Director - Business Blueprint Strategy and Program Management

The core of our company is not just the products we offer, but the personal connections our customers have with our brand. You can create digital experiences – from payments to rewards to servicing – that keep us connected to our customers and serve them at every touchpoint. From digital servicing and lifestyle features to secure, frictionless payment options, you can make a meaningful difference in our customers’ lives and help set us apart in the industry. Find your place in digital product on team Amex. 

Business Blueprint aims to serve American Express Small Business customers in managing their cash flow needs through a differentiated set of products like Business Line of Credit, Business Checking, and small business Cards. 

Your mission: 

Serve as a Product Strategy Director and thought leader to define and execute on the Business Blueprint product strategy. You will be responsible for defining and driving short- to long-term strategy of Business Blueprint for US small business customers. You will demonstrate a proven ability in leading strategic growth initiatives end-to-end, building business cases, facilitating executive storytelling, closely collaborating with design, product development and engineering, managing cross-functional partner teams, and building metrics to measure success. You will also be able to manage multiple concurrent priorities, partner across the enterprise to understand the evolution of capabilities to inform small business roadmap. Additionally, you will lead the program management office responsible for road map and strategic prioritization, and project management.  

What you'll be doing:   

• Define and execute on short- to long-term strategy for Business Blueprint
• Partner with business unit Design teams to conduct competitive and customer research and analysis
• Collaborate with product development leaders and teams to build a roadmap
• Identify and prioritize insights-related growth initiatives / features on Business Blueprint Platform
• Identify, evaluate, and concisely communicate rationale for strategic growth initiatives that accelerate the expansion of Blueprint Platform’s holistic SME customer value-prop  
• Write business cases for new strategies including customer and business impact and support the definition and development of go-to-market plans
• Lead projects independently end-to-end. Build consensus while also identifying risks and removing roadblocks
• Lead investment planning for Business Blueprint; partner with the Platform leadership team to identify priorities and coordinate accordingly with Small Business Products Strategy team  
• Own and create strategic content SLT updates, quarterly business unit reviews and executive presentations
• Set-up organizational structure for Blueprint team managing prioritization
• Primary POC for controls, compliance, risk related items for Blueprint

What we're looking for in you:   

• Operate Autonomously: Takes a project from ideation to delivery. Able to prioritize in ambiguous situations
• Proactive: Always striving to deliver great products. Proactive, self-driven, curious, loves learning
• Communication: Excellent written and oral communication skills. Communicates information, ideas, and concepts clearly
• Organization and Planning: Plans, organizes, and schedules in an efficient, productive manner; focuses on key priorities; manages time well  
• Flexibility/Adaptability: Can manage quickly changing priorities and conditions; copes effectively with complexity and change
• Persistence: Follows through on items without being managed. Resourceful, has grit, and a positive “can do” attitude
• Leadership: Sound interpersonal skills and proven ability to navigate in a cross-functional setup
• Expertise: In the know about the latest and greatest happenings in banking, cards, and small business. Understand the competitive landscape
• Partnership: Collaborate with partners across the enterprise and across the team to deliver the best experiences for small business customers
• Data centric: Has experience with and understanding of analytics and data based products 
• Results Driven - Ability to drive results in a complex, matrixed environment, and strong strategic skill set. Strategy expertise
• Ability to hire, coach and mentor team

 Minimum Qualifications:   

• 6+ years of experience in some combination of product strategy, product development, strategy, digital product or management consulting
• 4+ years of experience in financial services
• Track-record of successfully supporting strategic initiatives, including the development of business cases
• Exceptional communication and presentation skills with proven ability to communicate effectively across levels
• Ability to break down complex problems in simple ways and build enthusiasm around strategic initiatives
• Experience coordinating between Product, Business and Technology teams to define, prioritize, & deliver projects
• Self-starter and solutions-driven, with a willingness to learn and adapt to new responsibilities
• Comfort in a fast-paced and high growth environment
• Effectively challenges the status quo and able to respectively voice a contrasting point of view
• Software application skills - proficiency in Excel and PowerPoint
• Bachelor’s degree

Preferred Qualifications:   

• 8+ years of experience in some combination of product strategy, product development, strategy, or management consulting
• 5+ years of experience in financial services, with expertise in payments and/or banking
• Master's degree a plus