About this opportunity
At Meridian our aspiration is to integrate our purpose into everything we do for people, the planet, and communities. We believe that our greatest opportunity is to create opportunity and meet people where they are.
Reporting to the Director, Operational Excellence & Controls, the Senior Manager, Operational Excellence leads the operational transformation and continuous improvement agenda across Operations. The role is accountable for identifying, prioritizing and delivering measurable improvements in efficiency, productivity, capacity, quality and employee experience through process redesign, Lean and Six Sigma practices, intelligent automation, artificial intelligence (AI), robotic process automation (RPA), workflow optimization and performance analytics.
The Senior Manager translates enterprise and Operations priorities into a practical improvement roadmap, supported by disciplined opportunity intake, business cases, delivery governance, change adoption and benefits realization. Working across Retail Operations, Specialized Operations, Member Services & Support and control functions, the role simplifies end-to-end processes, reduces manual effort and builds scalable operating capability.
The role partners closely with Operations leaders, Technology, Risk, Compliance, Transformation, Data and external providers to implement sustainable solutions within Meridian standards and risk appetite. Through a specialized team and cross-functional delivery partners, the Senior Manager strengthens continuous improvement capability and enables responsible adoption of emerging technologies across Operations.
Key Responsibilities
Operational Excellence Strategy and Improvement Portfolio
- Develop and execute the operational excellence strategy and multi-year improvement roadmap for Operations, aligned with enterprise and divisional priorities.
- Establish a consistent approach to opportunity intake, assessment, prioritization, sequencing and governance across process improvement, automation and productivity initiatives.
- Lead end-to-end process reviews, value stream mapping, root-cause analysis and future-state design to remove waste, duplication, rework, bottlenecks and unnecessary complexity.
- Apply Lean, Six Sigma and other continuous improvement disciplines to improve process capability, quality, speed, consistency and control effectiveness.
- Maintain a transparent portfolio of initiatives, dependencies, risks, decisions, resource requirements and expected business outcomes.
- Research emerging practices and technologies and assess their relevance to Operations priorities and future operating models.
AI, Automation, RPA and Workflow Enablement
- Own the Operations pipeline for AI, intelligent automation, RPA, workflow and process-mining opportunities, from ideation through implementation and optimization.
- Partner with Technology, Data, Risk, Compliance and business teams to translate operational needs into scalable, secure and sustainable solutions.
- Develop business cases and requirements that clearly define the problem, target process, expected benefits, control impacts, implementation needs and ongoing ownership.
- Promote responsible use of AI and automation, including appropriate human oversight, testing, documentation, monitoring, escalation and adherence to enterprise standards.
- Lead implementation and operational readiness activities for automation and workflow solutions, including process changes, training, communications and adoption.
- Monitor solution performance and work with partners to resolve defects, manage exceptions and continuously improve realized value.
Productivity, Capacity and Benefits Realization
- Develop productivity and capacity-improvement frameworks that enable consistent measurement of workload, effort, throughput, turnaround time, quality and resource utilization.
- Use operational data and process insights to identify performance gaps, demand patterns, root causes and opportunities to release or redirect capacity.
- Establish baselines, targets and benefits-realization plans for improvement initiatives, including financial, capacity, service, quality, risk and employee-experience outcomes.
- Validate and report realized benefits, distinguish one-time from sustainable improvements and ensure benefits are embedded in operating plans and performance routines.
- Support Operations leaders with workload balancing, workforce planning, service-level trade-offs and prioritization decisions.
- Develop concise executive reporting on the improvement portfolio, delivery status, realized outcomes, risks and decisions required.
Change Delivery and Enterprise Partnership
- Lead cross-functional initiatives involving process redesign, technology implementation, operating-model change and service transformation.
- Facilitate workshops and working sessions to define problems, align stakeholders, design solutions and accelerate decisions.
- Build trusted relationships across Operations, Technology, Transformation, Data, Risk, Compliance, Finance, Human Resources and Member Experience.
- Apply structured change-management practices to ensure affected teams understand, adopt and sustain new processes, tools and ways of working.
- Anticipate delivery and adoption risks, escalate issues appropriately and ensure clear accountability for decisions and follow-through.
- Coordinate external vendors or professional-service partners where required and monitor delivery against agreed outcomes.
People Leadership and Continuous Improvement Capability
- Build a high-performing, engaged and inclusive team focused on operational excellence, innovation, measurable outcomes and practical execution.
- Provide leadership, coaching, performance management, succession planning and professional development for direct reports.
- Develop process-improvement, automation, AI, analytical, change and benefits-realization capabilities across the team and broader Operations portfolio.
- Create standards, toolkits, training and communities of practice that enable leaders and employees to identify and implement improvements.
- Promote curiosity, disciplined experimentation, open communication, accountability and sharing of leading practices.
- Communicate priorities, progress, outcomes, risks and recommendations clearly to senior leaders, partners and delivery teams.
Key Accountabilities and Measures of Success
- Demonstrable gains in productivity, capacity, cost effectiveness, cycle time, throughput, quality and error reduction.
- Reduction in manual effort, rework, hand-offs and process complexity through redesign, workflow and automation.
- A prioritized, transparent and well-governed Operations improvement and automation portfolio.
- Successful implementation and sustained adoption of AI, RPA, workflow and continuous improvement initiatives.
- Validated realization of financial, capacity, service, quality, risk and employee-experience benefits.
- Improved Member and stakeholder experience through faster, simpler, more accurate and consistent service.
- Effective partnership with Technology, Risk, Compliance and Operations leaders, with timely escalation and resolution of delivery issues.
- Improved operational excellence capability and a stronger culture of continuous improvement across Operations.
Knowledge, Skills and Abilities
- Advanced knowledge of operational excellence, Lean, Six Sigma, process engineering, value stream mapping, root-cause analysis and continuous improvement methodologies.
- Demonstrated ability to lead complex process transformation, intelligent automation, AI, RPA, workflow or digital enablement initiatives.
- Strong understanding of process mining, automation lifecycle management, operational analytics, governance and responsible technology adoption.
- Advanced analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to convert structured and unstructured data into clear recommendations and action.
- Demonstrated capability in portfolio management, business-case development, prioritization, benefits realization and executive reporting.
- Strong project, program and change-management skills, with a focus on implementation, adoption and sustainability.
- Knowledge of operational risk, internal controls, privacy, compliance and audit considerations within a regulated environment.
- Highly developed facilitation, communication, presentation, negotiation and strategic influencing skills.
- Ability to lead across organizational boundaries and mobilize cross-functional partners without direct authority.
- Strong business and financial acumen, Member orientation and judgment in complex or ambiguous situations.
- Ability to develop talent, build inclusive teams and encourage curiosity, learning, innovation and accountability.
- Proactive, practical and self-directed, with the agility to move between strategic priorities and detailed delivery challenges.
Education, Experience and Professional Qualifications
- Undergraduate degree in business, engineering, operations management, technology, finance or a related discipline, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
- Seven or more years of progressive experience in operational excellence, process improvement, transformation, automation, operating-model design or operational strategy, including people or program leadership experience, ideally in financial services.
- Demonstrated experience delivering measurable productivity, capacity, service, quality or cost improvements in a complex operating environment.
- Experience implementing AI, RPA, workflow, process-mining or other automation solutions is strongly preferred.
- Lean Six Sigma Black Belt or comparable advanced process-improvement certification is strongly preferred.
- Project management, Agile, change-management or automation-related certification is an asset.
- Experience in financial services or another highly regulated industry is preferred.
- Experience with workflow platforms, automation tools, data visualization and Microsoft productivity tools is required; familiarity with Meridian platforms is an asset.
- Comfort learning and adopting new digital tools, with an openness to using AI‑enabled technology to enhance productivity, accuracy, and the Member experience.
This role represents an existing vacancy. Internal candidates are being considered as part of our standard process.
Salary Range: CAD $95,000.00 to $135,000.000 annually.
Compensation for this role is based on a combination of skills, experience, and internal equity. Candidates with stronger alignment to the role’s requirements may be placed higher within the range. Your recruiter will share more information about our total rewards package during the hiring process.
Office Location:
St. Catharines Corporate Office located at 75 Corporate Park Drive, St. Catharines OR;
Toronto Corporate Office located at 3280 Bloor St W, Etobicoke, ON.
Meridian has a remote work policy that allows flexibility for employees to work remotely but also requires regular time in the office for purposeful meetings to collaborate, innovate and build effective relationships with your team, your colleagues and your leader which is very important to us.
What's in it for you?
- We have an inclusive and collaborative working environment that encourages creativity, curiosity, and celebrates success
- We provide you with the tools and technology needed to delight your candidates and clients
- You'll get to work with and learn from diverse industry leaders
- Hybrid work arrangements with in-person office time to collaborate, innovate and build relationships with your colleagues
- This isn't your typical "corporate" job. We work hard and we have fun!
Build the Future of Banking with Us
At Meridian, we’re not just adapting to the future - we’re shaping it. We see talent as a catalyst for sustainable growth, community impact, and future-readiness. As the financial landscape evolves, we’re looking for team members who bring:
- Embedding & leveraging technology – Confidence and willingness to learn and integrate AI and emerging technologies into new ways of working. Experience with low/no code tools like the Microsoft Power Platform and generative AI productivity tools like Microsoft Copilot is considered an asset
- Critical Thinking – The ability to analyze, evaluate and interpret information from various sources and apply logic and problem solving to make decisions.
- Data Driven– Leverage data and insights to identify, prioritize and improve member experience and business efficiency.
- Curiosity & Flexibility – Comfortable navigating and embracing change and uncertainty, ask more questions, explore more options. Continuously learn and grow.
Who we are:
Meridian is Ontario’s largest credit union, and second largest in Canada, helping to grow the lives of our more than 380,000 Members. Meridian has more than 80 years of banking history and is 100% owned by its members. With 87 retail branches and 15 Business Banking Centers across Ontario and $ 32B in assets under management, Meridian offers a full range of financial products and services to its retail, business banking and wealth members. With over 2200 employees and corporate offices located in Toronto and St. Catharines, Meridian has a track record of creating and delivering innovative new offerings and is committed to investing in the communities that we serve. Our plan is to build on our momentum as we deliver on our purpose - helping our members achieve their best life.
Find our story here: About Meridian
Experience the Difference!
Meridian committed to promoting an inclusive, accessible environment, where all employees and customers feel valued, respected and supported. We are dedicated to employing a workforce that reflects the diversity of our communities and Members in which we live and serve.
Qualified applicants will receive consideration without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, or disability.
Please note that due to the volume of applications, only those under consideration will be contacted for an interview.
Thank you for your interest in Meridian Credit Union.
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