Manager, Strategic Initiatives (L9)

Job ID: 2600384

Job Description:

Role Title: Manager,  Strategic Initiatives (L9)

Company Overview: Synchrony (NYSE: SYF) is a premier consumer financial services company delivering one of the industry’s most complete digitally enabled product suites. Our experience, expertise and scale encompass a broad spectrum of industries including digital, health and wellness, retail, telecommunications, home, auto, outdoors, pet and more.

• We have recently been ranked #2 among India’s Best Companies to Work for by Great Place to Work. We were among the Top 50 India’s Best Workplaces in Building a Culture of Innovation by All by GPTW and Top 25 among Best Workplaces in BFSI by GPTW. We have also been recognized by AmbitionBox Employee Choice Awards among the Top 20 Mid-Sized Companies, ranked #3 among Top Rated Companies for Women, and Top-Rated Financial Services Companies.

• We provide best-in-class employee benefits and programs that cater to work-life integration and overall well-being.

• We provide career advancement and upskilling opportunities, for all to take up leadership roles.

Organizational Overview: Credit Team decisions credit actions across the lifecycle of a customer – from acquisition to account management to collections and recover – we work towards managing credit and fraud losses and elevating customer experience through powerful and proprietary insights on customer risk and credit behaviors. The actionable insights are driven by access to numerous alternative data sources, new age technologies, focused strategies, emerging algorithms, and predictive precision. Spread across 10 pillars the credit team in India caters to the entire gamut of decision sciences, from data management to model development to strategy design, and bringing it all to life through technology, and managing within the guardrails of our regulatory requirements. As part of the team, you will have access to some unique product propositions, functional and leadership training, interaction with executive leadership team and a myriad of diverse perspectives.
 

Role Summary/Purpose: The Manager, Strategic Initiatives will support the coordination and execution of key initiatives aimed at improving model development, governance, and transform processes and projects. The role focuses on enhancing collaboration within the First Line of Defense (1LoD), plus driving strategic initiatives including AI integration as well as developing next-generation modeling prototypes built on AWS technologies such as SageMaker. Additionally, the role will support AI-powered automation efforts and ensure regulatory readiness by managing audit-friendly documentation and deliverables.

Key Responsibilities:

• Assist in managing timelines, deliverables, and milestone tracking for cross-functional initiatives related to model development and transformation.  Support the research, development, and rollout of “incubation” models leveraging AWS tools (e.g., SageMaker, Lambda, Glue) to accelerate the model lifecycle through AI-driven automation in documentation and data processes.

• Design and maintain project dashboards, progress reports, summary presentations, and trackers to provide comprehensive visibility into initiative status, resource utilization, and regulatory adherence for senior leadership.

• Collaborate with technical and business leaders to support AWS-driven innovation projects, helping to build the next-generation data and modeling ecosystem.

• Document processes, project requirements, and outcomes in a clear, structured, and audit-compliant format as a core responsibility. Schedule and support cross-functional meetings with stakeholders from model development, model risk, compliance, and business teams; circulate agendas, capture action items, and follow up on outstanding tasks.

• Contribute to standardization efforts, reporting templates, and playbooks for repeatable project management.

• Collaborate with mid-level leaders on ad hoc analyses, documentation, and coordination activities to support ongoing strategic initiatives and periodic business reviews, ensuring timely execution and alignment with project goals.

• Assist in regulatory examination readiness by organizing deliverables and preparing audit-friendly documentation.

Required Skills/Knowledge:

• Bachelor's degree with quantitative underpinning (i.e., Risk, Economics, Finance, Mathematics,Statistics, Engineering) with minimum 2+years' experience or in lieu of a degree 4+ years' of relevant experience in project coordination, reporting or business operations preferably in a financial services or regulated environment.

• Minimum 2 years of hands-on programming experience using SQL, Python/PySpark/AWS services (SageMaker, Lambda, Glue, or related technologies).

• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite (Excel, PowerPoint, Word, Outlook) and collaboration tools (SharePoint, Smartsheet, Confluence, Jira, Teams) for effective task management, documentation, and communication.

• Strong organizational skills, attention to detail, and ability to follow structured workflows.

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills with demonstrated ability to work in cross-functional teams.

• Strong analytical and critical thinking skills, capable of translating complex ideas into actionable plans.

• Familiarity with model governance frameworks, documentation standards, and compliance requirements.

Desired Skills/Knowledge:

• Experience with data visualization tools such as Power BI, Tableau, or QlikView for dashboard development.

• Exposure to Agile or hybrid project management methodologies with practical use of tools like Jira and Confluence.

• Enthusiasm to deepen knowledge of model governance, risk management, and financial regulatory environments.

• Understanding of model risk management, credit and fraud risk

• Experience in process improvement initiatives, including template development and workflow automation.

• Prior participation in governance forums, audit readiness activities, or control documentation development.

Eligibility Criteria: Bachelor's degree with quantitative underpinning (i.e., Risk, Economics, Finance, Mathematics,Statistics, Engineering) with minimum 2+years' experience or in lieu of a degree 4+ years' of relevant experience in project coordination, reporting or business operations preferably in a financial services or regulated environment.

Work Timings: 2PM to 11 PM IST

This role qualifies for Enhanced Flexibility offered in Synchrony India and will require the incumbent to be available between 06:00 AM Eastern Time – 11:30 AM Eastern Time (timings are anchored to US Eastern hours and will adjust twice a year locally). This window is for meetings with India and US teams. The remaining hours will be flexible for the employee to choose. Exceptions may apply periodically due to business needs)
We are proud to offer flexibility at Synchrony. Our way of working allows you the option to work from home or workspaces in our Regional Engagement Hubs—Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Pune, Kolkata, or Delhi/NCR.
As directed by the management, you will be required to commute or travel to Hyderabad or one of the Regional Engagement Hubs for in-person engagement activities such as business/ team meetings, trainings, and events

For Internal Applicants:

• Understand the criteria or mandatory skills required for the role, before applying

• Inform your manager and HRM before applying for any role on Workday

• Ensure that your professional profile is updated (fields such as education, prior experience, other skills) and it is mandatory to upload your updated resume (Word or PDF format)

• Must not be any corrective action plan (Formal/Final Formal)

• L4 to L7 Employees who have completed 12 months in the organization and 12 months in their current role and level are only eligible

• L8+ Employees who have completed 18 months in the organization and 12 months in their current role and level are only eligible

• Employees at L4+ are eligible to apply for this opportunity

Grade/ Level: 9

Job Family Group:

Credit