Strategy Director / Senior Director, Innovation & Partnerships (SVP)

Strategy Director / Senior Director, Innovation & Partnerships (SVP)

Treasury & Wholesale Payments

Role Overview

The Strategy Director / Senior Director, Innovation & Partnerships will play a critical enterprise-level role in defining where the business plays and how it wins across Treasury and Wholesale Payments. This leader will bring rigorous, data-driven insight to high-impact strategic decisions, identify and advance growth opportunities, and support executive leadership through clear storytelling, business cases, and execution of select initiatives.

This role sits at the intersection of strategy, innovation, partnerships, and product-led growth, partnering closely with senior leaders across Treasury, Commercial Banking, Consumer, and Capital Markets to drive revenue, fee growth, deposit capture, and differentiated client value. The position requires strong strategic judgment, commercial acumen, and the ability to translate complex analysis into actionable outcomes.

Key Responsibilities

Strategy, Market Insight & Growth

Lead market, peer, and competitive analysis to develop a clear, objective view of industry dynamics, competitive gaps, and growth opportunities across Treasury and Wholesale Payments. Deliver actionable insights to answer high-leverage strategic questions and inform leadership decisions with rigor and clarity. Define and support strategic growth opportunities including partnerships, embedded capabilities, new business models, and potential investments. Develop and evaluate business cases tied to revenue, deposits, client impact, and long-term strategic value, supporting diligence and prioritization activities.

Innovation, Partnerships & Execution

Identify, structure, and help execute partnerships and strategic initiatives that advance product capabilities and accelerate growth. Drive coordination across lines of business, including Business Banking, Consumer, Commercial, and Capital Markets, to ensure alignment and successful execution. Serve as a connector across Product, Technology, Sales, Marketing, and Operations to ensure initiatives move from concept to execution.

Product & Commercial Leadership

Act as a senior strategic partner to Product Management teams, helping shape vision, roadmap priorities, and investment decisions tied to Treasury and Payments capabilities. Support product leaders in articulating customer and business value, evaluating P&L impact, and identifying opportunities to drive profitability, fee income, and deposits. Bring a customer-centric lens to innovation, ensuring solutions are grounded in real client needs and enterprise scalability.

Executive Communication & Governance

Support executive storytelling through the development of leadership presentations, board materials, and clear success metrics tied to strategy execution. Establish and track outcomes to measure progress against strategic priorities. Influence decision-making at the senior leadership and executive level through concise, well-structured insights and recommendations.

Impact of the Role

Without this role, the organization risks diminished ability to maintain a data-driven, forward-looking strategy; reduced capacity to respond quickly to high-impact strategic questions; and slower progress on initiatives critical to fee growth, deposit capture, and long-term competitiveness. Interim coverage is not sustainable given the scope, complexity, and importance of the work.

Required Qualifications

• Extensive experience in strategy, innovation, product strategy, management consulting, or corporate development within financial services, payments, or fintech.
• Deep understanding of Treasury Management, Wholesale Payments, or adjacent banking products and business models.
• Demonstrated ability to lead market and competitive analysis and translate insights into actionable recommendations.
• Strong financial acumen with experience building business cases tied to revenue, deposits, P&L, and ROI.
• Proven ability to influence senior executives and work effectively across complex, matrixed organizations.
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, including executive presentations and board-level materials.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience leading or executing strategic partnerships, embedded finance initiatives, or fintech collaborations.
• Background in digital payments, platforms, or large-scale product innovation.
• Experience working across multiple lines of business within a large financial institution.
• Advanced degree in business, economics, finance, or a related field.

Hours & Work Schedule

Hours per Week: 40+
Work Schedule: Standard business hours with flexibility based on business needs

Equal Employment Opportunity

Citizens, its parent, subsidiaries, and related companies (Citizens) provide equal employment and advancement opportunities to all colleagues and applicants for employment without regard to age, ancestry, color, citizenship, physical or mental disability, perceived disability or history or record of a disability, ethnicity, gender, gender identity or expression, genetic information, genetic characteristic, marital or domestic partner status, victim of domestic violence, family status/parenthood, medical condition, military or veteran status, national origin, pregnancy/childbirth/lactation, colleague’s or a dependent’s reproductive health decision making, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, or any other category protected by federal, state and/or local laws. At Citizens, we are committed to fostering an inclusive culture that enables all colleagues to bring their best selves to work every day and everyone is expected to be treated with respect and professionalism. Employment decisions are based solely on merit, qualifications, performance and capability.

Equal Employment and Opportunity Employer

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Background Check

Any offer of employment is conditioned upon the candidate successfully passing a background check, which may include initial credit, motor vehicle record, public record, prior employment verification, and criminal background checks. Results of the background check are individually reviewed based upon legal requirements imposed by our regulators and with consideration of the nature and gravity of the background history and the job offered. Any offer of employment will include further information.