Following initial onboarding and training, this position may transition to a hybrid remote work arrangement, allowing performance of job duties to be completed both from home and on-site, with a structured schedule designed to support flexibility, business objectives, and consistent collaboration.
The Chief Strategy Officer & Chief of Staff (CSO/COS) serves as a strategic advisor to the President & CEO and a key member of the executive leadership team. This role is responsible for leading the enterprise strategic planning process and supports the CEO in maintaining alignment among the Board of Directors and executive leadership team, translating the credit union’s long-term vision into coordinated priorities, measurable outcomes, and sustained execution.
40% – Enterprise Strategy & Strategic Planning:
- Designs and leads the enterprise strategic planning process cycle, including the annual offsite and quarterly update sessions, and supports the CEO in maintaining alignment among the Board and executive leadership team, translating the credit union’s long-term direction into coordinated priorities, measurable outcomes, and sustained execution.
- Establishes the objectives, agendas, decision frameworks, and supporting materials necessary for effective strategic discussions and decisions by the Board, CEO, and executive leadership team.
- Maintains an integrated view of strategic priorities, performance measures, dependencies, risks, and resource requirements while preserving each executive’s authorities and accountability for execution within their areas and serves as Vice Chair of the Project Steering Committee to ensure initiatives critical to the successful execution of the three-year strategic plan are appropriately prioritized and resourced.
- Monitors execution of the strategic plan and provides the CEO and Board with clear, timely reporting on progress, achievements, emerging challenges, and material deviations from expectations, recommending adjustments to strategic priorities, sequencing, resource allocation, or expected outcomes when performance, organizational capacity, or changing conditions warrant reconsideration.
- Coordinates across executive leadership and functional areas to maintain alignment among the strategic plan, departmental priorities, major initiatives, and organizational communication and partners with the communications function to ensure employees understand the credit union’s strategic direction, progress, and their role in execution, coordinating material strategic communications with the CEO.
- Evaluates strategic results against original objectives and ensures lessons from execution inform future planning and decision-making.
25% – Strategic Intelligence, Growth & Transformation:
- Identifies emerging trends and disruptive forces affecting credit unions, including demographic change, member expectations, technology, artificial intelligence, payments, fintech, economic conditions, regulation, and workforce trends.
- Evaluates strategic opportunities involving geographic expansion, new markets, products and services, partnerships, fintech relationships, acquisitions, mergers, and other growth opportunities.
- Develops business cases and decision frameworks for significant enterprise investments and strategic choices.
- Ensures strategic decisions consider financial performance, member value, organizational capacity, employee impact, risk, and sustainable community impact.
- Maintains an external perspective on competitive dynamics and identifies opportunities for the credit union to differentiate and remain relevant over the long term.
20% – Chief of Staff & CEO Effectiveness:
- Serves as a strategic advisor and thought partner to the CEO, providing independent analysis, sound judgment, and constructive challenge when appropriate, increasing CEO and executive-team effectiveness by identifying issues requiring leadership attention and ensuring appropriate preparation, coordination, and follow-through.
- Partners with executive leaders to resolve cross-functional barriers and organizational dependencies that could impede strategic execution.
- Coordinates executive leadership meeting agendas around enterprise priorities, decisions, performance, and strategic issues rather than routine operational reporting.
- Maintains visibility into major enterprise initiatives and proactively elevates risks, conflicts, resource constraints, or decisions requiring CEO attention.
10% – Board & Executive Alignment:
- Partners with the CEO and appropriate executives in preparing Board strategy discussions, retreats, presentations, and decision materials.
- Helps ensure alignment between Board-approved strategic direction and management execution while maintaining clear distinctions between governance and management responsibilities.
- Develops concise executive and Board-level reporting that communicates progress, risks, tradeoffs, decisions required, and strategic outcomes.
- Champions an enterprise perspective and encourages leaders to make decisions based on what is best for the overall credit union rather than individual functions.
- Performs other executive-level responsibilities and special assignments as directed by the President & CEO.
5% – Performs other job-related duties as assigned.
Work Experience
- 12+ years of progressively responsible leadership experience, including significant experience in strategy, financial services, management consulting, enterprise transformation, corporate development, operations, or executive leadership is required.
- Experience working within a complex, regulated financial institution is strongly preferred. Credit union experience is desirable but not required when the candidate brings substantial financial-services and strategic leadership experience is required.
- Demonstrated experience advising senior executives, leading enterprise strategic planning, managing complex cross-functional initiatives, and preparing executive- and Board-level materials is required.
- Demonstrated ability to evaluate significant business opportunities and influence outcomes without relying solely on direct authority is required.
Education, Licenses, and Certifications
- Bachelors Degree in business administration, finance, economics, strategy, organizational leadership, or an equivalent combination of education experience, or military service is required.
- Masters Degree MBA, or equivalent advanced education is preferred.
- Credit Union industry leadership certifications is preferred.
Other Skills
- Quality, clarity, and organizational understanding of the enterprise strategy.
- Achievement of strategic objectives, milestones, and expected outcomes.
- Percentage of enterprise strategic initiatives on track and timely visibility into initiatives at risk.
- Speed and quality of enterprise decision-making and resolution of cross-functional issues.
- Executive-team alignment and effectiveness around enterprise priorities.
- Quality and effectiveness of Board strategy discussions and decision materials.
- Realization of expected benefits from major strategic investments and transformation efforts.
Physical Requirements:
The demands described below are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform these functions.
- Employee must have the ability to sit and/or stand at a desk for a minimum of 8 hours a day and complete tasks requiring repetitive use of hands.
- Employee must have the ability to lift and move items up to fifteen pounds.
- Employee must have the ability to see written documents and computer screens, and to adjust focus.
Equal Opportunity Employer/Protected Veterans/Individuals with Disabilities
This employer is required to notify all applicants of their rights pursuant to federal employment laws. For further information, please review the Know Your Rights (https://www.eeoc.gov/poster) notice from the Department of Labor.
