Sr Manager, Strategic Planning (MA)

Joining Amex Tech means discovering and shaping your contribution to something big. Here, you can work alongside talented tech teams and build a unique career with the Powerful Backing of American Express. With a range of opportunities to work with the latest technologies, and a commitment to back the broader engineering community through open source, our mission is to power your success. Because Amex Tech is powered by our technology, our culture, and our colleagues. The Technology organization enables and accelerates the company’s growth strategies, delivering global capabilities and services in support of Amex’s customers and colleagues, while maintaining 24/7 servicing and availability to ensure an uninterrupted, high-quality customer experience. Technology provides the foundation for everything we do in the company while driving differentiation through building and leveraging innovative technology and data insights. Global Commercial Services (GCS) serves millions of business customers around the world, from mom-and-pop shops to approximately 70% of the S&P 500. We are the number one issuer of small business cards, the industry leader in corporate T&E and represent approximately 40% of the company’s total revenues. Our vision is to be essential to our customers’ businesses every day. We do that by offering a diverse suite of payment and cashflow tools our customers need to run and grow their businesses, from a wide range of traditional card products, to working capital and supply chain financing, to new digital solutions that make it easy for our customers to manage their financial and payment needs. Role Overview The Senior Manager, Deputy Chief of Staff will report directly to the GCST Chief of Staff Director and will play a critical role in driving execution across the GCST Executive Office, led by the GCST Senior Vice President (SVP) and Unit CIO. This individual will lead and evolve key operational processes, coordinate strategic priorities, and ensure effective execution across executive-level deliverables and organizational initiatives. This role is ideal for a driven, outcomes-oriented leader who thrives in a fast-paced technology organization and can seamlessly operate with both strategic perspective and operational rigor. The successful candidate will be comfortable engaging with senior leaders who bring strong viewpoints, navigating complex organizational dynamics, and influencing outcomes through credibility, sound judgment, and decisive execution. To be successful in this role, the candidate must be an exceptional communicator who is responsive, transparent, organized, proactive, accountable, and confident in their decision-making. The ideal individual will demonstrate strong executive presence, remain composed under pressure, constructively challenge assumptions when appropriate, and drive action in environments where priorities and stakeholder perspectives may compete. This person will serve as a trusted advisor capable of balancing diplomacy with decisiveness to help leaders achieve business outcomes. Key Responsibilities Executive Office Operations & Strategic Execution Establish and maintain visibility into key business and operational processes by tracking, documenting, and identifying opportunities for continuous improvement across the Executive Office, leadership team, and broader business unit. Lead and manage critical operating rhythms, governance routines, and executive deliverables to ensure strategic priorities remain on track and organizational objectives are achieved. Partner closely with the Chief of Staff and Executive Office leadership to identify risks, remove obstacles, and accelerate decision-making across key initiatives. Act as a trusted advisor and thought partner to senior leaders across GCST, effectively managing diverse perspectives, competing priorities, and highly engaged stakeholder groups. Facilitate alignment, drive timely decisions, and maintain momentum on strategic initiatives in a complex, fast-paced environment. Workforce Planning & Organizational Governance Support and maintain a consolidated GCST hiring plan tracker that integrates headcount capacity, approved hiring requests, location strategy, role prioritization, and key milestones to provide leadership visibility and drive informed decision-making. Validate affordability and organizational alignment, including headcount limits, funding availability, workforce strategy, and location mix, prior to hiring approvals. Ensure hiring and workforce planning outputs effectively integrate with Technology Business Enablement (TBE), portfolio planning, and workforce strategy processes. Provide insights and recommendations to leadership regarding workforce trends, organizational priorities, and strategic resource allocation. Executive Communications & Engagement Develop executive-level presentations, meeting content, agendas, and supporting materials for key leadership forums, including town halls, executive reviews, site visits, roundtables, employee engagement events, networking sessions, and leadership meetings. Draft and refine communications on behalf of the GCST Executive Office, ensuring messaging is clear, concise, impactful, and aligned to organizational priorities. Translate complex business and technology concepts into executive-ready communications tailored to diverse audiences. Organizational Effectiveness & Leadership Support Host and facilitate recurring leadership and operational meetings, document key decisions, track action items, and ensure accountability through timely follow-up. Build strong relationships across GCST to understand organizational sentiment, assess colleague engagement, identify emerging themes, and recommend actions that enhance employee experience and organizational effectiveness. Serve as a connector across teams and functions, ensuring stakeholders remain informed, aligned, and focused on shared objectives. Operate confidently and independently in ambiguous situations, proactively making recommendations and driving resolution on issues that impact business outcomes. Role Overview The Senior Manager, Deputy Chief of Staff will report directly to the GCST Chief of Staff Director and will play a critical role in driving execution across the GCST Executive Office, led by the GCST Senior Vice President (SVP) and Unit CIO. This individual will lead and evolve key operational processes, coordinate strategic priorities, and ensure effective execution across executive-level deliverables and organizational initiatives. This role is ideal for a driven, outcomes-oriented leader who thrives in a fast-paced technology organization and can seamlessly operate with both strategic perspective and operational rigor. The successful candidate will be comfortable engaging with senior leaders who bring strong viewpoints, navigating complex organizational dynamics, and influencing outcomes through credibility, sound judgment, and decisive execution. To be successful in this role, the candidate must be an exceptional communicator who is responsive, transparent, organized, proactive, accountable, and confident in their decision-making. The ideal individual will demonstrate strong executive presence, remain composed under pressure, constructively challenge assumptions when appropriate, and drive action in environments where priorities and stakeholder perspectives may compete. This person will serve as a trusted advisor capable of balancing diplomacy with decisiveness to help leaders achieve business outcomes. Qualifications The ideal candidate is a highly motivated self-starter who can independently lead complex initiatives with limited direction. This individual possesses strong business acumen, excellent judgment, and the ability to influence at all levels of the organization. Required Qualifications Prior experience in a Chief of Staff, Deputy Chief of Staff, business operations, strategy, management consulting, technology program management, or related leadership role. Demonstrated success leading cross-functional initiatives and strategic programs within large, complex organizations. Proven ability to influence and partner effectively with senior executives and stakeholders with diverse viewpoints, driving alignment and execution across complex initiatives. Strong executive presence with the confidence to lead discussions, challenge assumptions respectfully, and provide clear, actionable recommendations to senior leadership. Demonstrated ability to make sound, informed decisions in ambiguous situations, balancing speed, risk, and business impact while maintaining momentum. Exceptional project management and process improvement skills, with a track record of delivering results both strategically and operationally. Analytical mindset with strong problem-solving abilities and intellectual curiosity. Superior attention to detail combined with the ability to think strategically and maintain end-to-end ownership of initiatives. Ability to prioritize effectively, manage competing priorities, solve problems independently, escalate appropriately, and perform under tight deadlines in a dynamic environment. Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to synthesize complex topics into clear, concise, and impactful executive communications and presentations. Experience managing complex organizational dynamics while maintaining strong relationships and delivering results across multiple stakeholder groups. Ability to build trust and credibility across all levels of the organization and work effectively in a collaborative, diverse, and global environment. Strong sense of integrity, discretion, sound judgment, and commitment to maintaining confidentiality. Success in this Role The successful candidate will be recognized as a trusted advisor who can effectively navigate competing priorities, influence highly engaged senior leaders, make thoughtful decisions with confidence, and drive execution on the initiatives that matter most to the GCST leadership team and organization. Employment eligibility to work with American Express in the United States is required as the company will not pursue visa sponsorship for these positions.