VP, Emerging Capabilities Strategy and Solutions

Job Description:

Role Summary/Purpose:

As the VP, Emerging Capabilities Strategy and Solutions leader, you will be responsible for managing large-scale, cross-functional initiatives, or “epics”, focused on servicing & frontline experience AI-powered assist. While leading this epic, you will be accountable for defining strategy, driving execution, and delivering capabilities that transform how our frontline teams engage with customers. This position requires strategic and design thinking, data and process analysis, understanding of emerging technology capabilities, program planning and execution, change management, and cross-functional partnership at various levels of the organization. 

The Emerging Capabilities Strategy and Solutions leader will bring the vision for Contact Center Front-Line Agent Servicing Automation and AI-Powered Assistant to life by overseeing epics and product features, defining objectives and key results (OKR), developing roadmap, prioritizing backlog for the agile release trains (ART), driving execution of deliverables, measuring success metrics, and refining deliverables and outcomes to achieve OKRs.

Ideal candidate should have demonstrated experience in leading enterprise strategic initiatives from concept to launch that drive revenue or cost-savings, and a solid product innovation, digital/omnichannel capabilities, artificial intelligence and emerging technologies, and operations background. This role requires strong understanding of the agile framework and collaboration with product managers/owners, release train engineers, user experience designers, consumer and front line experience designers, engineering, and various internal business leaders. Ideal candidate should have strong analytical and data-driven decision-making skills. Ideal candidate must be comfortable with operating in a fast-paced agile environment, proactively taking initiative, managing through ambiguity, and intentionally leading with Synchrony Values: Honest, Bold, Caring, Driven, Responsible, and Passionate.

Our Way of Working

We’re proud to offer you choice and flexibility. At Synchrony, our way of working allows you to have the option to work from home, near one of our Hubs or come into one of our offices. Occasionally you may be required to commute to our nearest office for in person engagement activities such as business or team meetings, training and culture events.

Essential Responsibilities:

Strategic Leadership:

• Define vision, roadmap, and success metrics for a large, cross-functional epic. Serve as the leader accountable for strategy alignment, delivery milestones, and business outcomes for assigned themes.

• Partner with executives and cross-functional teams to prioritize investments and ensure alignment with enterprise objectives.

Execution Excellence:

• Lead cross-functional teams to deliver epics on time, within scope, and with measurable outcomes.

• Partner with support teams, including agile teams, technology leaders, product owners, business stakeholders, UX, CX, etc. to ensure seamless platform integration, data integrity, and scalability.

• Support efforts to drive adoption and change management across users and frontline teams.

• Monitor performance, track KPIs, and report accomplishments, progress, quality, challenges, issues, risks, mitigants, and trade-off decisions to senior leadership.

Epic Ownership:

• Agent Servicing / Frontline Experience Automation Capabilities:

  • Knowledge Management – centralized, accessible content for quick and accurate resolution, Call Screen Recording – ensuring compliance, transparency, and process improvement, and Quality Management – enhancing performance monitoring and coaching capabilities

• AI-Powered Assistance Capabilities:

  • Agent Assist – real-time guidance to agents during customer interactions, After Call Summary – automated generation of call notes to reduce manual effort, Sentiment Analysis – providing real-time emotional intelligence for better service outcomes, Customer Journeys – enabling holistic view and omnichannel context of customer interactions and providing next best action recommendation to agents, and Speech Analytics (Future State) – deriving insights to continuously improve customer experience.

Product Innovation & Management:

• Agent servicing and AI assistant themes, shaping future capabilities that anticipate business and customer needs.

• Conduct market scans, vendor evaluations, and competitive analysis to ensure our solutions and capabilities stay at the forefront of industry trends.

• Define clear product roadmaps, feature definitions, and user stories in partnership with business and technology stakeholders.

• Continuously gather feedback from frontline teams, customers, and leaders to refine capabilities and improve usability.

• Drive a culture of innovation, encouraging pilot programs, proof-of-concepts, and rapid iteration to accelerate value deliver while ensuring adherence of regulatory, compliance, security standards and corporate governance policies.

• Translate emerging AI and automation technologies into practical, scalable solutions that drive measurable business outcomes.

Project Planning & Program Management:

• Establish a comprehensive program plan that integrates milestones across multiple workstreams – managing deliverables, schedules, and resources, and coordinate cross-team integration points and dependencies to ensure seamless integration and functionalities.

• Collaborate with designers, system architects, release train engineers, product managers / owners to ensure successful deliverables.

• Manage dependencies across themes, identifying and addressing risks proactively. Track and communicate OKRs and benefit realization.

Qualifications/Requirements:

• Bachelor’s Degree and 10+ years of relevant work experience in Operations, Technology or other relevant Self-Service Digital and Mobile capabilities; in lieu of Bachelor’s degree, high school diploma and 10+ years of equivalent work experience  

• 10+ years Product and Program management managing complex multiple-year enterprise initiatives / projects simultaneously across multiple functions and stakeholders 

• 10+ years of Leadership experience, including working with cross-functional business partners and senior c-suite executives and leadership, communicating with both technical and non-technical resources

• Ability to work Eastern Time Zone, while managing an offshore team

• Experience managing scope and expectations of technology projects including business/technical requirements, budgets, schedules, distributed resources, and dependencies 

• Experience working in Agile at Scale (Scaled Agile Framework SAFe preferred)  

• Proficient in the use of MS Office product suite, particularly Excel, PowerPoint  

• Proven ability to communicate in an effective and timely manner

• Track record of problem solving and ability to thrive in a cross-functional and technology facing environment

Desired Characteristics:

• Preferred experience with AI technologies such as conversational AI, agent assist, speech analytics, augmented reality, and computer vision.  

• Experience working with technical teams and guiding the creation and implementation of self-service products and platforms  

• Certified SAFe professional and working knowledge JIRA / JIRA Align

• Experience with technology related to payment of bill in a consumer/retail finance setting

• Experience managing an offshore team

• Experience managing teams which are responsible for various projects

• Highly motivated and self-driven to accomplish tasks 

Grade/Level: 14

The salary range for this position is 150,000.00 - 250,000.00 USD Annual and is eligible for an annual bonus based on individual and company performance.

Actual compensation offered within the posted salary range will be based upon work experience, skill level or knowledge.

Salaries are adjusted according to market in CA, NY Metro and Seattle.

Eligibility Requirements:

• You must be 18 years or older

• You must have a high school diploma or equivalent

• You must be willing to take a drug test, submit to a background investigation and submit fingerprints as part of the onboarding process

• You must be able to satisfy the requirements of Section 19 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act.

• New hires (Level 4-7) must have 9 months of continuous service with the company before they are eligible to post on other roles.  Once this new hire time in position requirement is met, the associate will have a minimum 6 months’ time in position before they can post for future non-exempt roles.  Employees, level 8 or greater, must have at least 18 months’ time in position before they can post.  All internal employees must consistently meet performance expectations and have approval from your manager to post (or the approval of your manager and HR if you don’t meet the time in position or performance expectations).

Legal authorization to work in the U.S. is required.  We will not sponsor individuals for employment visas, now or in the future, for this job opening. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or veteran status. 

Our Commitment:

When you join us, you’ll be part of an inclusive culture where your individual skills, experience, and voice are not only heard – but valued. Together, we’re building a future where we can all belong, connect, and turn ideals into action. More than 50% of our workforce is engaged in our Employee Resource Groups (ERGs), where community and passion intersect to offer a safe space to learn and grow.

This starts when you choose to apply for a role at Synchrony. We ensure all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or veteran status. We’re proud to have an award-winning culture for all. 

Reasonable Accommodation Notice:

• Federal law requires employers to provide reasonable accommodation to qualified individuals with disabilities. Please tell us if you require a reasonable accommodation to apply for a job or to perform your job. Examples of reasonable accommodation include making a change to the application process or work procedures, providing documents in an alternate format, using a sign language interpreter, or using specialized equipment.

• If you need special accommodations, please call our Career Support Line so that we can discuss your specific situation. We can be reached at 1-866-301-5627.   Representatives are available from 8am – 5pm Monday to Friday, Central Standard Time

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