Senior Innovation Strategist

PSCU/Co-op Solutions is now Velera! PSCU and Co-op Solutions became a single entity on January 2, 2024, and our new company name was announced on May 7, 2024. Our new brand represents our combined company’s shared mission and unique ability to drive velocity and positive momentum for credit union success in a new era of financial services.

The Senior Innovation Strategist will be a champion, building and shaping a superior payment and member experience capability within our Clients and Velera. The incumbent will develop and drive corporate strategy to lead assessments of new product ideas, develop business cases and lead prototype creation to reach formal business recommendation on new opportunities geared at enhancing service and member experience. In addition, will drive vision, thought leadership and market research on how to best reach consumers through robust and ever changing financial services industry, develop and recommend components of a multi-year corporate strategy, plans and roadmaps for Velera and our Clients.

The Senior Innovation Strategist will consult with Credit Unions and industry players to understand how to leverage both existing and new Velera solutions and/or Artificial Intelligence (AI) to drive revenue. This person will establish key industry contacts, drive discussions, educate key Velera stakeholders on strategies and initiatives. In addition, this person will monitor and where feasible, guide the industry with solutions and frameworks to promote proposed regulations from a product or industry perspective.

Role Responsibilities:

• Research and develop payments strategy for key Velera solutions to remain relevant in the market; Serve as thought leader in aligning payment and member experience strategy with a client’s business goals and objectives
• Lead holistic short and long-term product strategy to conceptualize and develop new products, or solutions – may incorporate machine learning, AI and cognitive computing into Velera’s suite of products
• Structure and present strategy recommendations to senior leadership for approval internally and externally
• Serve in advisory role on client engagements, advising both account leads (internal) and clients (external); Drive high level discussions on the role of payments within the total solution ecosystem
• Partner with the client team leads to demonstrate the value of Velera services to their business – help them define needs and potential solutions; Interface with clients up to the CEO level
• Guide clients and internal teams in defining their member experience vision; Support execution with Velera tools and solutions; Contribute to the analytical strategy and defining consumer/customer requirements to drive partner/stakeholder execution
• Create a vision for Velera that incorporates a strategy around a holistic product analytics solution ensuring solutions incorporate foundational analytics and metrics to support the products operating in a multi-channel environment.
• Serve as a resource for teams in the development of insight driven strategies from opportunity identification through to experience definition
• Through leadership involvement, manage the solutions roadmap balancing risk, reward, and future opportunities
• Work with stakeholders and product owners to capture, evaluate, and prioritize ideas, requirements, and feasibility
• Research/gather information on business needs and industry analysis in order to identify key business challenges and opportunities; Identify potential solutions through consumer driven “problem solving” approach, gathering and analyzing market data, consumer intelligence, competitive information, and internal capability/capacity; direct efforts to quickly introduce new and emerging products/solutions and drive them from concept to delivery
• Provide analysis to justify and allocate funding against the most strategic services and/or AI-powered solutions
• Understand and communicate demographical, financial and technological market trends effecting solution offerings so market opportunities may be maximized and the negative effects of competitive activity may be minimized; manage new solution offerings appropriately around current market trends
• Develop collaborative relationships amongst all lines of business, to help ensure the team meets corporate strategies and delivery targets
• Keep abreast of emerging trends, opportunities along with value added insights to drive the business; Provide insight and direction for product management roadmap considerations
• Support customer requirements and new product design meetings; understand business processes and strategies and closely match technology solutions to those requirements
• Provide guidance and leadership over project teams involving internal members, as well as, outside vendors and consultants where appropriate
• Represent the company at conferences, tradeshows and in all major vendor negotiations that impact the development of new products and/or AI solutions

Education

• Bachelor’s degree in Business Management or related field required.
• Master’s degree preferred.

Experience

• Seven (7) years experience in financial services card programs/processing product management, marketing, or development with new technologies required.
• At least five (5) years of managing cross-functional teams experience required.
• Experience with the credit union industry and core or account processing preferred.

Special Requirements

• Demonstrated experience in building strategies and plans centered on consumer/customer needs. Understands the principles and practices of customer experience discipline and incorporates into product solutions.
• Must be a critical and strategic thinker, able to develop and communicate a compelling vision and direction for the team while aligning with the rest of the Company. Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, particularly experience understanding and interpreting financials (P&Ls, ROI analysis, volume and spending projections).
• An excellent communicator in both written and oral formats for a wide range of audiences. Strong writing skills and the ability to provide strong rationales for courses of action will be required. Exercise effective skills in working cross-functionally.
• This person should be pro-active, collaborative, creative, energetic and passionate about the potential of the opportunity. They should take ownership of their projects and be able to work effectively as part of a cross-functional team. Incumbent should combine the ability to be strategic with the understanding that they will also be a “doer”, responsible for projects being completed on time and on budget. Incumbent must be eager to try new things as required in this role.

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities

• Consumer/customer needs and behaviors related to usage of digital assets and applications
• Current and future trends in digital platforms and applications
• Payments infrastructure and ecosystem
• Budgetary management, metrics and reporting
• Implementation of process change
• IT literacy preferred around API integration, application security, frameworks/libraries, databases, servers and programming languages.
• Demonstrate behaviors based on PSCU values
• Experience with budget responsibility
• Proven skill of progressive/visionary thinking
• Ability to evaluate and analyze metrics related to digital initiatives
• Excellent negotiation skills and ability to build strong relationships with all partner levels and suppliers
• Outstanding matrix leadership skills
• Ability to influence and optimize small team performance
• Proven ability to be highly adaptable in an ever-changing consumer driven digital environment
• Proven drive and passion for continuing education independently
• Willingness to be flexible and respond to quickly changing priorities on short notice
• Willingness to act with professionalism and discipline to address opportunities when management decisions may disagree with recommendations based in fact and experience
• Willingness to display personal and professional integrity throughout all aspects of the job
• Ability to manage multiple projects, work in fast-paced environment, and meet deadlines
• Demonstrated excellent qualitative and quantitative analysis skills
• Ability to travel as needed to successfully perform position responsibilities
• Ability to maintain confidentiality of materials and information
• Ability to be flexible and work under high pressure in a complex environment
• Ability to operate as an entrepreneur, with keen understanding of innovation processes, techniques, and strategies
• Strong business development skills and ability to negotiate and influence potential customers and others within the organization
• Ability to exercise discretion and good judgment in making decisions

About Velera

At Velera we are committed to fostering a workplace where every employee feels valued, respected, and connected. We understand, attract and engage a diverse workforce where every employee can live up to their full potential; ensuring that our employee base reflects the consumers we serve. The result of this effort is an inclusive environment where diverse talent thrives. We strive to foster a safe and inclusive work environment for people to bring their authentic selves in order to build a better community within our company and with our partners.   Learn more about our commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion HERE!

Pay Equity

$110,100.00

to

$143,100.00

Actual Pay will be adjusted based on experience and other job-related factors permitted by law.

Great Work/Life Benefits!

• Competitive wages
• Medical with telemedicine
• Dental and Vision
• Basic and Optional Life Insurance
• Paid Time Off (PTO)
• Maternity, Parental, Family Care
• Community Volunteer Time Off
• 12 Paid Holidays
• Company Paid Disability Insurance
• 401k (with employer match)
• Health Savings Accounts (HSA) with company provided contributions
• Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA)
• Supplemental Insurance
• Mental Health and Well-being: Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
• Tuition Reimbursement
• Wellness program
• Benefits are subject to generally applicable eligibility, waiting period, contribution, and other requirements and conditions