Retail Operations: Strategy & Innovation Manager

Overview:

The Senior Manager, Retail Operations Strategy, Innovation & Transformation is responsible for advancing the Retail Operations operating model by identifying future-state capabilities, driving process transformation, and developing innovative solutions that improve customer experience, employee experience, operational effectiveness, and risk management.

Reporting to the Director of Retail Operations, this role serves as a strategic thought partner and internal consultant, responsible for assessing emerging business needs, identifying operational opportunities, designing scalable service models, and leading initiatives that position Retail Operations to meet the future needs of the Retail Bank.

The role combines strategic planning, operating model design, process improvement, innovation, organizational effectiveness, and transformation leadership to ensure Retail Operations remains efficient, scalable, customer-centric, and aligned to enterprise priorities.

Primary Responsibilities:

Strategy & Operating Model Development

• Develop, maintain, and evolve the Retail Operations operating model.
• Assess current and future-state servicing needs across the Retail Bank.
• Identify capabilities required to support evolving customer, employee, regulatory, and business expectations.
• Translate enterprise and Retail Banking strategies into operational roadmaps and actionable priorities.
• Partner with leadership to evaluate organizational effectiveness and recommend service delivery enhancements.

Process Improvement & Operational Excellence

• Recommend enterprise-scale process improvement initiatives across Retail Operations.
• Evaluate existing processes to identify opportunities for simplification, standardization, automation, and digitization.
• Apply continuous improvement methodologies to improve efficiency, quality, risk management, and employee experience.
• Facilitate end-to-end process redesign efforts that optimize customer and employee journeys.
• Establish governance, metrics, and sustainability plans to ensure process improvements deliver measurable outcomes.

Innovation & Transformation

• Research industry trends, emerging technologies, and banking best practices.
• Identify opportunities to leverage AI, automation, workflow technologies, and digital capabilities.
• Develop business cases and recommendations for operational investments and improvements.
• Partner with enterprise stakeholders to support modernization efforts and future-state servicing models.
• Lead pilot programs and transformation initiatives from concept through implementation.

Strategic Analytics & Insights

• Analyze operational performance, customer feedback, employee feedback, and service trends to identify improvement opportunities.
• Define success measures and key performance indicators for strategic initiatives.
• Develop leadership reporting and dashboards that provide transparency into operational effectiveness.
• Translate data and insights into strategic recommendations and action plans.

Cross-Functional Leadership & Partnership

• Build strong partnerships across Retail Banking, Technology, Enterprise Operations, Risk, Compliance, Product, Customer Experience, and other key stakeholders.
• Influence strategic decisions and future-state planning through data, insights, and thought leadership.
• Facilitate alignment across business partners to drive successful implementation of transformational initiatives.
• Serve as a change champion and trusted advisor to senior leaders.
• Understand and adhere to the Company’s risk and regulatory standards, policies and controls in accordance with the Company’s Risk Appetite. Design, implement, maintain and enhance internal controls to mitigate risk on an ongoing basis. 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.
• Exercise usual authority of a manager concerning staffing, performance appraisals, promotions, salary recommendations, performance management and terminations.

Scope of Responsibilities:

Responsible for management of a collection of projects and/or programs undertaken by an organization or division ensuring their alignment and optimization with the Company’s strategic objectives; responsibility for the projects includes all aspects from initiation to close.

Must be familiar with system scope and project objectives, as well as the role and responsibility of each team member, to effectively coordinate team activities.

Supervisory/ Managerial Responsibilities:

May Manage a team of 20+ directly and indirectly and 100+ on a project team basis

Education and Experience Required:

Bachelor’s degree and a minimum of 10 years’ proven project management experience,

OR in lieu of a degree,

A combined minimum of 14 years’ higher education and/or work experience, including a minimum of 10 years’ proven project management experience.

Education and Experience Preferred:

Project Management Professional (PMP) certification.

Program Management Professional (PgMP) certification.

Six Sigma Certification

Master’s degree.

M&T Bank is committed to fair, competitive, and market-informed pay for our employees. The pay range for this position is $128,900.00 - $214,900.00 Annual (USD). The successful candidate’s particular combination of knowledge, skills, and experience will inform their specific compensation.

Location

Buffalo, New York, United States of America

About Us

Great companies have an enduring sense of purpose. At M&T, our purpose is a simple one: make a difference in people’s lives and uplift the communities we serve. M&T Bank Corporation is a financial holding company headquartered in Buffalo, New York. M&T’s affiliates offer advice, guidance, expertise and solutions across the entire financial spectrum, combining M&T Bank’s traditional banking services with the wealth management and institutional capabilities offered by Wilmington Trust. M&T Bank has a network of over 1,000 branches and 2,200 ATMs that span 12 states from Maine to Virginia and Washington, D.C. For more than 165 years, M&T has strived to take an active role in our communities and build long-lasting relationships with our customers. We are a bank for communities—combining the capabilities of a large bank with the care of a locally focused institution.

As an employer of choice, we are proud to offer competitive benefits ranging from medical and retirement to forty hours of paid volunteer time, each year. Our core values – integrity, ownership, collaboration, curiosity, and candor – drive the work we do. We seek to further build upon our record of success by bringing in top talent and fresh skill sets while continuing to support the growth and development of all our team members. View M&T’s Human Capital Report to learn more.

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M&T Bank is unwavering when it comes to providing equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants without regard to race, color, national origin, religion, ethnicity, sex, gender identity, age, disability, citizenship, pregnancy, veteran status, military status, marital status, sexual orientation, genetic information or any other characteristic protected under applicable federal, state or local laws. M&T Bank Corporation has policies and procedures in place to promote a drug free workplace.

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