Bank of Montreal

Director, Strategic Initiatives

Bank of Montreal$121K — $211K *
Finance & Insurance
8 - 10 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • 9+ years of relevant experience in business, finance, economics, or related field, or equivalent experience
  • Extensive background in financial services, strategy, risk, consulting, or business transformation
  • Strong knowledge of retail credit risk and portfolio management is an asset
  • Recognized expert and thought leader with deep industry insight
  • Proven track record in delivering complex, cross-functional initiatives.

Responsibilities

  • Act as a trusted advisor to senior leadership in strategic decision-making
  • Develop an expert understanding of group challenges and strategic priorities
  • Manage resources to execute strategic initiatives successfully
  • Translate strategic priorities into structured plans with clear milestones
  • Facilitate decision-making and resolve competing priorities across teams
  • Define business requirements for analytics to support data-driven decision making
  • Lead change management activities for strategic initiatives.

Benefits

  • Promotes diversity and inclusion within the workplace
  • Opportunities for performance and career growth
  • Support for ongoing development and training
  • Fosters a collaborative team culture
  • Engages in a mission-driven work environment.
Full Job Description

Application Deadline:

Address:

33 Dundas Street West

Job Family Group:

Strategy & Change

Provides subject matterexpertisein the design, development,managementand implementation of strategic initiatives from business case development through execution. Works across BMO to deliver program and business results aligned with overall group goals.Fosters a culture aligned to BMO purpose, values, and strategy and rolemodelsBMO values andbehavioursin all that they do.

In this role, the Director, Strategic Initiatives will work closely with the Head, Canadian Consumer Credit (Retail Risk). This positionoperatesat the intersection of strategy, risk oversight, and business operations, strengthening execution discipline, governance, and operating effectiveness across the Canadian Consumer Credit function. The Director ensures that strategy is translated into structured plans, aligned execution, and measurable outcomes.

Acting as a central integrator across priorities, the Director ensures strategy is translated into structured plans, aligned execution, and measurable outcomes - bringing clarity, discipline, and consistency to how the function operates.

Key Accountabilities

Strategic Leadership & Advisory

  • Acts as a trusted advisor to senior leaders for making business decisions and implementing strategic initiatives.

  • Develops an expert understanding of business/group challenges and strategic priorities.

  • Recommends measures to improve organizational effectiveness and execution discipline.

  • Connects work to BMOs purpose, sets clear outcomes, and ensures accountability for results.

  • May consult to or serve on governance forums, committees, and task forces.

Strategic Planning, Execution & Governance

  • Manages resources and leads execution of strategic initiatives to deliver on business and financial goals.

  • Translates strategic priorities into structured plans with clear milestones, ownership, and success measures.

  • Establishes andmaintainsoperating cadence (e.g., weekly, monthly, quarterly reviews).

  • Ensures initiatives align with enterprise governance requirements and standards.

  • Leads implementation of complex, cross-functional initiatives across BMO.

  • Standardizes governance forums, materials, and decision processes to ensure consistency and scalability of execution.

Cross-Functional Alignment & Stakeholder Management

  • Builds and leads interdependent teams that collaborate across functional groups (e.g., credit risk, strategy, collections, finance, business lines).

  • Aligns stakeholders on priorities, sequencing, and interdependencies.

  • Facilitates decision-making and helps resolve competing priorities.

  • Acts as a relationship manager to ensure alignment with enterprise and groupobjectives.

  • Fosters strong networks across teams to drive business outcomes.

Performance Tracking, Analytics & Reporting

  • Defines business requirements for analytics and reporting to support data-driven decision making.

  • Develops andmaintainsperformance metrics, dashboards, and reporting frameworks.

  • Monitors progress, risks, dependencies, and outcomes; ensures clear visibility into results.

  • Breaks down complex problems, analyzes data, and provides actionable insights and recommendations.

  • Maintains disciplined tracking of commitments, dependencies, and follow-ups to ensure accountability and timely execution.

  • Measures, synthesizes, and communicates key achievements and impact, ensuring clear and consistent visibility of outcomes for leadership and governance forums.

Communication & Executive Enablement

  • Develops clear, concise, executive-ready materials for leadership forums.

  • Synthesizescomplex information into structured insights and recommendations.

  • Communicates abstract concepts in simple, practical terms.

  • Supports consistent communication of priorities, progress, and outcomes across stakeholders.

Transformation, ProcessImprovement& AIEnablement

  • Assesses and adapts operational programs;developsnew capabilities to support ongoing success.

  • Leads process improvement and reengineering to enhance scalability and effectiveness.

  • Supportsadoptionof advanced capabilities, including data, technology, and AI-driven solutions.

  • Anticipates trends and drives continuous improvement in ways of working.

Change Management & Delivery

  • Leads change management activities to support implementation and adoption of strategic initiatives.

  • Develops and executes change plans, including stakeholder engagement and readiness activities.

  • Identifiesrisks and issues, escalates where needed, and drives solutions to ensure successful delivery.

  • Provides coaching on complex strategic and business issues to enable effective outcomes.

Leadership, Culture & Risk

  • Fosters a culture aligned to BMO purpose,valuesand strategy; role models expectedbehaviours.

  • Promotes diversity, inclusion, andstrong teamcollaboration.

  • Attracts,retains, and develops top talent; supports performance and career growth.

  • Operates at a group/enterprise-wide level as a senior specialist resource.

  • Applies the Risk Management Framework, taking measured risks and making sound, risk-informed decisions aligned with policies and regulatory requirements.

Qualifications

Experience &Expertise

  • Typically9+ years of relevant experience and graduate degree in a related field (Business, Finance, Economics, or quantitative discipline) or equivalent experience.

  • Extensive experience in financial services, strategy, risk, consulting, or business transformation.

  • Strong understanding of retail credit risk, portfolio management, and/or model governance is an asset.

  • Recognized as a seasoned expert and thought leader with strong industry knowledge.

Execution Leadership & Transformation

  • Proven experience delivering complex, cross-functional initiatives with clear ownership of outcomes.

  • Demonstrated ability to translate strategy into structured plans, governance routines, and measurable results.

  • Experience with process improvement, reengineering, and large-scale transformation initiatives.

  • Exposure todata, technology, and AI-driven capabilities and their application to business performance.

Core Skills

  • Verbal & written communication skills Expert.

  • Analytical andproblem solvingskills Expert.

  • Influence and stakeholder management skills Expert.

  • Collaboration & team skills with a focus on cross-group alignment Expert.

  • Strong judgment and ability to manage ambiguity and complexity.

  • Data-driven decision making Expert.

Salary:

$121,600.00 - $211,800.00

Pay Type:

Salaried

About Bank of Montreal

The Bank of Montreal is a Canadian multinational investment bank and financial services company. It provides a wide range of personal and commercial banking, wealth management, and investment banking products and services. The bank had revenues of CAD 23.6 billion in 2020.
Learn more about Bank of Montreal
Size
45,454 employees
Market Cap
$60.9 billion
Industry
Founded
1817
5 Year Trend
+9.1%
NASDAQ

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