Director, Business Solutions - Distribution Finance
National Life Insurance Company · Addison, Texas, United States · Montpelier, Vermont, United States
Come join one of America’s fastest-growing insurance companies. Since 1848, National Life Group has aimed to keep our promises, providing families with stability in good times and in bad. Throughout that history, we have provided peace of mind to those families as they plan their futures.
Our mission extends beyond the insurance and annuities policies that we offer. We strive to make the world a better place through our grants from our charitable foundation, paid volunteer time for our employees, environmentally sustainable and healthy workplaces, and events that promote the work of nonprofits in our own backyard.
We foster a collaborative environment with opportunities for growth and encourage our associates to live our values: Do good. Be good. Make good.
Please note that we do not offer visa sponsorship for this position.
Role Summary
This role leads the newly established Distribution Finance Business Solutions team, which supports commissions, debt, sales, and incentives by using analytical skills and complex information to clarify business needs and develop data, reporting, analytics, process, and system-enabled solutions. The team’s work is intended to improve and scale the selling customer experience through effective use of data and technology. The team also supports a business-critical weekly agent payroll process averaging approximately $20 million in compensation weekly, requiring oversight to ensure timely and accurate execution and to mitigate significant operational, financial, and reputational risk to National Life Group.
The role sets the team’s strategy, priorities, standards, and operating model while leading and developing a team of six. Working across Distribution, Finance, IT, and other internal and external stakeholders, this leader facilitates consensus and decision-making, aligns perspectives, and acts as a business representative in the development and delivery of solutions.
The ideal candidate is a strong people and team builder with an operational mindset, sound judgment, and strong cross-functional partnership skills. They bring business-technology acumen, proactively consider relevant industry practices, and maintain an understanding of relevant regulatory standards to inform team priorities and solutions.
This position currently offers an onsite work schedule, with the expectation that you will be in the office four (4) days per week during onsite core days. Our current onsite core days are Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. The work schedule type and core days are subject to change with advance notification and manager discretion.
Essential Duties and Responsibilities
- Build, lead, and develop the Distribution Finance Business Solutions team responsible for data, reporting, analytics, and system-enabled business solutions.
- Establish and execute the team’s strategy, priorities, standards, operating model, and scalable processes in alignment with Distribution Finance needs.
- Lead analysis of complex business needs, processes, and data across commissions, debt, sales, and incentives to clarify requirements, identify issues and opportunities, and develop effective solutions.
- Lead the development of reporting, dashboards, self-service analytics, and AI-enabled capabilities that support Distribution Finance and its stakeholders.
- Provide leadership oversight for the weekly agent payroll process, establishing clear accountability and ensuring the team has the processes, controls, and support needed for timely and accurate execution.
- Partner with IT on business requirements, solution design, enhancements, production issue resolution, testing, release validation, and business approval of supported solutions.
- Facilitate consensus and decision-making across internal and external stakeholders, align perspectives, and act as a business representative in the development and delivery of solutions.
- Establish controls and support processes that promote the accuracy, consistency, reliability, and effective use of data and business solutions.
- Proactively consider relevant industry practices and maintain an understanding of relevant regulatory standards when setting priorities, evaluating solutions, and guiding the team’s work.
- Hire, develop, coach, and manage team members, establishing clear expectations and accountability while building the capabilities of the newly established team.
- All other duties as assigned.
Minimum Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree and 14 or more years of related experience, advanced degree and 11 or more years of related experience, or 18 or more years of total equivalent work experience.
- Demonstrated people leadership experience, including responsibility for developing and managing team members.
- Experience analyzing complex business information, clarifying requirements, and developing data, reporting, analytics, process, or system-enabled solutions.
- Experience supporting business systems and partnering with technology teams to address business requirements and system needs.
- Experience developing reporting, dashboards, or analytics solutions using Tableau.
- Demonstrated ability to build effective cross-functional relationships and work with stakeholders to translate business needs into scalable solutions.
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience with Databricks.
- Experience with Alteryx.
AI Proficiency Expectations:
At National Life Group, we view AI as an enabler of human potential. We use AI to help us work smarter, serve more clients, and keep our promises, while remaining a relationship-driven business where our people are our greatest strength.
All applicants are expected to:
- Leverage approved AI tools, where appropriate, to improve the efficiency, quality, and impact of their work.
- Stay curious and open to new AI-enabled ways of working.
- Exercise sound judgment by reviewing and validating AI-generated content.
- Maintain accountability for the accuracy, quality, fairness, and integrity of work products by adhering to National Life's AI guiding principles.
- Use AI responsibly and in accordance with company policies related to confidentiality, data privacy, security, compliance, retention, and intellectual property.
- Additional Expectations for AI-Forward Roles
Applicants in AI-forward roles are also expected to:
- Identify practical opportunities to apply AI to improve workflows, productivity, analysis, and business outcomes.
- Create effective prompts, workflows, controls, and human-in-the-loop (HITL) review processes that support responsible AI use.
- Critically evaluate AI-generated outputs for accuracy, quality, bias, fairness, confidentiality, compliance, security, and business relevance.
- Partner appropriately with Legal, Compliance, Risk, Security, Data/Technology, and business stakeholders to move AI ideas from experimentation to responsible adoption.
- Help model responsible, human-centered AI adoption across the organization.
Core Competencies
Cultivates Innovation - Fosters innovation by taking calculated risks; Work cooperatively with others to produce innovative solutions.
Ensures Accountability - Holds self and others accountable to meet commitments and performance goals.
Directs Work - Provides direction, delegates, and removes obstacles to get work done.
Demonstrates Emotional Intelligence - Exhibits the ability to recognize, understand, and manage emotions and how emotions can influence others; Uses a combination of feedback and reflection to gain productive insight into personal strengths and opportunities.
Exhibits Critical and Creative Thinking - Engaging thinking skills that focus on logic and reasoning to make decisions (critical) and innovative solutions to solve problems (creative).
Leads Change - Facilitates change and transition at the individual and team level; Develops strategic goals for aligning with change.
Develops Talent - Builds team(s) equipped for the future by applying coa