Product Strategy Manager - Payments

Mountain America Credit Union; Deerfield (IL); Hybrid; USD 125,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Mountain America Credit Union seeks a Senior Product Strategy Manager to define and execute strategic direction, lifecycle management, and financial performance for key payment products. You will balance member needs with profitability while influencing across functions and driving measurable business outcomes.

You will lead multi-year planning, monitor KPIs, and collaborate with operations, technology, and finance to deliver strategic initiatives and governance-compliant roadmaps.

Qualifications

• Education: Bachelor’s degree in business, finance, economics, marketing, technology, strategy, or related field; Master’s degree preferred.
• Experience: 5–7 years in product management/strategy with increasing scope; payment product strategy in financial institutions preferred.
• Licenses/Certifications: PMP or equivalent; product strategy certification preferred.
• Computer skills: Proficiency with Microsoft 365 and analytics/BI tools (Power BI, Tableau).
• Collaboration skills: Proficient with Jira/Smartsheet/Teams; ability to influence across functions.
• Other: Strong business and financial acumen; ability to translate strategy into action.

Responsibilities

• Lead development of product strategy aligned to organizational priorities.
• Develop multi-year product strategies balancing member needs and profitability.
• Execute strategy within governance frameworks and measure KPIs.
• Identify market trends and translate insights into strategic recommendations.
• Model financial impacts and plan investments for new products and enhancements.
• Coordinate cross-functionally to deliver strategic initiatives.

Skills

Strategic thinking

Cross-functional leadership

Financial acumen

Analytical skills

Education

Bachelor’s degree in business/finance/related

Master’s degree preferred

Tools

Power BI

Tableau

Microsoft 365

Jira

Smartsheet

Teams

AI-assisted tools

Job description

Senior Product Strategy Manager

Job SummaryThe Senior Product Strategy Manager is responsible for defining and executing the strategic direction, product lifecycle management, and financial performance of assigned products and services within the Payment Product organization at Mountain America Credit Union. This role serves as the strategic business leader for assigned products, balancing member needs, organizational goals, profitability, competitive positioning, operational scalability, and long‑term market relevance by applying product management disciplines with a strong focus on strategic decision‑making, organizational influence, and measurable business outcomes.

Responsibilities

• Lead development of product strategy and recommend direction aligned to organization priorities.
• Develop and maintain multi‑year product strategies that align members’ needs, competitive market trends, financial goals, operational capabilities, and organizational vision.
• Execute product strategy within defined portfolio and governance frameworks.
• Identify emerging market trends, technologies, regulatory developments, competitive shifts, and innovation opportunities that may impact assigned products, translating insights into actionable strategic recommendations.
• Support enterprise strategy development for new products, enhancements, partnerships, and investments by conducting financial modeling, ROI analysis, implementation planning, success measurement, and organizational impact assessment.
• Escalate strategic decisions requiring executive alignment on product strategy changes that improve performance, member adoption, operational efficiency, strategic positioning, and financial outcomes.
• Operate within established governance frameworks with defined decision thresholds.
• Monitor and manage product performance, KPIs and success metrics, including but not limited to growth, utilization, member engagement, profitability, operational performance, adoption, satisfaction, and strategic business outcomes.
• Align the strategic evolution and lifecycle management of assigned products and services from ideation through launch, optimization, maturity, and retirement.
• Distill themes and opportunities from member feedback, operational data, financial performance, partner input, market intelligence, competitive analysis, and organizational priorities to inform product strategy and investment decisions.
• Apply product management principles to define product vision, roadmap priorities, business requirements, and member value propositions while ensuring alignment with strategic objectives.
• Make strategic recommendations regarding product enhancements, investments, partnerships, portfolio direction, and long‑term business positioning.
• Influence cross‑functional stakeholders within assigned product domain.
• Provide strategic leadership on initiatives requiring coordination across multiple business units, operational teams, technology partners, vendors, and external stakeholders.
• Collaborate with operations, implementation, project management, technology, finance, compliance, risk, marketing, vendors, and leadership teams to successfully deliver strategic initiatives and business outcomes.
• Maintain strong relationships with key partners, vendors, networks, and third‑party providers relevant to assigned product domains.
• Operate with a high degree of autonomy, exercising sound judgment in evaluating opportunities, trade‑offs, and product investment decisions within established governance frameworks.
• Ensure transparency and communication of strategic priorities, roadmap direction, business performance, and upcoming changes across key stakeholders.
• Maintain accountability for product quality, strategic relevance, operational scalability, member experience, and business performance outcomes.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Qualifications

• Education: Bachelor’s degree in business, finance, economics, marketing, technology, strategy, or related field OR three additional combined years of education and directly relevant experience. Master’s degree preferred.
• Experience: 5‑7 years in product management, product strategy, business strategy or related roles with increasing scope and ownership. Demonstrated experience leading payment product strategy within a financial institution strongly preferred.
• Licenses, Certifications, Registrations: PMP or equivalent experience leading large, cross‑functional initiatives (preferred). Product management certification or equivalent hands‑on experience developing product strategy, roadmaps, and lifecycle management practices (preferred).
• Computer and Technology Skills: Proficiency with Microsoft 365 or equivalent tools to develop business cases, presentations, and strategic materials. Ability to interpret and leverage insights from analytics/BI tools (PowerBI, Tableau, or equivalent). Familiarity with common collaboration and workflow tools (e.g., Jira, Smartsheet, Teams, or equivalent). Ability to leverage emerging tools (including AI‑assisted tools) to enhance effectiveness (preferred).
• Managerial Responsibility: Does not oversee any employees or have direct reports. Provides strategic leadership, influence, and cross‑functional coordination for assigned product domains and initiatives.
• Communication Skills: Demonstrated ability to clearly express ideas, methodology, results, and recommendations verbally, in writing, and through insightful reports and graphic illustrations. Demonstrated ability to document outcomes and present information in a manner appropriate for key stakeholders at all levels.
• Other Skills and Abilities: Demonstrated experience leading strategic initiatives, developing multi‑year roadmaps, or building business cases that influenced measurable outcomes. Experience operating in complex environments requiring coordination across multiple stakeholders (technology, operations, risk/compliance, finance). Experience in financial services, payments, fintech, or comparable complex/regulated ecosystems or ability to translate experience from similarly complex industries. Demonstrated ability to influence senior stakeholders and drive alignment across cross‑functional teams without direct authority. Strong business and financial acumen, including ability to evaluate opportunities, prioritize investments, and assess outcomes. Ability to quickly learn and apply insights within complex product ecosystems, including market, regulatory, and operational factors. Proven ability to lead ambiguity and translate strategy into actionable direction.

Physical Abilities / Working Conditions

Physical Demands: The employee must be able to talk, hear, sit, use hands to handle or feel and reach with hands and arms consistently. Must be able to stand, walk, kneel, and crouch occasionally. Vision: Close vision (clear at 20 inches or less) and distance vision (clear at 20 feet or more). Weight lifted or force exerted: Ability to lift up to 10 pounds consistently and up to 50 pounds occasionally. Environmental: No unusual environmental factors. Noise environment: Moderate noise (business office with computers and printers, light traffic).

Location Restrictions

This job is not eligible to be performed in Colorado or Connecticut, either remotely or in‑person.

EEO Statement

Mountain America Credit Union is an EEO/AA/ADA/Veterans employer.