VP, Lead Customer Activation Initiatives Manager

Role Summary/Purpose

Reporting to the VP, Strategic Card Solutions, the VP, Lead Customer Activation Initiatives Manager leads and develops a team responsible for the end-to-end delivery of business‑critical customer activation initiatives across Performance Marketing and the Growth organization. This role serves as the central point of accountability for complex, cross‑functional programs—from project inception through launch and stabilization—ensuring clear scope, stakeholder alignment, disciplined governance, and on‑time/on‑quality delivery.

This role is also the enterprise owner of the Synchrony Plastics Strategy—responsible for developing, documenting, governing, and executive‑socializing the strategy narrative, decision framework, and multi‑year roadmap to ensure consistent alignment across clients, channels, technology, operations, compliance, and suppliers.

Partnering closely with Growth, client‑facing teams, Technology (SYF and partners such as Fiserv), Operations, Compliance, and external suppliers, this leader drives execution across initiatives including new client integrations, conversions/deconversions, partner product expansions, regulated communications deployments (cards/letters/statements), vendor migrations, and change‑in‑terms efforts. The role requires travel for partner planning and scope sessions and for supplier quality assurance events tied to physical output.

Own and drive end-to-end delivery of complex customer activation initiatives across Performance Marketing and Growth, ensuring integrated plans, milestones, deliverables, and readiness criteria.

Lead and directly manage a team of Customer Activation Initiatives Managers/resources; coach on project/program management standards, stakeholder management, and delivery excellence in a regulated environment.

Execute delivery planning and manage work streams for Growth initiatives such as card reissues/upgrades, vendor migrations, billing statement software deployments, and change‑in‑terms efforts—prioritizing business‑critical activities and sequencing across shared capacity.

Stay current on relevant credit card industry standards, regulations, and legislative changes impacting card issuance and regulated customer communications; incorporate changes into delivery plans and controls.

Own the Synchrony Plastics Strategy (vision, principles, decision framework, and multi‑year roadmap) across card package/design, inventory readiness, kit/envelope options, and alternative fulfillment approaches; ensure alignment to Growth priorities and platform capabilities.

Create, document, and maintain executive‑ready strategy artifacts (e.g., strategy deck, roadmaps, operating assumptions, decision logs, standards, playbooks) that clearly communicate “what we do, why we do it, and how we execute it.”

Establish strategy governance: define the intake/decisioning process, facilitate executive reviews, capture decisions and rationale, and maintain version control so updates are traceable and audit‑ready.

Translate complex inputs into clear executive narratives by synthesizing perspectives from client teams, Technology, Operations, Compliance, and suppliers into crisp recommendations, tradeoffs, and decision points.

Lead executive communications for plastics strategy including pre‑reads, leadership updates, and operating reviews; ensure messaging is consistent, visually clear, and action‑oriented.

Support additional duties and special projects, as assigned.

Ability and flexibility to travel for business as required, including partner planning and supplier QA events as needed.

MBA and/or specialization in finance, operations, technology, or program management.

Experience leading enterprise delivery governance and scaling repeatable playbooks across multiple clients/initiatives.

Exceptional executive storytelling and written communication skills; proven ability to synthesize complex, ambiguous inputs into crisp, decision‑grade narratives and presentation materials.

Advanced proficiency in PowerPoint (or equivalent) with a track record of producing high‑quality strategy decks for senior leadership and client…