Executive Director, Deposit and Payment Operations
COMPANY:
A growing financial services enterprise with services offered across the US and headquartered in the Southeast.
REPORTS/RELATIONSHIPS:
The Executive Director Deposit and Payment Operations reports to the Chief Enterprise Operations Officer, is a member of the Enterprise Operations Senior Leadership Team and leads a geographically dispersed team of over 400.
BASIC FUNCTIONS:
This executive leadership role is responsible for the end-to-end strategy, execution, and performance of Deposit and Payment Operations across the larger organization, a top 20 US financial institution. The role encompasses the full lifecycle of deposit and payment operations activities across the General Bank, Commercial Bank, Private Bank, and Community Association Banking, including legacy bank operations.
The Executive Director leads a large, complex operations organization accountable for the delivery, risk management, and continuous improvement of a broad set of critical banking functions, including Card, Check, ACH, Wire (Domestic and International), FX Operations, Lockbox, Item Processing, Deposit Operations, Reconciliation, and related services.
In addition to operational leadership, this role is responsible for driving a strategic, enterprise-wide payments transformation, including the simplification and modernization of the Bank’s payments ecosystem across Wire, ACH, RTP, and emerging rails, while ensuring operational scalability, resiliency, and client experience excellence.
This leader will Chair the Enterprise Payments Risk Committee and be a member of the American Banker Payments Intelligence Advisory Board. As a key enterprise partner and influencer, collaborating across product, technology, risk, finance, and business lines to deliver integrated capabilities will be critical to position the bank for the future of deposits and money movement, including emerging technologies such as blockchain, stablecoins, and tokenized deposits.
Specific duties will include, but not necessarily be limited to:
Enterprise Deposit and Payment Operations Leadership
-Lead all aspects of deposit and payment operations, ensuring scalability, control, and performance across a $230 billion institution.
-Oversee a diverse and complex operating model, ensuring consistent service delivery across multiple lines of business and legacy platforms.
-Drive operational excellence across all functions, balancing efficiency, risk management, and client experience.
-Ensure seamless integration and optimization of acquired platforms and capabilities, including legacy bank operations.
Business Strategy and Transformation
-Define and execute a holistic strategy for Deposit and Payment Operations, aligning people, process, and technology to enterprise priorities.
-Lead a multi-year enterprise payments transformation, including:
*Rationalization of the Bank’s payments ecosystem
*Migration to a simplified, target-state architecture across Wire, ACH, and RTP
*Reduction of operational and technology complexity
-Partner with technology and product to modernize platforms and enable real-time and digital capabilities.
-Support enterprise growth initiatives, including large-scale M&A integration and continued scaling.
Risk Management and Governance
-Maintain a strong first-line risk and control environment across all deposit and payment activities.
-Ensure alignment with regulatory expectations for a large, complex financial institution.
-Oversee governance across high-risk payment activities, including real-time, cross-border, and fraud-sensitive channels.
-Serve as a senior leader in enterprise forums such as Payment Risk Council, Enterprise Fraud Council, and Operations Risk Committees.
Enterprise Collaboration and Influence
-Act as a strategic partner across business lines and corporate functions, aligning operational capabilities with product innovation and client needs.
-Influence enterprise investment decisions related to payments and deposits infrastructure, vendor strategy, and operating models.
-Collaborate with product, treasury, technology, and finance to align roadmaps and execution priorities.
Innovation and Emerging Capabilities
-Provide leadership and direction on emerging trends in deposits and payments, including:
*Blockchain
*Stablecoins
*Digital assets and crypto
*Tokenized deposits
*Ensure exploration and adoption of new capabilities are aligned with enterprise strategy, regulatory expectations, and risk appetite.
Leadership and Talent Management
-Build and lead a high-performing, large-scale operations organization aligned with the size and complexity of the Bank.
-Establish strong succession planning, talent development, and workforce strategies.
-Foster a culture of accountability, continuous improvement, and innovation across all areas of responsibility.
REQUIREMENTS:
-15+ years of banking operations and leadership experience with a focus on enterprise operations leadership at scale, including at least 10 years of deposit and payment operations experience.
-Proven ability to lead large-scale, complex operations organizations within a $100+ billion financial institution.
-Deep understanding of deposit operations and payment processing across multiple rails.
-Demonstrated experience leading enterprise transformation initiatives and organizational change initiatives.
-Experience with payments modernization or platform rationalization.
-Exposure to emerging payment technologies and digital assets.
-Experience supporting post-merger integrations at scale.
-Strong knowledge of regulatory expectations and risk frameworks.
-Strong executive presence with the ability to quickly gain influence and cross-functional partnerships.
-Advanced analytical skills with the ability to drive strategic thinking with disciplined execution.
-Strong communicator with organizational awareness; ability to drive operational excellence and process optimization.
-Undergraduate degree required; MBA or other relevant graduate degree preferred.
COMPENSATION:
Compensation will be commensurate with experience including a competitive base salary, bonus opportunity, and competitive benefits package.
CONTACT INFORMATION:
Charlotte Wohlfert, Search Consultant
cwohlfert@CLCBsearch.com
408.694.8018