Relationship Manager

National Life Insurance Company•Montpelier, VT

20d•$93,750 - $137,500•Hybrid

About The Position

The Relationship Manager strengthens partner confidence, improves field effectiveness, and translates partner needs into coordinated action and measurable business results. Acting as the operational connection between Distribution and the Customer Innovation Group (Service & Operations), the role owns onboarding, business readiness, and the ongoing operational relationship for a portfolio of assigned Distribution partners. The position helps partners launch successfully, adopt new capabilities, reduce friction, and improve the ease of doing business with National Life. The Relationship Manager develops detailed knowledge of partner organizations, business models, operating practices, technology, training capabilities, service expectations, growth priorities, and quality-of-business considerations. The role proactively identifies needs, establishes relationship plans, and mobilizes cross-functional teams to achieve business outcomes. The role also identifies shared trends across assigned organizations and develops scalable improvements to processes, technology, training, communications, and service. It may involve developing business cases for initiatives and remaining engaged through implementation, adoption, and outcome measurement. Success is measured by partner confidence, readiness and adoption, reduced friction, quality of business, field effectiveness, and measurable business value. The position is ideally based in Addison, Texas, or Montpelier, Vermont, with a hybrid work arrangement. Remote work may be considered for candidates outside a reasonable commuting distance to those offices. Travel may be required as needed. The company does not offer visa sponsorship for this position.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree and 8 or more years of related work experience; or an advanced degree and 5 or more years of related experience; or 12 or more years of total equivalent work experience.
Relevant experience in life insurance, annuities, financial services, relationship management, distribution support, Operations, business readiness, or a related field.
Strong insurance industry and distribution acumen, including knowledge of market trends, competitive practices, and how agency structures affect onboarding, service, technology, training, and quality of business.
Strong knowledge of life insurance and/or annuity distribution and operational processes supporting new business, underwriting, policy issuance, service, and field support.
Knowledge of distribution models such as MLM, IMO, Direct, and Brokerage, or comparable structures.
Demonstrated experience leading complex partner relationships, onboarding, operational initiatives, or cross-functional problem solving.
Creative problem-solving skills and the ability to develop practical, scalable solutions for ambiguous or emerging business needs.
Ability to work proactively, identify opportunities without waiting for formal direction, and take ideas from concept through execution and measurable results.
Ability to independently evaluate ambiguous business issues, choose appropriate approaches, and influence outcomes without direct authority.
Experience using operational metrics, partner insight, and business context to identify trends, explain performance drivers, and recommend improvements.
Experience developing business cases, recommendations, or initiatives that influenced operational or technology priorities.
Strong written, verbal, presentation, and facilitation skills, including preparing briefing materials and communicating with senior internal and external stakeholders.
Ability to manage multiple priorities and significant areas of accountability in a matrixed environment.
Ability to travel as needed.
Proficiency with Microsoft Office and relevant collaboration, CRM, workflow, and reporting tools.
Leverage approved AI tools where appropriate, remain open to AI-enabled ways of working, review and validate AI-generated content, and maintain accountability for work products.
Use AI responsibly and follow company policies for confidentiality, data privacy, security, compliance, retention, and intellectual property.

Nice To Haves

Experience supporting Field Leaders, agencies, advisors, key accounts, or other Distribution-facing relationships.
Experience in strategic account management, partner onboarding, relationship governance, or executive partner engagement.
Experience coordinating cross-functional support and maintaining visibility into commitments, dependencies, and outcomes for assigned relationships.
Experience with business readiness, implementation planning, testing, adoption, and post-implementation assessment.
Experience leading continuous-improvement or cross-functional change initiatives.
Experience with advisor-facing platforms, CRM systems, workflow tools, digital application platforms, document-management systems, or sales-enablement technology.
LOMA, LIMRA, project-management, process-improvement, change-management, or other relevant professional certification.

Responsibilities

Own the operational health, readiness, and experience of assigned Distribution partner relationships, serving as a primary connection between partners and the Customer Innovation Group (Service & Operations).
Develop a thorough understanding of each partner’s organizational structure, business practices, growth priorities, technology, service expectations, training needs, and quality-of-business considerations.
Establish relationship plans, short- and mid-term objectives, governance routines, and communication approaches aligned with Distribution and service and operations goals.
Coordinate marketing, sales, and support services for assigned accounts to provide consistent, coordinated support across National Life Group.
Anticipate operational needs and engage appropriate functional teams before issues become significant partner or business concerns.
Lead the Operations experience for partner onboarding and significant business, product, process, or technology changes, from planning through stabilization.
Create readiness plans covering milestones, responsibilities, dependencies, education, communications, risks, and success measures.
Represent partner perspectives in implementation planning, testing, communications, training, and post-implementation assessment.
Explain operational and technology changes to Distribution partners in terms of business impact and next steps.
Track adoption, early performance, and partner feedback; identify barriers and drive adjustments when outcomes are not met.
Lead resolution of complex cross-functional partner issues by defining problems, clarifying ownership, aligning stakeholders, and driving work through closure.
Use independent judgment to determine when established approaches are sufficient and when new solutions, escalation, or leadership decisions are needed.
Balance Distribution advocacy with customer, regulatory, risk, operational, financial, and enterprise considerations.
Combine operational metrics, partner feedback, adoption results, service trends, and quality-of-business information into a view of relationship performance.
Distinguish isolated events from recurring patterns and lead or support root-cause analysis and improvement efforts to reduce recurring friction.
Prepare client presentations and senior-management briefing materials covering relationship health, commitments, risks, and recommendations.
Perform other duties as assigned.