Division Business Partner (Customer Experience & The Way We Work Enablement)

Who Are We: Customer Experience & The Way We Work Enablement

A high-impact team at the heart of M&T Bank’s most strategic and transformative efforts. We are the Customer Experience & The Way We Work Enablement (CXTW3E) team, 40+ diverse professionals united by a shared purpose: to drive meaningful change through The Way We Work.

The Way We Work is more than a framework, it’s our operating system. It blends Agile, Experience Design, Customer Research, Process Improvement, and Change Management into a cohesive approach that empowers individuals, teams, and organizations to thrive. It’s about mindsets, behaviors, and practices that foster collaboration, innovation, and continuous improvement.

Overview

The Division Business Partner serves as a strategic partner to a senior leader and leadership team within a major division. This role deeply understands the division’s business strategy, priorities, operating rhythms, and challenges, and proactively identifies opportunities to leverage CX & The Way We Work Enablement (CXTW3E) capabilities, services, and programs.

This individual will also lead the division’s adoption of The Way We Work mindsets and practices—providing insight into current-state maturity, presenting progress to leadership, and co‑developing action plans to embed new ways of working.

The role requires a blend of relationship management, business strategy understanding, consultative influence, and change leadership. It is designed for someone who builds trust quickly, navigates complex stakeholder environments, and drives clarity, alignment, and forward movement.

What You’ll Do:

Strategic Relationship Management & Advisory

• Serve as the primary strategic interface between CXTW3E and an assigned division, responsibilities include understanding business objectives, aligning services, and building strong internal partnerships.
• Develop a deep understanding of the division’s strategy, operating environment, goals, and challenges; translate these into opportunities for CXTW3E to add value.

Identify & Shape Value Creation Opportunities

• Assess business unit needs and identify where CXTW3E programs, tools, capabilities, and services can accelerate outcomes—reflecting Business Partner responsibilities such as identifying growth opportunities and analyzing trends to improve organizational performance.
• Surface opportunities that advance efficiency, alignment, digital enablement, customer experience, and enterprise collaboration.

Partner with Senior Leaders & Influence Through Insight

• Regularly brief the senior leader and leadership team on:
  – Opportunities to apply TE offerings
  – Risks or gaps emerging from employee or organizational insights
  – The division’s current adoption of The Way We Work
• Build high‑trust relationships through credibility, preparation, follow‑through, and an enterprise mindset—aligned with Business Partner principles of integrating cross‑functional partners to deliver strategic value.

Advance The Way We Work

• Use maturity data, behavior indicators, and leader/team insights to identify where shifts in mindsets or practices are needed.
• Facilitate alignment on priorities and co‑design a divisional action plan advancing behaviors such as:
  – Customer‑first orientation
  – Enterprise collaboration & shared ownership
  – Simplification & clarity
  – Bias for action & learning
  – Transparency & trust‑building
• Track adoption progress, escalate blockers, and report outcomes in leadership forums.

Orchestrate Execution & Navigate the Enterprise

• Create and own a divisional roadmap focused on opportunities for CXTW3E to create value in partnership with the business unit.
• Connect the division to the right CXTW3E experts or solutions at the right time.  Work with CXTW3E leadership to appropriately capacity plan for resourcing and support needs.
• Ensure workstreams or engagements deliver expected value and ensure services meet business needs and deliver benefits.

Leadership Competencies Demonstrated in the Role

• Influence without authority and shape outcomes across multiple stakeholder groups.
• Strategic thinking with strong pattern recognition across division needs.
• Communication excellence—clarity, brevity, compelling storylines.
• Systems thinking & collaboration—seeing connections, breaking silos.
• Change leadership—helping teams shift ways of working through role‑modeling and coaching.

• Understand and adhere to the Company’s risk and regulatory standards, policies and controls in accordance with the Company’s Risk Appetite.  Identify risk-related issues needing escalation to management.
• Promote an environment that supports belonging and reflects the M&T Bank brand.
• Maintain M&T internal control standards, including timely implementation of internal and external audit points together with any issues raised by external regulators as applicable.
• Complete other related duties as assigned.

Bachelor’s degree and a minimum of 4 years’ proven project management experience, or in lieu of a degree, a combined minimum of 8 years’ higher education and/or work experience, including a minimum of 4 years’ project management experience.

Proficiency with personal computers as well as pertinent software packages.

Demonstrated experience building trusted relationships with senior leaders.

Strong communication, analytical, and problem‑solving skills as reflected in relationship manager capabilities such as evaluating trends, resolving issues, and providing strategic recommendations.

Education & Experience Preferred:

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Management, Communications, Organizational Development, or related field.
• Experience in enterprise transformation, cultural change, operating model evolution, or adoption of new ways of working.
• Understanding of strategy execution, organizational effectiveness, or continuous improvement disciplines.
• Familiarity with portfolio management, prioritization methods, or value‑tracking.
• Ability to navigate ambiguity, manage multiple priorities, and drive clarity—consistent with relationship manager expectations of adaptability and organizational skill.
• Comfort working in an advisory capacity with senior leaders and synthesizing complex input into actionable recommendations.
• Proficiency with collaboration tools, data visualization, or knowledge‑sharing platforms.