Assistant / Senior Assistant Manager, Lending Projects & Strategy - Toronto, Ontario, Canada

You Lead the Way. We’ve Got Your Back.

With the right backing, people and businesses have the power to progress in incredible ways. When you join Team Amex, you become part of a global and diverse community of colleagues with an unwavering commitment to back our customers, communities and each other. Here, you’ll learn and grow as we help you create a career journey that’s unique and meaningful to you with benefits, programs, and flexibility that support you personally and professionally.

At American Express, you’ll be recognized for your contributions, leadership, and impact—every colleague has the opportunity to share in the company’s success. Together, we’ll win as a team, striving to uphold our company values and powerful backing promise to provide the world’s best customer experience every day. And we’ll do it with the utmost integrity, and in an environment where everyone is seen, heard and feels like they belong.

Join Team Amex and let's lead the way together.

The Assistant / Senior Assistant Manager, Lending Projects & Strategy, is a critical role on the Lending team within Canada - a fundamental driver of growth for the market. This team leads core initiatives that unlock incremental margin and revenue through pricing analysis and strategy. 

In this role, you will lead lending projects from inception to completion, ensuring that all project objectives are met on time, and to the required quality standards. This role requires a deep understanding of lending processes, project management skills and the ability to lead cross-functional teams. You will work closely with a large group of partners across the business including local product, acquisition, and sales teams as well as central lending and technologies groups. You will collaborate with these stakeholders to develop the strategy, ensure alignment, and drive the flawless execution of highly impactful projects & initiatives. You will be a value contributor to the lending strategy, ensuring alignment, project structure and delivery while creating and building capabilities that will have a major impact on the business’ bottom line metrics. If you possess a customer-centric mindset, a passion for leading lending projects to drive our company`s growth and success, this role is for you!

Specific role responsibilities include:

Project Management:

• Develop and implement key capabilities to support growth
• Understand and execute end-to-end project management and New Product Development processes to deliver End-to-End initiatives
• Collaborate across broader American Express teams (Central Lending, Technologies, Legal, Compliance, Operational Risk, Servicing, etc.) to drive the "design," "build," “testing” and "implementation" stages of projects and deliver enhanced efficiencies, processes, and services for our lending portfolios
• Anticipate potential risks and issues, setting contingency plans and finding solutions

Relationship Management:

• Build a common vision between business and technology stakeholders to drive portfolio/business strategy
• Influence to gain initial stakeholder buy-in
• Manage and lead stakeholders and contributors throughout New Product Development and business optimization processes including defining roles and responsibilities.
• Manage support and ensure alignment during changes to scope and drive resolution. 

 Drive Results: 

• Move with speed and create followership and vision to get the job done
• Lead with a sense of urgency and is persistent in meeting objectives
• Motivate others to act with timeliness and define success
• Understand competitive offerings and threats

 Qualifications:

• University Degree preferably in Business/Project Management or a related field. A Master`s degree or PMP certification is a plus
• Proven self-starter with a demonstrated ability to take initiative, drive results and champion a project from conception through implementation and evaluation
• Experience developing partnerships and managing relationships
• Proven ability to analyze data sets; demonstrate critical thinking and problem-solving skills
• Excellent oral and written communication skills; emphasis on proposal development and the creation/delivery of effective presentations
• Demonstrated multi-tasking, project management, attention to detail and prioritization skills in a demanding environment
• Proven ability to lead change and set priorities, with capacity to be flexible and adapt with new opportunities
• Strong team player with proven ability to build relationships across the Blue Box to accomplish goals
• Proficiency in MS Office, notably Excel, Word and PowerPoint
• Amex product & platform knowledge experience a plus

Personal Attributes:

• Logical and naturally curious mindset; seeks opportunities to learn and develop
• Professional, self-motivated and driven
• Demonstrates personal accountability

We back our colleagues and their loved ones with benefits and programs that support their holistic well-being. That means we prioritize their physical, financial, and mental health through each stage of life. Benefits include:

• Competitive base salaries 
• Bonus incentives 
• Support for financial-well-being and retirement 
• Comprehensive medical, dental, vision, life insurance, and disability benefits (depending on location) 
• Flexible working model with hybrid, onsite or virtual arrangements depending on role and business need 
• Generous paid parental leave policies (depending on your location) 
• Free access to global on-site wellness centers staffed with nurses and doctors (depending on location) 
• Free and confidential counseling support through our Healthy Minds program 
• Career development and training opportunities

American Express is committed to providing an inclusive and accessible work environment in which all people who apply for positions or who work for or on behalf of Amex are treated with dignity and respect and are provided with equal treatment with respect to employment, regardless of that person's age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, race, colour, ancestry, ethnic or national origin, citizenship, religion or creed, marital status, family status, pregnancy, disability, record of offences, social condition or origin, political beliefs, association or activity or other factors prohibited under applicable Human Rights legislation (the “Prohibited Grounds”).   If you have a disability and need accommodation, please speak with the Recruiter for more information.

Offer of employment with American Express is conditioned upon the successful completion of a background verification check, subject to applicable laws and regulations.