About the Company: The Insured Retirement Institute (IRI) is dedicated to championing retirement security for all Americans. We are seeking a dynamic and proactive Director, Operations and Technology leader to lead our initiatives aimed at advancing operational and technological innovations within our member organizations.

About the Role: In this pivotal role, you will manage multiple projects while ensuring alignment with business objectives and market demands. You will collaborate with market stakeholders to establish business cases and success metrics, identify necessary data, and determine effective delivery methods to meet project goals. A robust background in annuity products, operations, and technology is essential for success in this role. If you are driven about annuity operations and eager to make a significant impact on the retirement industry, we want to hear from you.

Responsibilities:

Operation Enhancements

• Lead the definition of specific annuity operation enhancements essential for annuity operations collaborating with the Director of Digital First Strategy.
• Manage the development of several solutions in collaboration with member subject matter experts ensuring alignment with business goals and market needs.
• Collaborate with market stakeholders to define business case and success metrics for the selected MVPs.
• Identify required data and delivery method to support the advancement of annuity operations.
• Produce outputs including a business plan, use cases of the data, success measures, required data, delivery method, and necessary data formats/standards.
• Oversee business analysis, data analysis, and standardization discussions while ensuring comprehensive outputs, including business plans, use cases, and success measures.
• Drive adoption through a strategic go-to-market plan that includes webinars, articles, website updates, and press releases.

Strategic Planning

• Assist leadership in both short- and long-term goal setting for IRI’s Operations and Technology community.
• Recommend initiatives to advance collaboration within member companies while identifying revenue opportunities for the Operations and Technology team.
• Work with leadership to ensure effective project oversight for committees, working groups, and task force groups.
• Facilitate seamless communication across cross-functional teams for successful implementation of project specifications.

Project Management

• Ensure alignment and effective delivery of goals within working groups and task forces.
• Establish metrics and reporting structures for project management.
• Proactively address issues within workstreams and communicate effectively with senior leadership.
• Monitor legal and regulatory compliance for all initiatives.
• Foster a collaborative and inclusive culture that values all contributions and promotes high performance.

Expertise and Relationship Building

• Develop and execute thought leadership content for IRI-sponsored events and publications.
• Support the Chief Technology and Innovation Officer in building strategic partnerships within the industry.
• Represent IRI at key industry events to advocate for our positions on critical issues.
• Cultivate strong relationships within the Operations and Technology community to support initiatives and enhance membership engagement.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required: Master’s degree in business or a technology-related discipline preferred.
• Ten (10) or more years of progressive experience with an operational and technical background in the financial services and/or insurance industry required.
• Possesses a solid understanding of insured retirement products/solutions and operations functions.
• Extensive background in project management in delivering key business outcomes is required.
• Knowledge of insurance processing administration systems and financial services.

Preferred Skills

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills and presentation skills, including the ability to interpret and articulate mandates.
• Excellent interpersonal relationship skills with the ability to foster and maintain relationships with various audiences to advance positions and drive consensus.
• Excellent time management and multi-tasking skills and ability to work in a fast-paced atmosphere with changing priorities while maintaining high attention to detail. Must have a strong work ethic and be effective in ambiguous situations.
• Strong collaborative skills and ability to work in teams as well as independently.
• Ability to think strategically and lead committees, working groups, and task forces on issues relevant to IRI and its members.
• Ability to interpret technology regulations, policies, standards, and guidelines and to translate mandates into realistic and practical business operations.
• Aptitude for learning new technology applications and proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite (Word, PowerPoint, Outlook, Access, etc.); database and other related software.
• Understanding of polling software, e.g., Survey Monkey, etc.
• Some travel required limited advanced notice.
• Passion for advancing retirement security and improving digital experiences for all Americans.

Equal Opportunity Statement: The Insured Retirement Institute is an Equal Opportunity employer.

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