by leveraging market research, competitive insights, and merchant feedback to identify capability gaps and steer investment toward the highest-impact experience improvements.
Support and enable sound product decisions by maintaining a working understanding of existing product capabilities and guiding how Enterprise features/capabilities are embedded into merchant point-of-sale channels and merchant digital experiences (in partnership with execution owners).
Provide regular updates to Senior Leaders and partner with go to market teams to support commercialization readiness, enablement, and rollout communications as needed
Build a strong cross-functional network and foster close working relationships with internal stakeholders across Distribution, Enterprise Product, Technology, Design, Data/Analytics, Operations, and Risk/Compliance.
Build and sustain a high-performing product organization by coaching and mentoring leaders/ICs, establishing team operating norms, developing talent and succession plans, and ensuring the team is positioned to deliver against strategic priorities.
Perform other duties and/or special projects as assigned.