Product Development Consultant

Job Title: Product Development Consultant
Primary Location: Grand Rapids, MI
Employee Status: Full-Time Salaried
Estimated Hours/Week: 38

Who We Are:
As Michigan's largest credit union, we strive to deliver exceptional service to our members while fostering a culture built on curious minds, collaborative hearts and continuous excellence. If you're looking for your next opportunity to grow your career and broaden your experience within LMCU, we encourage you to apply.

About this position:
LMCU is seeking a strategic and analytical Product Development Consultant to support the development, evaluation, and evolution of products, services, and member experiences across the organization. This role serves as a strategic partner to business units by helping identify opportunities, conduct research, develop business cases, and support enterprise prioritization efforts.

As part of a newly established Strategic Operations function, this position will help shape and advance LMCU's approach to evaluating new opportunities, developing products and services, and aligning strategic initiatives with member and organizational needs.

Working within Strategic Operations, the Product Development Consultant helps establish a consistent and disciplined approach to product and service development that aligns member needs, operational capabilities, and organizational objectives. This role focuses on moving ideas from concept to approved initiative by ensuring opportunities are well defined, data informed, and aligned with enterprise strategy.

The ideal candidate brings experience in product management, business analysis, strategic planning, consulting, or financial services and enjoys collaborating with stakeholders to evaluate opportunities that create value for both members and the organization.

What you'll do:

Product & Service Discovery

• Lead discovery efforts to evaluate new products, services, member experiences, and operational opportunities
• Conduct market, competitive, member, and internal research to identify trends, gaps, and opportunities
• Gather and document business requirements, use cases, and stakeholder needs
• Facilitate discussions to help define and evaluate new opportunities

Opportunity Assessment & Business Case Development

• Facilitate evaluation of ideas, opportunities, and strategic initiatives
• Develop business cases, value assessments, and recommendation materials for leadership review
• Support prioritization activities by assessing strategic alignment, member impact, operational feasibility, and expected outcomes
• Present findings and recommendations to stakeholders and leaders as appropriate

Strategic Alignment & Cross Functional Partnership

• Ensure proposed initiatives align with enterprise strategy, business objectives, and member experience goals
• Support intake, governance, and portfolio management processes
• Collaborate with business units, technology teams, risk, compliance, operations, marketing, and other stakeholders
• Facilitate workshops, interviews, and working sessions to build consensus and clarify requirements
• Support vendor evaluations, demonstrations, and capability assessments as needed

Product Lifecycle Support

• Assist with product and service launch planning activities
• Partner with Business Integration and other stakeholders to support successful transitions from planning to implementation
• Monitor outcomes and identify opportunities for continuous improvement
• Adhere to and champion our core values of curious minds, collaborative hearts and continuous excellence

What You'll Bring:

• Bachelor's degree in business, marketing, finance, management, product management, or a related field
• Five or more years of experience in product management, product development, business analysis, strategic planning, consulting, project leadership, financial services, or a related field
• Experience leading cross functional initiatives preferred
• Credit union or financial services experience preferred
• Lean, Agile, Six Sigma, Business Analysis, or Product Management certification preferred

Knowledge & Skills:

• Experience with product operating models, portfolio management, or strategic planning
• Experience evaluating vendor solutions and business capabilities
• Knowledge of member experience, journey mapping, or design thinking methodologies
• Strong analytical and strategic thinking skills
• Ability to assess opportunities and translate concepts into actionable recommendations
• Experience conducting research, discovery, and requirements gathering
• Strong business case development and presentation skills
• Facilitation and stakeholder engagement expertise
• Ability to influence without direct authority
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Proficiency with Microsoft 365 applications

What You'll Get:

• All Employees: weekly pay and retirement savings options.
• Full-Time Employees: comprehensive health coverage including medical (with prescription), dental, vision, HSA match, paid parental leave, and tuition reimbursement.
• To see a full list of our benefit offerings, check out this helpful guide!

Have additional questions about the role? You may email us at: Careers@lmcu.org.
If you lack access to the internet or require an accommodation in the application process, please send your resume via mail to: P.O. Box 2848, Grand Rapids, MI 49501.

LMCU is an Equal Opportunity Employer