Associate Director, New Business

National Life Insurance Company•Montpelier, VT

4d•$75,000 - $110,000•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 and serves as a mentor and coach to other leaders, sharing 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 operational improvement opportunities. 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 within established authority and escalates significant strategic or policy decisions as appropriate. The role represents Life New Business Operations in cross-functional initiatives, offering operational expertise, customer insights, and data-informed recommendations. It leads designated initiatives or collaborates with stakeholders to turn departmental priorities into actionable plans, coordinate execution across teams, support change adoption, and measure results. The position currently requires working onsite four days per week, Monday through Thursday, with the schedule and core days subject to change with advance notification and manager discretion.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree.
At least 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 produce measurable results.
Strong critical-thinking, decision-making, communication, and relationship-building skills.
Ability to manage competing priorities and collaborate across teams.
Use sound judgment when reviewing AI-generated content and remain accountable for work accuracy, quality, fairness, and integrity.
Follow company policies related to AI 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, promoting accountability, collaboration, engagement, and customer service excellence.
Mentor emerging and established leaders, including those outside direct reporting relationships, with coaching, constructive feedback, and guidance.
Set clear performance expectations and operational priorities aligned with departmental objectives, and hold associates accountable for individual and team results.
Analyze productivity, quality, and performance trends; identify gaps and root causes; and implement coaching, performance improvement, and recovery plans.
Provide feedback, recognition, development opportunities, and delegation to strengthen associate capabilities and sustained performance.
Oversee staffing, workload capacity, training, and day-to-day execution in assigned areas, working with operational leaders to maintain service, productivity, quality, and risk outcomes.
Partner with distribution organizations to gather feedback, understand the selling customer experience, identify friction points, and anticipate service needs.
Analyze customer feedback and operational data to assess trends and 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, including 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 application submission through policy placement.
Coordinate with operational leaders to address process gaps, handoff challenges, competing priorities, and operational risks.
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 assess 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.
Use approved AI tools appropriately, review and validate AI-generated content, and follow company principles and policies for responsible AI use.
Perform other duties as assigned.