Associate Director, New Business

National Life Insurance • Addison, TX

3d • Onsite

About The Position

The Associate Director, Life New Business Operations drives operational performance, leadership effectiveness, and consistent execution across Life New Business teams to deliver an exceptional customer experience. The role leads and develops associates, mentors other leaders, and shares accountability with operational leaders for outcomes across the new business lifecycle, from initial application submission through policy placement. It fosters accountability, collaboration, employee development, and continuous improvement while driving measurable results in service, quality, productivity, capacity, and operational risk.

The Associate Director builds relationships with distribution partners and cross-functional stakeholders to understand the selling customer experience and identify opportunities to improve operations. Using customer feedback, performance data, and sound judgment, the role evaluates root causes, prioritizes improvements, and balances customer needs, efficiency, quality, compliance, and business risk. It resolves most operational matters independently within established authority and escalates significant strategic or policy decisions as appropriate.

The position represents Life New Business Operations in cross-functional initiatives, providing operational expertise, customer insights, and data-informed recommendations. It leads designated initiatives or works with stakeholders to turn departmental priorities into actionable plans, coordinate execution, support change adoption, and measure results. The position currently has an onsite schedule of four days per week during core days, Monday through Thursday; the schedule and core days may change with advance notification and manager discretion.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree.
• Minimum of seven years of relevant professional experience in an operational or service environment.
• Prior formal people management experience, including employee coaching, performance management, and professional development.
• Experience coaching, mentoring, and developing other leaders, including strengthening leadership effectiveness without direct reporting authority.
• Ability to evaluate operational performance, analyze data, identify root causes, and implement improvements that drive measurable results.
• Strong critical-thinking, decision-making, communication, and relationship-building skills.
• Ability to manage competing priorities and collaborate across teams.
• Use sound judgment to review and validate AI-generated content and maintain accountability for accuracy, quality, fairness, and integrity.
• Use AI responsibly in accordance with company policies concerning confidentiality, data privacy, security, compliance, retention, and intellectual property.

Nice To Haves

• Extensive experience in life insurance or Life New Business Operations.
• Experience partnering with insurance distribution organizations and understanding the selling customer experience.
• Experience leading complex operational improvements or cross-functional initiatives.
• Advanced knowledge of life insurance new business systems and processes.

Responsibilities

• Lead, coach, and develop Life New Business associates and, where applicable, other people leaders, fostering accountability, collaboration, engagement, and customer service excellence.
• Mentor emerging and established leaders, including those outside direct reporting relationships, through coaching, constructive feedback, and guidance.
• Set performance expectations and operational priorities aligned with departmental objectives, and hold associates accountable for results.
• Analyze productivity, quality, and performance trends; identify gaps and root causes; and implement targeted coaching, performance improvement, and recovery plans.
• Provide ongoing feedback, recognition, development opportunities, and appropriate delegation to strengthen capabilities and sustained performance.
• Oversee staffing, workload capacity, training, and day-to-day execution within assigned areas, collaborating with operational leaders to maintain service, productivity, quality, and risk outcomes.
• Build partnerships with distribution partners and solicit feedback to understand the selling customer experience, identify friction points, and anticipate service needs.
• Analyze customer feedback and operational data to identify trends, evaluate business impact, determine root causes, and prioritize improvements.
• Resolve complex operational issues within established authority, balancing customer experience, efficiency, quality, compliance, and business risk.
• Lead measurable process improvements with operational leaders and cross-functional stakeholders, establishing action plans, ownership, success measures, and sustainable solutions.
• Coordinate complex customer and distribution partner escalations, ensuring timely communication, root cause evaluation, and actions to prevent recurrence.
• Collaborate with Life New Business operational leaders to support shared accountability and consistent execution from initial application submission through policy placement.
• Coordinate with fellow operational leaders to address process gaps, handoff challenges, competing priorities, and operational risks affecting performance across teams.
• Represent Life New Business Operations in cross-functional projects and departmental initiatives, providing operational expertise, customer insights, and data-informed recommendations.
• Lead designated initiatives or collaborate with project teams to evaluate operational impacts, coordinate implementation and team readiness, address risks, support adoption, and measure outcomes.
• Translate departmental priorities into actionable operational plans and align execution with stakeholders to achieve measurable results.
• Maintain comprehensive knowledge of Life New Business products, services, systems, and processes to support operational decisions and continuous improvement.
• Use approved AI tools where appropriate, validate AI-generated content, maintain accountability for work quality and integrity, and follow company policies for responsible AI use.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Benefits

• Benefits begin on day one and are flexible and customizable to the employee's and family's needs.
• Medical benefits.
• Financial benefits.
• 401(k) eligibility.
• Paid time off, including vacation and sick time.
• Parental leave.
• Potential eligibility for discretionary annual incentive programs.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director