Senior Manager, Professionals Banking and Program Lending

Description

"> Why Meridian? 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. Find our story here:   Our Business Banking Practice: Our vision is to be recognized as the financial institution that has the most local impact, supported by a purpose-driven Value Proposition to our Members. We take the time to get to know our members’ business, anticipate their needs and provide customized solutions. After all, our obligations are to our Members, not shareholders, and we take to heart the best interests of our Members and communities we serve We're passionate about what we can do for their business and we’re empowered to leverage our local autonomy to meet their unique needs. In addition to building customized solutions for business, we offer full service commercial banking solutions, including a wide selection of daily banking products, complementary lending services, cash management solutions, as well as insurance and investments. As a Senior Manager, Professional Banking & Program Lending: You will report into the Director, Small Business. You will be primarily accountable for building and developing a portfolio of small to medium sized “small business” and “commercial” accounts that exhibit a medium to high degree of complexity and high degree of value to Meridian with lending needs generally less than $5,000,000. Through effective team leadership and rigorous sales and pipeline management, you will be responsible for driving increased visibility, targeted business development activities and member retention activities in the targeted segments and geographic markets. Through effective collaboration with key line of business partners in Retails, Cash Management and Wealth, the Manager will create and execute a strategic marketing and sales plan to increase market penetration and Meridian “share of wallet” in the targeted segments. You will be responsible to build a community of practice and act as a SME to colleagues supporting markets without dedicated Professional Banking and Program Lending advisors. You will embody a “Member-centric” approach while ensuring a high standard of employee engagement, business results and community engagement ensuring execution with excellence. What you will do: Leadership

• Promote Meridian Credit Union in your community by participating and being involved in community activities or events while demonstrating the Company values.
• Well-developed coaching skills using a variety of coaching techniques to support achievement of desired goals of employees and ensuring completion of activities e.g. financial targets, business development activities, VoM, and evaluating credit security.
• Provides guidance and coaching to Advisors at various levels within the assigned segmented team, and is the first escalation point for any deal issues.
• Monitors team progress and provides observational coaching and makes joint calls with advisors to ensure the team achieves results by capitalizing on opportunities and leveraging experiences and knowledge of the team and internal business partners.
• Rigorous management of the team’s business development activities and the lending and deposit pipeline
• Assist with day-to-day leadership, counselling and guidance to team members. Uses a wide range of tools and techniques to create and maintain a collaborative, motivated and positive team environment.
• Support and coach employees in the structure, negotiation and submission of credit applications, evaluating requests based on policy, risk and profitability, ensuring reviews and all file administration is performed as required according to established lending guidelines and policies and procedures.
• Demonstrate a commitment to continuous learning and development by actively participating in learning initiatives while also maintaining awareness of changing economic/marketplace influences, and industry trends/data.

Organizational Development & Collaboration

• In conjunction with the Director, Small Business, help motivate and provide guidance to employees within your team to ensure high quality service is provided to members and partners.
• Assist the Director, Small Business and Manager, Sales Effectiveness in identifying the appropriate training requirements to develop the required levels of expertise on the team.
• Responsible for assisting in the creation of development plans, performance management, coaching, feedback and performance improvement plans.
• In conjunction with the Director, Small Business, assist in the creation of performance plans (i.e. establishing goals and targets) with employees within your assigned team.
• In partnership with Small Business and Commercial Credit, structures fully flexible credit solutions customized to meet the member’s needs while ensuring an appropriate return to the Credit Union.
• In collaboration with Director, Small Business, Director, Program Lending and Vice President, Business Banking, develop and implement Meridian’s strategy focused on Professional and Program Lending market segments.
• Collaborative approach to working with key internal partners to ensure timely and accurate fulfillment of solutions for Business Members.
• Collaborates with cross-functional areas across Meridian to identify and improve processes, tools and approaches as required, through sharing of ideas, opinions and feedback.

Communication

• Through a coordinated and targeted marketing plan, identify and initiate contact with Members, partners, community leaders, centres of influence (COIs) and prospects to close deals and strengthen, protect and grow the portfolio.
• Shares knowledge/experience with others and adjusts communication style to meet the needs of individuals at various levels in the organization, as well as supporting others in their development goals.

Product & Process Knowledge

• Possess deep understanding of Meridian’s Professional and Franchising Lending Programs.
• Implement an effective sales approach to maximize loan and deposit growth within the assigned team segments.
• Maintain an ongoing sales pipeline and provide expert coaching and pipeline management in support of the team.
• Demonstrate a strong working knowledge and excellent analytical skills in the areas of balance sheets, cash flow mechanics, and business plans presented by Members.
• Uses strong financial, industry knowledge and expertise to proactively assess and anticipate Member’s needs and to suggest, recommend and/or propose products/solutions to meet those needs and the Member’s broader business objectives.
• Maintains an appropriate knowledge base of all guidelines and policies and procedures.
• Continuously update knowledge on new products, search for new and better ways to process work that will enhance the Member experience, increase productivity, and reduce the costs of providing the service or transactions.

How you will succeed:

• 5+ years of progressive commercial lending experience in sales/service and managing a diverse portfolio in commercial banking environment or like field.
• A post-secondary degree in Business or Finance or related discipline or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Leadership/management experience with a proven ability to lead, manage, coach, and develop other professional commercial lenders is an asset.
• Team building leadership style that will be effective in coaching, developing, retaining, and motivating a team.
• Developed sales management skills sufficient to set sales goals from overall plan and targets. Ability to measure and monitor sales plans, targets, pipeline and activities. Ability to coach others on sales techniques to increase effectiveness.
• Strong and thorough knowledge of the commercial banking marketplace, the assigned industries and competitive positioning within the assigned market areas.
• Superior origination, business development, relationship building and portfolio management skills.
• Superior negotiation skills coupled with a deep product knowledge/expertise.
• Deep knowledge of Meridian products, procedures, and business practices.
• Strong business acumen coupled with a demonstrated ability to initiate action to achieve results and meet deadlines while respecting fundamental corporate values.
• Strong financial analysis skills, credit and interviewing techniques, credit investigation and underwriting skills.
• Strong commitment to service excellence and the achievement of results.
• Sound organizational, influencing, communication and presentation skills.
• Demonstrates innovative and creative approaches to solving difficult challenges and seizing process improvement opportunities.
• Computer literacy sufficient to use Meridian applications including: iLend, Ovation, Mnet, ACE, CRM and Microsoft Office.
• Demonstrates a high degree of adaptability, ability to organize effectively and manage multiple priorities.
• Strong interpersonal skills – ability, tact and diplomacy to work effectively and build collaborative relationships.

Join Us This role is hybrid. Office Location is 3330 Bloor St W, Etobicoke, or 75 Corporate Park Dr, St. Catharines. 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, who have hailed from top organizations around the world
• 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

Who we are: Meridian is Ontario’s largest credit union, and second largest in Canada, helping to grow the lives of our more than 360,000 Members. Meridian has more than 75 years of banking history and is 100% owned by its members. With 89 retail branches and 15 Business Banking Centers across Ontario and $ 30B in assets under management, Meridian offers a full range of financial products and services to its retail, business banking and wealth members. With over 2000 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:  

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