Strategic Tech Program Manager, Consumer Lending

Golden 1 Credit Union; Sacramento (CA); On-site; USD 113,500 - 123,000; Full time

Job summary

Golden 1 Credit Union is seeking a strategic Technical Program Manager for Consumer Direct Lending to guide lending initiatives from concept to implementation. You will bridge business objectives with technology delivery, vendors, and compliance to achieve measurable outcomes and improved member experiences.

The role requires governance across projects, backlog management, and collaboration with executives and stakeholders while driving operational readiness and risk management.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's Degree in related field or equivalent work experience.
• Advanced degree preferred.
• 6+ years of progressive experience in project analysis, coordination, project/program management, product management, digital transformation, solution design, or business planning, including 5 years directly managing initiatives end-to-end.
• 3+ years experience within a financial institution, regulated environment, technology delivery environment, or enterprise project management office preferred.

Responsibilities

• Lead and guide cross-functional teams to ensure projects are delivered on time, within scope, and on budget.
• Collaborate with senior management to develop and implement strategic plans.
• Assess and mitigate risks related to projects in partnership with Enterprise Risk Management.
• Focus on enhancing member satisfaction and loyalty through improved services and offerings.
• Ensure projects adhere to applicable laws and regulations.
• Communicate project updates and progress to stakeholders including executives.
• Plan, organize, direct, and manage budgetary activity for upcoming projects and initiatives.
• Develop and execute a comprehensive approach to deliver major products, capabilities, services, system enhancements, and vendor-enabled solutions.
• Define, prioritize, and maintain product backlogs; determine release sequencing and roadmap planning.
• Translate business needs into technical requirements and document user stories with acceptance criteria.
• Guide Scrum teams, clarify requirements, prioritize defects, support testing and validation.
• Conduct research, facilitate vision and validation discussions, evaluate market trends and operational needs.
• Coordinate with technology delivery teams, architects, vendors, and compliance to enable delivery.
• Maintain traceability from business objectives to features, stories, and release decisions.
• Identify opportunities to improve loan origination, vendor integration, and workflows.
• Support test planning, UAT, release readiness, and go-live validation.
• Define product metrics and reporting needs for ongoing improvement.
• Collaborate with vendors and internal teams on integration requirements and SLAs.
• Track project status and outcomes to drive performance improvements.
• Foster cross-functional collaboration and represent the credit union with external partners.
• Stay updated on industry trends and regulatory changes.

Skills

Strategy development

Cross-functional collaboration

Risk management

Stakeholder communication

Team leadership

Product governance

Regulatory compliance awareness

Vendor and integration support

Education

Bachelor's degree or equivalent

Advanced degree preferred

Job description

Golden 1 Credit Union is seeking a strategic Technical Program Manager for Consumer Direct Lending to guide lending initiatives from concept to implementation. You will bridge business objectives with technology delivery, vendors, and compliance to achieve measurable outcomes and improved member experiences.

The role requires governance across projects, backlog management, and collaboration with executives and stakeholders while driving operational readiness and risk management.