Retail Program & Communications Specialist Lead

Sunward; Reston (VA); On-site; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Job summary

Sunward is seeking a Project Coordinator to serve as the retail operations SME, ensuring readiness and minimizing disruption to member services. You will work with executive sponsors to sequence initiatives, assess capacity, and align resources across branches, contact centers, and support teams.

The role requires strong project management, change management, and communications expertise, with a track record of delivering enterprise-wide improvements in retail or banking operations.

Qualifications

• Minimum six years of progressive experience in project management, operational readiness, change management, or enterprise communications.
• Proven success leading complex cross-functional or enterprise initiatives with measurable outcomes.
• Ability to advise and influence executives and senior stakeholders.
• Retail banking operations experience or large-scale service delivery background.
• Bachelor’s degree in business, project management, communications, or related field.
• Advanced degree or professional certification strongly preferred.
• Recognized SME in project readiness, operational risk mitigation, or enterprise change adoption.

Responsibilities

• Serve as SME on retail operational readiness, setting standards and frameworks across initiatives.
• Lead cross-functional readiness efforts with minimal disruption to member service.
• Advise executives on operational feasibility, capacity planning, and strategic trade-offs.
• Establish and maintain retail-wide readiness metrics, dashboards, and reporting.
• Anticipate risks and interdependencies, developing mitigation strategies.
• Represent retail leadership in executive planning sessions and align priorities.
• Direct vendor and partner engagement to align deliverables with readiness standards.
• Design and oversee change management frameworks for sustainable outcomes.
• Lead development of communications and engagement strategies for diverse audiences.
• Own enterprise-wide change adoption within Retail and establish best practices.

Skills

Strategic communication

Influencing

Analytical thinking

Leadership

Organizational skills

Education

Bachelor's degree in business or related

Advanced degree preferred

PMP/Prosci certification

Tools

ClickUp

MS Project

Excel

PowerPoint

Word

Job description

Description

Job Scope:

This role serves as the Credit Union’s subject matter expert in retail operational readiness and change adoption, ensuring enterprise initiatives are executed with precision, efficiency, and minimal disruption to member service. Acting as an advisor and extension of retail leadership, the position shapes enterprise planning by anticipating operational risk, influencing project sequencing, and aligning resource capacity across the branch network, contact center, and retail support teams. The role partners with Retail leaders to design frameworks, standards, and operational communication strategies that safeguard operational excellence and advance organizational priorities. By setting best practices, leading projects, and driving change management strategies, this position ensures retail operations remain a strong, sustainable enabler of the Credit Union’s long-term success.

Essential Functions

Project Coordinator Responsibilities

• Serve as the subject matter expert on retail operational readiness, setting standards and frameworks adopted across enterprise initiatives.
• Lead complex, cross-functional readiness efforts, ensuring enterprise projects are sequenced and executed with minimal disruption to member service.
• Advise executives and project sponsors on operational feasibility, capacity planning, and strategic trade-offs.
• Establish and maintain retail-wide readiness metrics, dashboards, and reporting to inform decision-making.
• Anticipate risks and interdependencies across initiatives, developing mitigation strategies and influencing enterprise priorities.
• Represent retail leadership in executive planning sessions, ensuring operational perspectives are embedded in enterprise strategy.
• Direct vendor and partner engagement to align deliverables with organizational goals and readiness standards.

Change Management Responsibilities

• Design and oversee change management frameworks that ensure consistent adoption and sustainable outcomes across retail operations.
• Advise senior leaders on change readiness strategies, equipping them to sponsor and champion major initiatives.
• Lead the development of comprehensive communication and engagement strategies tailored for diverse retail audiences, from frontline teams to executives.
• Ensure alignment of change management practices across departments, integrating HR, Communications, and Project Management approaches into a unified strategy.
• Own enterprise-wide change adoption within Retail, establishing best practices that enable sustainable outcomes and continuous improvement.

Communication Responsibilities

• Develop and oversee strategic operational communication campaigns that prepare and engage retail employees through enterprise change.
• Serve as the final authority for retail operational messaging, ensuring accuracy, clarity, and alignment with brand and organizational priorities.
• Create executive-level content, including scripts, presentations, and strategic updates, to inform and guide leadership decision-making.
• Partner with Internal Communications to shape communication strategy for retail by setting editorial standards, overseeing tone, and aligning messaging with enterprise objectives.
• Lead communication efforts for retail-wide engagement initiatives, including town halls, recognition programs, and strategic updates.
• Partner with leaders across functions to ensure messaging reflects retail priorities, readiness, and best practices.

Retail Readiness & Operational Impact Responsibilities

• Shape enterprise implementation roadmaps by ensuring retail operations are positioned to deliver sustainable member service excellence.
• Anticipate and address enterprise-level operational risks, designing scalable frameworks to mitigate capacity challenges across retail.
• Advise on long-term resource planning to balance enterprise initiatives with retail operational capacity.
• Serve as the senior liaison for operational impact, ensuring retail perspectives shape strategic decisions across the organization.
• Establish and monitor retail-wide readiness metrics, dashboards, and reporting to inform strategic decision-making and operational alignment.

Requirements

Qualifications:

Experience and Education

• Minimum six years of progressive experience in project management, operational readiness, change management, or enterprise communications.
• Demonstrated success in leading complex cross-functional or enterprise-level initiatives with measurable business outcomes.
• Proven ability to advise and influence executives and senior stakeholders, shaping strategic decisions and operational alignment.
• Significant experience in retail banking operations or large-scale service delivery environments, with expertise in balancing operational capacity and enterprise priorities.
• Bachelor’s degree in business, project management, communications, or related field required.
• Advanced degree or professional certification (e.g., PMP, Prosci Change Management, Master’s in Business Administration or Organizational Leadership) strongly preferred.
• Recognized as a subject matter expert in project readiness, operational risk mitigation, or enterprise change adoption.

Knowledge

• Deep knowledge of project management methodologies (Agile, Waterfall, hybrid) and ability to apply them strategically across diverse initiatives.
• Advanced understanding of operational readiness frameworks, capacity planning, and cross-functional enterprise project dynamics.
• Strong expertise in change management strategy and adoption best practices, including communication, training, and stakeholder engagement.
• Familiarity with regulatory and compliance requirements relevant to retail banking and enterprise project execution.
• Proficiency in analyzing enterprise data and performance metrics to identify trends, forecast risks, and inform strategic recommendations.
• Advanced proficiency with Microsoft Office (Excel, PowerPoint, Word) and project management software (ClickUp, MS Project, or similar); ability to design executive-ready reports, dashboards, and tools.

Skills/Abilities

• Exceptional strategic communication skills, with the ability to craft and deliver clear, compelling messages to audiences ranging from frontline employees to executives and boards.
• Strong influencing and negotiation skills, able to resolve competing priorities and gain alignment across functions and leadership levels.
• Demonstrated ability to anticipate and mitigate enterprise risks, balancing business priorities with operational capacity.
• Strong analytical and critical thinking skills, capable of synthesizing complex information and presenting actionable insights.
• Recognized leadership ability to mentor peers, set standards, and establish best practices across the organization.
• Excellent organizational skills with the ability to manage multiple enterprise initiatives simultaneously, delivering consistently high-quality outcomes under pressure.

Physical Requirements/Work Environment

• Prolonged periods of sitting at a desk and working on a computer.
• Must be able to communicate effectively in person, virtually, and in writing, including delivering presentations to executive leadership.
• Occasional lifting of materials up to 15 pounds (e.g., laptops, presentation equipment, meeting supplies).
• Ability to travel occasionally to branch locations, contact centers, or enterprise offices to support project implementation, training, or leadership meetings.
• Work is performed primarily in a professional office environment, with frequent use of standard office equipment such as computers, phones, printers, and video conferencing tools.
• May require flexibility in work hours to support enterprise initiatives, communication rollouts, or executive meetings outside of standard business hours.