About Cornerstone Advisors
Cornerstone Advisors is a nationally recognized management and technology consulting firm serving banks, credit unions, and financial services organizations across the United States. For more than two decades, we have partnered with executive leadership teams to solve complex business challenges, optimize operations, and deliver innovative strategies that drive measurable results. Our culture is built on collaboration, integrity, innovation, and a commitment to helping both our clients and our employees succeed.
Senior Implementation Consultant
The Senior Implementation Consultant leads the successful delivery of complex system implementation engagements for banks and credit unions. This role directs implementations of core banking systems, digital platforms, payment solutions, and loan origination systems, with accountability for project governance, client readiness, and delivery quality.
The Senior Consultant applies advanced expertise in banking operations, project management, and business analysis to guide client decisions, coordinate cross-functional teams, and resolve complex implementation challenges. This position serves as a trusted advisor to client leaders, internal project teams, and third-party vendors while helping ensure engagements remain aligned with scope, schedule, budget, and strategic objectives.
- Lead mid-sized to large, complex implementation engagements and provide oversight across multiple workstreams.
- Direct joint project kickoff and governance sessions with clients and solution vendors to establish alignment on scope, decision rights, roles, milestones, and escalation paths.
- Design and facilitate discovery and future-state workshops that identify process improvements, operating impacts, dependencies, and business requirements.
- Develop, validate, and manage integrated project plans, including tasks, dependencies, timelines, resource needs, critical paths, and stakeholder commitments.
- Lead coordination with third-party vendors on interfaces, integrations, testing, conversion, readiness, and deployment activities.
- Monitor engagement performance, resource utilization, budget, quality, and milestone achievement; recommend corrective actions when results vary from plan.
- Anticipate, assess, and manage complex project risks, issues, and decisions; facilitate resolution and escalate matters that require executive action.
- Maintain accountability for project scope, schedule, budget, governance, and deliverable quality while managing client expectations.
- Review and approve implementation artifacts, including requirements, test plans, training materials, conversion strategies, readiness assessments, executive reports, and decision logs.
- Lead mock conversions, cutover planning, go-live readiness reviews, and post-implementation stabilization activities.
Knowledge and Skills
- Advanced knowledge of core banking systems, digital banking platforms, payments, loan origination systems, or related financial technology solutions.
- Strong understanding of bank and credit union operations, including deposits, lending, payments, and back-office processes.
- Demonstrated project leadership with the ability to manage complex workstreams, dependencies, resources, and stakeholder commitments.
- Advanced business analysis capabilities, including requirements definition, process mapping, operating model design, and impact assessment.
- Strong knowledge of vendor management, system integrations, testing, data conversion, and implementation governance.
Problem Solving/Analysis
- Evaluates complex client environments to identify operational constraints, delivery risks, root causes, and interdependencies.
- Develops practical, scalable, client-focused solutions to address operational, system, and organizational challenges.
- Applies structured analysis and sound judgment to resolve issues across design, testing, conversion, deployment, and stabilization.
- Evaluates trade-offs and recommends options that balance client priorities, risk, cost, timing, and implementation objectives.
- Anticipates emerging risks, establishes mitigation and contingency plans, and adjusts the implementation approach when conditions change.
Supervisory Responsibility and Autonomy
- Supervisory Responsibility: No direct reports; provides day-to-day project leadership, coaching, and mentorship to consultants, analysts, and client project resources.
- Autonomy: Operates with a high degree of independence in managing engagements, making delivery decisions within approved scope, and advising clients; escalates significant scope, financial, contractual, or strategic matters to leadership.
- Advanced proficiency with project management tools (e.g., MS Project, Smartsheet, or equivalent)
- Advanced proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite, especially Excel, PowerPoint, and Word
- Proficiency with process mapping, requirements documentation, and executive reporting tools
- Strong command of implementation methodologies, including Agile, Waterfall, and Hybrid approaches
- Advanced understanding of system integrations, testing, data conversion, cutover, and go-live readiness
- Ability to establish project governance, manage integrated plans, and communicate engagement performance to executive stakeholders
