Vice President, Product Strategy at UW Credit Union

Job description

Who We Are UW Credit Union is a near ly $ 7 billion member-owned financial cooperative serving 400,000+ members across Wisconsin. Our mission is to improve the financial well-being of our members—and this Vice President ensures that mission is engineered directly into every product we bring to market. We build and maintain our digital banking technology in-house, which sets us apart at our size. Our dedicated digital engineering team works alongside product owners and business leaders to develop and refine our digital banking solution on behalf of our members. That gives us direct control over the touchpoint our members use most. Our product practice sits at the center of how we grow and how we compete. We define a product not as a static account on a balance sheet, but as the member's complete experience of shopping, applying, and banking with us across digital and physical channels. As a full-service financial institution, we offer more products than any one leader could oversee. So we manage performance and investment through cross-functional Product Strategy Teams (PSTs) that combine expertise in digital product, sales, marketing, underwriting, operations, and technology to drive growth and differentiation. We integrate data and AI into how we work. And we do it with a values-driven, highly engaged leadership team that genuinely likes working together. Why Join Us • Lead enterprise transformation. There is meaningful work to do in building an integrated product engine that connects member insight, balance sheet economics, and digital delivery into measurable competitive advantage. • Work with people you respect. Product strategy sits at the senior management team table here. You will partner with leaders across Technology, Marketing, Operations, and Finance who respect the discipline of product management and use intelligence to make real decisions. • Live your life. We offer a hybrid work environment with at least three days in the office and up to two days remote, along with generous paid time off and an approach that values balance and flexibility. And with Madison consistently recognized as a great place to live, you’ll have plenty to enjoy outside of work, too. Who You Are You are an experienced financial services product leader who has led a significant banking product portfolio, business segment, or product organization. You understand how financial products create value—for the customer and the institution—and have made consequential decisions across product strategy, pricing, portfolio performance, segment ation , and lifecycle management. You are equally comfortable evaluating balance sheet performance, understanding changing consumer needs, leading digital product team , and partnering with technology and operations leaders to translate strategy into compelling experiences. You are operationally and regulatory grounded. You understand that banking products do not exist in a vacuum; they must thrive inside regulatory boundaries, generate sound margins, and run cleanly across complex technical and operational architectures. You bridge the gap between technical delivery and balance-sheet realities, with the maturity to lead through product leaders rather than managing individual backlogs. You know how to align cross-functional teams around a shared vision, establish operating discipline, and move an organization from reactive feature requests to proactive, product-led growth. This job is right for you if: • You have the conviction to make consequential resource trade-offs and hold the strategic line against competing internal requests to protect long-term competitiveness. • You are energized by managing through product leaders—empowering directors, product owners , and researchers to do their best work. • You bring deep comfort with the economics of banking and want to lead a data-science-driven product organization. • You believe the best product strategy starts with deep member discovery and ends with measurable business outcomes. • You want your work to mean something—fairness in banking, community impact, and member financial well-being. What differentiates someone great at this job from someone just okay: Great VPs in this role operate as enterprise integrators. They synthesize evolving member needs, competitive moves, and market dynamics, translating those signals into clear, decisive product choices. They optimize where balance-sheet strategy, technology, operations, and member experience intersect, navigate complex trade-offs, and build the cross-functional trust needed to move strategy into action. What the Job Is Primary Purpose: Build and manage UWCU's product roadmap across core banking and digital channels, translating member needs into growing, profitable, competitive financial services. At its core, this role owns the intersection of product, price, and place: what products and experiences UWCU offers, how they are packaged and structured to create clear member and organizational value, and how they are delivered seamlessly across digital and physical channels. Product Strategy defines what is built, the target member persona, the unit economics, and the business requirements. How the role is structured • Owns: P&L accountability for checking as our primary relationship product—the account, fee structure, role of the debit card, and digital banking experience. • Leads: For every other product in our portfolio, this role is the organizing member of the Product Strategy Teams , guiding the work of Product Owners embedded in operational teams and advancing portfolio performance as an equal voice. • Directs: The Director, Digital Product This role oversees the product lifecycle for the products it owns, from the "plumbing" of core banking (checking, deposits, loans) to the "interface" of digital products, and shapes lifecycle decisions for the rest of the portfolio through regular product strategy rhythms across the credit union. Key Partners: • Marketing: Works in close lockstep with Integrated Marketing to connect product strategy with brand expression—collaborating on positioning, member segments, and value propositions to ensure seamless commercial activation and campaign execution • Technology & Operations: Aligns roadmap feasibility with core and digital tech stack capabilities, our in- house digital engineering team, enter pris e proj ect manag ement , ba ck-of fice tea ms , branch operations, and contact center workflows. • Finance & ALCO: Collaborates on contribution expectations and designs product structures to meet those targets. • Risk & Compliance: Embeds regulatory and risk requirements into product definitions from the start. The Five Most Important Responsibilities • Lead Enterprise Product Strategy & Long-Term Roadmaps - Build, maintain , and execute the enterprise product roadmap across all banking products, services, and digital experiences. Champion product-led growth strategies that position UWCU competitively against regional peers, national money centers, and fintechs. Lead product investment analysis, business case development, and resource prioritization across product lines. Serve as the organizing member of the Product Strategy Teams and an equal voice in advancing the performance of every product in the portfolio , including those this role does not own . • Own Checking & Lead Core Deposit Strategy - Serve as the enterprise authority on membership, transactional (checking), and deposit products , including the account, fee structure, debit card, and digital banking experience. Product Strategy owns feature packaging, fee structures, member value propositions, and lifecycle roadmaps, working within established ALCO and risk parameters. Optimize deposit portfolios and transactional economics to balance deposit acquisition, relationship deepening, liquidity needs, and margin targets . • Drive Omnichannel Orchestration & Digital Delivery - Lead digital experience strategy by managing through product leaders—guiding the Director of Digital Product and agile product management teams who work alongside our in-house digital engineering team . Ensure digital banking features integrate with frontline branch operations, contact centers, and back-office loan and deposit servicing so member journeys remain consistent regardless of channel. • Translate Member Intelligence & Behavioral Data into Product Choices - Direct continuous product discovery and member experience research (usability, friction points, and feature validation). Drive AI & Data Strategy in partnership with the enterprise AI & Data Analytics team : not just "knowing data," but connecting behavioral insights directly to roadmap decisions. • Ensure Launch Readiness & Operational Enablement - Partner with Marketing on go-to-market strategy and own end-to-end launch readiness across the enterprise, with support from dedicated training teams. Structure go-to-market requirements that align product positioning, pricing tiers, and legal disclosures with operational capabilities. Ensure frontline teams (branch staff, call centers, loan officers) are trained, operationally prepared, and aligned before market rollouts, so there is no daylight between product promise and operational execution. Other Key Responsibilities • Regulatory Fluency & Risk Governance: Maintain deep comfort with Reg E Truth-in-Savings . Embed consumer compliance and risk guardrails into product definitions upfront. • Product Governance: Establish clear product governance frameworks, quality benchmarks, and lifecycle review cadences across all cross-functional Product Strategy Teams. • Executive & Industry Leadership: Provide strategic product counsel to the Senior Management Team. Represent UW C redit Union in regional and national industry forums, regulatory discussions, and competitive intelligence networks. • Team Leadership & Development: Coach, mentor, and build capability across the Product Strategy, Digital Product, and Insights teams. Establish clear accountability, high standards , and an environment of continuous learning. • Bachelor's degree in Business , Finance, Information Technology, or a related field required ; MBA or advanced degree strongly preferred. • 12+ years of product management and strategic leadership experience, with proven success leading product organizations within retail banking or credit unions . • Deep domain expertise in consumer deposit and transactional banking—understanding the mechanics of liquidity, checking portfolios, fee structures, and member lifecycle economics . • Demonstrated experience managing through product leaders—leading directors, product managers, or research leaders across technical and strategic initiatives. • Demonstrated regulatory fluency in consumer financial services, including Reg E , Truth-in-Savings, and consumer fee governance. • Proven experience building or scaling product discovery capabilities, UX research frameworks, and behavioral analytics programs. • Working fluency in applied AI and data analytics strategies that drive personalization and predictive retention. • Exceptional executive communication, stakeholder management, and cross-functional alignment skills. Join one of Wisconsin’s premier financial institutions, a National Top Workplace and multi-year recipient of Madison Magazine’s Best Places to Work, Wisconsin State Journal’s Top Workplaces, and Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s Top Workplaces to receive: • Ample amount of time off • Relocation assistance available • 2 weeks paid caregiver leave • 2.5 weeks paid new child parental leave • 2 days paid volunteer time • Hybrid work environment • 10 paid holidays (including your birthday!) • 401k company match of up to 5%, plus approximately 4% discretionary match • 457 deferred-compensation plan • Variable bonus reward • Competitive Medical, Dental, and Vision plans, including domestic partner eligibility • Employee Assistance Program • And more! Interested candidates are encouraged to apply directly through the job posting. For additional information or questions regarding the opportunity, please contact Fisnik Lumani, Director of Talent, at flumani@uwcu.org . All employees must possess valid work authorization to work for UWCU on the date of hire. UWCU does not provide immigration sponsorship or support for employment authorization to include, but not limited to, sponsorship or support for H-1B, F-1 OPT, TN, or other visa category . We can recommend jobs specifically for you! Click here to stay connected.

Requirements

Must-haves

You have the conviction to make consequential resource trade-offs and hold the strategic line against competing internal requests to protect long-term competitiveness.
You are energized by managing through product leaders—empowering directors, product owners , and researchers to do their best work.
You bring deep comfort with the economics of banking and want to lead a data-science-driven product organization.
You believe the best product strategy starts with deep member discovery and ends with measurable business outcomes.
You want your work to mean something—fairness in banking, community impact, and member financial well-being.
What differentiates someone great at this job from someone just okay:
What the Job Is
Primary Purpose: Build and manage UWCU's product roadmap across core banking and digital channels, translating member needs into growing, profitable, competitive financial services.
How the role is structured
Owns: P&L accountability for checking as our primary relationship product—the account, fee structure, role of the debit card, and digital banking experience.
Directs: The Director, Digital Product
Finance & ALCO: Collaborates on contribution expectations and designs product structures to meet those targets.
Risk & Compliance: Embeds regulatory and risk requirements into product definitions from the start.
The Five Most Important Responsibilities
Other Key Responsibilities
Regulatory Fluency & Risk Governance: Maintain deep comfort with Reg E Truth-in-Savings . Embed consumer compliance and risk guardrails into product definitions upfront.
Product Governance: Establish clear product governance frameworks, quality benchmarks, and lifecycle review cadences across all cross-functional Product Strategy Teams.
12+ years of product management and strategic leadership experience, with proven success leading product organizations within retail banking or credit unions .
Deep domain expertise in consumer deposit and transactional banking—understanding the mechanics of liquidity, checking portfolios, fee structures, and member lifecycle economics .
Demonstrated experience managing through product leaders—leading directors, product managers, or research leaders across technical and strategic initiatives.
Demonstrated regulatory fluency in consumer financial services, including Reg E , Truth-in-Savings, and consumer fee governance.
Proven experience building or scaling product discovery capabilities, UX research frameworks, and behavioral analytics programs.

Nice-to-haves

Bachelor's degree in Business , Finance, Information Technology, or a related field required ; MBA or advanced degree strongly preferred.
Variable bonus reward

Application prep

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Benefits

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Dental

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401k

Paid Time Off

Parental Leave