Director, Strategic Planning SIAG

Sammons Financial Group • West Des Moines, IA

1d

About The Position

Lead the development and execution of Sammons Independent Annuity Group's (SIAG) strategic planning discipline in partnership with senior leadership. Manage the planning framework, calendar, governance routines, and supporting tools; coordinate cross-functional inputs; and maintain visibility into strategic opportunities, key decisions, milestones, and resource implications. Facilitate leadership discussions on priorities, trade-offs, and resource alignment. Guide early-stage opportunity assessments, develop executive-ready materials, and partner across SIAG and the enterprise to translate approved priorities into actionable plans with clear ownership, milestones, dependencies, and accountability.

Requirements

• Demonstrated ability to manage complex, cross-functional planning processes.
• Strong facilitation skills, including the ability to guide discussions, surface trade-offs, and drive clarity across senior stakeholders.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to prepare executive-level materials.
• Strong PowerPoint and executive presentation development skills.
• Strong organizational and project discipline, including the ability to manage calendars, milestones, owners, decision logs, and competing priorities.
• Analytical mindset with the ability to structure problems, synthesize inputs, pressure-test assumptions, and support decision-making.
• Ability to influence without authority and collaborate across Product, Sales, Marketing, Actuarial, and Strategy teams.
• Comfort operating in ambiguity and creating structure where processes are still being built.

Nice To Haves

• Bachelor's Degree Business, Finance, Economics, Strategy, Marketing, Management, or a related field Preferred
• Master's Degree MBA or other advanced degree Preferred
• Minimum 7 years' Experience in strategic planning, corporate strategy, business planning, business management, portfolio management, consulting, or a related field Preferred
• Experience supporting senior leadership strategy forums, offsites, annual planning cycles, or enterprise planning processes Preferred
• Experience with opportunity evaluation, business case development, stage-gate processes, portfolio tracking, or initiative governance Preferred
• Financial modeling or business case analysis experience Preferred
• Annuity, life insurance, asset management, retirement, or broader financial services experience Preferred
• Experience in corporate strategy, strategic planning, business transformation, or management consulting Preferred

Responsibilities

• Own and manage the SIAG strategic planning calendar in partnership with senior leadership, including annual planning, long-term planning, quarterly reviews, leadership offsites, decision forums, pre-reads, follow-ups, and planning milestones.
• Help design, refine, and run the SIAG strategic planning process, ensuring planning inputs, synthesis, leadership decision points, and cascade activities are clear, timely, and connected to long-term strategic priorities.
• Facilitate or co-facilitate planning sessions with stakeholders to gather inputs, surface opportunities, clarify assumptions, and identify trade-offs.
• Maintain SIAG’s strategic opportunity pipeline and stage-gate process, including opportunity status, strategic fit, executive sponsors, working owners, key questions, risks, dependencies, next steps, and decision timing.
• Support the evaluation of strategic opportunities by structuring business questions, gathering required inputs, organizing assumptions, assessing strategic fit, and preparing decision-ready materials for leadership review.
• Maintain the strategic decision log and portfolio tracking process, including decisions made, open issues, unresolved trade-offs, required follow-ups, owners, due dates, milestone progress, and items requiring escalation.
• Facilitate the handoff from strategic planning to Strategic Execution and other delivery teams once initiatives or decisions are approved; ensuring scope, owners, milestones, dependencies, and decision context are clearly documented.
• Prepare executive-ready materials, including agendas, pre-reads, strategy memos, opportunity summaries, scorecards, leadership updates, PowerPoint presentations, quarterly review materials, and synthesized intelligence inputs from relevant business partners.
• Build and refine the tools, templates, scorecards, operating routines, and governance artifacts needed to support a repeatable SIAG strategic planning discipline.
• Commitment to embrace Sammons Financial Group Companies shared values (Accountability, Connection, Openness, Respect and Integrity).
• As stated within the Company Attendance and Punctuality policy, regular attendance is required and expected in order to meet the business service levels and workflow demands.
• Participate in other initiatives and/or projects as necessary.

Benefits

• Comprehensive health coverage for you and your family, including Medical, Dental, Vision, HSA & FSA options, and term life insurance.
• Competitive compensation with a performance-based incentive program tied to clear goals and individual and/or company success.
• 100% company-funded Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP), plus automatic enrollment in our 401(k).
• Friday afternoons off year-round, generous paid time off, and paid holidays.
• Paid development time, tuition reimbursement, and professional development opportunities across industry, individual, and leadership programs.
• Volunteer time off, and our company nonprofit matching gift program.

What This Job Offers

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