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VA
Director, Network Strategy & Planning
Valley National BankMorristown, United Statesfull_timeVerifiedPosted 10 Aug 2026
About the role
Responsibilities include but are not limited to:
- Develop and maintain a multi-year branch network strategy aligned with the bank's consumer, small business, and wealth growth objectives.
- Define optimal branch coverage by market, including openings, closures, consolidations, relocations, and remodels.
- Segment markets by growth, profitability, competitive intensity, and demographic trends to guide investment decisions.
- Evaluate trade-offs between physical presence and digital adoption across customer segments.
- Lead location intelligence and spatial analysis (catchment areas, drive-time analysis, deposit flows, and competitive overlap).
- Partner with Marketing and Finance to integrate demographics, psychographics, and customer behavior data into network decisions.
- Assess market-level ROI, payback periods, and lifetime value for all network investments.
- Design differentiated branch formats (flagship, advisory/light-transaction, micro-branch, co-located models).
- Set staffing and capacity models aligned to sales goals, service demand, and digital adoption.
- Align branch design with evolving customer expectations and brand positioning.
- Own the financial business cases for all network changes, including capital, operating expense, and revenue impacts.
- Establish clear governance, approval processes, and performance tracking for network decisions.
- Ensure seamless coordination with branch sales strategy, workforce planning, and digital channel migration.
- Define and monitor KPIs such as deposits per branch, sales productivity, cost-to-serve, foot traffic trends, and market share.
- Develop executive-level dashboards and insights for senior management and the board.
- Drive continuous improvement through test-and-learn pilots and market experiments.
Required Skills:
- Proven leadership in managing large, multi-state branch networks (150+ locations preferred).
- Strong quantitative and analytical skills, including location analytics and financial modeling.
- Experience balancing cost optimization with growth and customer-experience outcomes.
- Experience across both mature and high-growth banking markets.
- Familiarity with CRA, fair-lending, and regulatory considerations impacting branch decisions.
- Exposure to digital-first or omni-channel transformation initiatives.
- The ideal leader for this role will possess several essential attributes:
- Strategic thinker with strong business, financial, and customer orientation
- Data-driven decision-maker who can translate analytics into clear executive recommendations
- Collaborative leader able to influence across functions without direct authority
- Comfortable presentation to executive leadership and the board
- Key success metrics include:
- Retail, mortgage, and small-business sales growth
- Deposit market share growth
- Clear, board-approved multi-year network strategy aligned to growth priorities
- Improved branch-level profitability and productivity across the footprint
- Disciplined capital deployment with measurable ROI on network investments
- Modernized branch formats supporting sales growth and digital adoption
- Key success metrics include:
Required Experience:
- High School or GED and a minimum of 10+ years of experience in branch network planning, retail banking strategy, or distribution optimization.
Preferred Experience:
- Bachelor's degree in Business, Finance, or related field.
- MBA.
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