Central Operations Manager

POSITION SUMMARY:

The Centralized Operations Manager provides day-to-day leadership for the credit union’s centralized deposit, payment, card, and service operations. The role ensures transactions are processed accurately, securely, and on time; operational controls are effective, procedures remain current; and employees and branches receive dependable operational support. This position does not manage branch operations; it supports branch and phone channels through centralized processing, controls, research, and issue resolution. The Centralized Operations Manager translates strategy into practical workflows, develops the Central Operations team, and partners with Compliance, IT, Finance, Lending, and Member Experience to protect member assets and improve the member and employee experience.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS:

OPERATIONAL LEADERSHIP AND SERVICE DELIVERY

• Oversee assigned card programs, including card ordering and inventory management, issuance and maintenance, daily balancing, disputes and chargebacks, provisional credit, compromised-card response, fraud-loss monitoring, network compliance, and vendor escalation.
• Oversee ACH and wire operations, including file and settlement controls, returns, Notifications of Change, reversals, stop payments, unauthorized transactions, government reclamations and death notifications, exception processing, and verification and release under dual control.
• Oversee IRA program administration, including contributions, distributions, transfers and rollovers, required minimum distributions, beneficiary and death-claim processing, year-end tax reporting, required notices and disclosures, record accuracy, and vendor coordination.
• Oversee the credit union’s timely response to Levies, Garnishments, Subpoena, and Summons’s requests. Ensure that all submitted information is both accurate and compliant.
• Ensure work is completed within established service levels, settlement deadlines, authorization limits, dual-control requirements, and quality standards.
• Oversee daily balancing, settlement, suspense and general-ledger reconciliations assigned to Operations; investigate and resolve outages, out-of-balance conditions, exceptions, and processing errors promptly.
• Maintain effective coverage for critical activities through scheduling, cross-training, documented backups, and succession planning.

RISK MANAGEMENT, COMPLIANCE, AND CONTROLS

• Maintain operational practices that comply with applicable laws, regulations, network rules, credit union policies, and delegated authorities. Partner with Risk & Compliance on interpretation and implementation.
• Support compliance with requirements applicable to assigned functions, which may include Regulations E, CC, DD, and P; BSA/AML, Customer Identification Program, OFAC, funds-availability and disclosure rules; ACH and card-network requirements; privacy; records retention; abandoned property; and legal process.
• Design, document, and monitor internal controls, including separation of duties, access controls, transaction limits, approvals, reconciliations, exception reporting, and quality reviews.
• Coordinate operational fraud prevention, dispute handling, error resolution, and loss-recovery activities. Escalate suspicious, unusual, high-risk, or material events to the appropriate Compliance, Risk, Security, or executive leader.
• Support regulatory examinations, internal and external audits, risk assessments, and control testing. Respond to findings, own assigned corrective actions, and verify sustainable completion.
• Participate in business continuity, disaster recovery, incident response, and tabletop exercises; maintain recovery procedures and ensure operational readiness.

PEOPLE LEADERSHIP

• Lead, coach, and develop Central Operations employees through clear expectations, regular feedback, recognition, performance management, and individual development planning.
• Plan staffing and workload; participate in recruiting, selection, onboarding, training, scheduling, and retention in partnership with Human Resources.
• Build a culture of accountability, sound judgment, collaboration, curiosity, continuous learning, and member-centered service.
• Ensure employees understand current products, systems, procedures, risks, controls, and escalation expectations. Maintain role-based training and cross-training records.
• Address performance, conduct, attendance, and employee-relations matters consistently and promptly in partnership with Human Resources.

PROCESS, TECHNOLOGY, AND VENDOR MANAGEMENT

• Maintain accurate, accessible, and current procedures, job aids, authority matrices, service standards, and control documentation for assigned functions.
• Evaluate workflows and recommend changes that reduce risk, eliminate unnecessary steps, strengthen controls, improve capacity, or enhance member and employee experience.
• Lead or support operational projects, system releases, product launches, conversions, and integrations. Coordinate requirements, testing, training, communication, implementation, and post-launch review.
• Act as a business owner or subject-matter expert for assigned core, payment, card, digital-banking, case-management, or operational systems; manage issues through resolution with Information Technology and providers.
• Manage assigned vendor relationships and service performance. Participate in selection, due diligence, contract review, implementation, access review, ongoing monitoring, issue escalation, and exit planning in partnership with Risk, Compliance, Information Security, and Finance.

STRATEGY, REPORTING, AND COLLABORATION

• Establish department goals, key performance indicators, service levels, and operating plans aligned with the credit union’s strategic priorities and risk appetite.
• Prepare concise management reporting on volumes, service, risk, losses, control results, staffing, vendor performance, projects, and emerging issues; recommend action when results fall outside expectations.
• Develop and administer the department budget; monitor expenses, vendor costs, and resource needs and identify responsible opportunities for savings or investment.
• Partner across the organization to resolve root causes, improve handoffs, support new products and services, and deliver a consistent member experience across channels.
• Maintain professional knowledge through training, industry resources, peer networks, and regulatory updates. Perform other duties and special projects as assigned.

Exercises authority within approved policies, procedures, transaction limits, budgets, and delegated approval levels. May assign work, approve schedules and routine operational exceptions, authorize corrective processing within assigned limits, and escalate vendor issues. Policy exceptions, material losses, significant control failures, regulatory concerns, and events outside delegated authority must be escalated promptly.

REQUIRED SKILLS & ABILITIES:

• Member centered leadership
• Risk awareness and control discipline
• Process improvement and change leadership
• Cross-functional collaboration
• Planning, prioritization, and follow-through
• Operational judgement and accountability
• Coaching and employee development
• Analytical problem solving
• Clear written and verbal communication
• Integrity and confidentiality

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE:

• Five years of progressively responsible experience in credit-union, bank, or comparable financial-services operations, including deposit, payment, card, or digital-banking functions.
• Two years of direct people-leadership or formal team-lead experience.
• Working knowledge of operational controls, electronic payments, transaction processing, reconciliations, fraud and dispute workflows, and financial-institution regulatory requirements.
• Experience creating and improving procedures, managing operational risk, responding to audits or examinations, and implementing process or system changes.
• Demonstrated ability to analyze data, identify root causes, make sound risk-based decisions, and communicate clearly with employees, leaders, members, auditors, and vendors.
• Proficiency with core processing or digital-banking platforms, Microsoft 365, and reporting tools; intermediate spreadsheet skills.
• High school diploma or equivalent.
• Bachelor’s degree in business, finance, accounting, operations, or a related field, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Seven or more years of financial-institution operations experience, including credit-union experience.
• Experience with ACH and wire operations, card services, IRA administration, digital banking, vendor oversight, business continuity, and formal project or change management.
• Relevant professional certification, such as Accredited ACH Professional (AAP), National Check Professional (NCP), or a credit-union operations, compliance, risk, or leadership credential.

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS:

Work is primarily performed in a professional office environment with extensive use of computers, phones, and standard office equipment. The position requires the ability to communicate effectively, review detailed information, remain stationary for extended periods, and occasionally move items weighing up to 20 pounds. Occasional travel between credit union locations and work outside normal business hours may be required for releases, incidents, audits, or business continuity activities. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

WORK ENVIRONMENT:

• The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential duties of this job. Reasonable accommodation may be made available to individuals with disabilities to perform their essential duties.
• Duties are performed in an office environment but may also require traveling to other branches using employee’s personal transportation.
• The noise level is moderate.
• Physical exertion is moderate.
• There are frequent employee/member contacts and interruptions in person and via the telephone throughout the day.

NOTE:  Job descriptions are not intended and should not be construed to be exhaustive lists of all responsibilities, skills, efforts, or working conditions associated with a job. They are intended to be accurate reflections of those principal job elements essential for making fair pay decisions about jobs.