Guardian Life Hiring for Leader, Group Distribution Broker Compensation at Montgomery, Alabama Full Time

Guardian’s Group Distribution Compensation team is seeking a highly skilled and experienced Leader, Group Distribution Broker Compensation , to provide oversight to Group distribution external compensation including strategy and administration, managing compensation systems, policies, programs, audits, and processes. Reporting to the Head of Group Distribution Compensation Strategy, this role will be responsible for driving day-to-day management of all aspects of external sales compensation and provide subject matter expertise and business ownership for all external compensation programs and systems. This role will provide pivotal support in all strategic external compensation efforts, managing compensation deal reviews, tracking, and monitoring performance and providing regular, timely updates to Senior Leadership. This role will ensure alignment of external compensation programs and policies with Group business strategy, initiatives, and other key Group systems.

This role will have managerial responsibilities and lead a team of Compensation Analysts where you will collaborate effectively to solve complex external compensation problems, do market analysis, recommend, and implement new solutions, and deliver successfully against high operational standards. The ideal candidate will be a highly motivated individual with the ability to “connect the dots” and establish a well-rounded point of view with little direction or supervision.

You are

A seasoned professional leading Sales Compensation team with exceptional compensation administration, strategy, analytical, communications and presentation skills as you will work closely with our senior business leaders from sales, pricing, finance and under-writing, amongst other internal groups. Strategic thought leadership, an optimistic solutions-oriented attitude, desire to motivate teams and a drive for achieving superior business results is a must. The right person will be both strategic and analytical, and possess solid background in sales compensation, strategy design, and people management.

You have

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent work experience with minimum 5 years of sales compensation experience with progressively increasing responsibility and complexity of work

• 3+ years of experience with broker or sales compensation/fee structures, commissions and program administration including documentation of policies and processes, change management and associated responsibilities

• Exceptional analytical, problem solving, administration and analytical skills, with an eye for detail and accuracy

• Extensive knowledge of sales and broker compensation practices, strategies and design concepts with strong understanding of broker commissions, overrides, fee structures and related compensations

• Experience analyzing ROI/profitability using sales data and synthesizing findings into concise presentations for senior leadership

• Proven ability to positively influence key stakeholders and cross functional leaders that are part of the external compensation management process, including sales leadership, finance, operations, systems teams, HR, and legal.

• Self-starter with exemplary organizational skills. Must possess a “can do” attitude

• Strong people management and planning skills including the ability to lead, plan, organize and resource complex assignments

• Demonstrated experience of successfully executing against tight deadlines, with a collaborative mind-set

• Must be able to skillfully prioritize and manage concurrent projects and issues

• Experience in working with cross-functional/cross-departmental and virtual teams

• Clear and concise communicator; ability to synthesize complex data or business problems into actionable information to drive results

• Ability to multitask and thrive in a fast-paced, high-growth environment, zooming in with good attention to detail while keeping the big picture in mind

• Project management experience with a results-oriented mindset leveraging relationships to ensure deadlines are met

• Expert in Excel and PowerPoint with strong ability to build audience-specific presentations

• Aptitude to learn quickly and perform well under pressure and in a fast-paced environment

• Ability to accomplish objectives independently and proactively

• Ability to deal with ambiguity and develop a course of action

Preferred Qualifications

• Management consulting experience

• Prior Sales Compensation Strategy experience a plus

• Group Insurance experience

You will

• Manage end-to-end process of administering and auditing external compensation calculations and systems to ensure timely, accurate and compliant payments to our external producers

• Lead and direct execution of external compensation programs, policies and processes to optimize our positioning with external partners, including implementation of external broker and general agency commissions, overrides, broker supplemental compensation program (SPC), agreements and other non-contingent programs

• Support in design, implementation, administration, and rollout of all new and existing external compensation programs for Group Benefits. Additionally, consult and provide required support proactively on new and existing strategic initiatives and/or partner fee programs like Ben Admin administrative fee programs, enrollment firms, and broker platforms

• Continuously monitor and look for ways to proactively modernize and optimize our processes through standardization and automation in alignment with Group business strategies and compensation policies. Report and identify scalable initiatives to generate a high level of accuracy, timeliness and efficiency in various end-to-end compensation processes and increase positive field and producer experience

• Serve as primary subject matter expert on all external sales compensation programs, processes and policies and ensure systematic documentation of all compensation policies, business rules, systems, and processes. Proactively communicate to raise issues, anticipate business needs, and recommend and deliver solutions

• Manage Field Compensation Governance process in partnership with Pricing, operations, underwriting, legal & sales leadership and be responsible for timely implementation and accurate tracking of sales compensation deals, exceptions, agreements, policies and programs as reviewed by the Field Compensation and Intermediary Committees

• Provide actionable intelligence with existing metrics or identify, develop, and propose new metrics, scorecards, or new tools to continually enhance data-collection, analytics and refine our compensation strategy and philosophy

• Support leadership in making strategic compensation decisions across broker, general agent and other partner domains and ensure they are consistent with the overall Group compensation philosophy

• Drive compensation strategy forward by acting as a consultant for internal sales teams providing advice and guidance leveraging data to influence compensation business cases and decisions that deliver growth and business outcomes

• Build and maintain strong partnerships proactively across Distribution leadership including sales, operations, technology, finance, and legal teams by fostering open dialogue, effective collaboration and providing creative solutions to issues in real time in alignment with Group compensation policies and administration

• Develop executive briefing materials, including monthly, and quarterly reviews with stakeholders

• Lead annual market analysis and benchmarking for external compensation, including data preparation, data analysis, development and delivery of observations, and recommendations to senior leadership

• Lead, hire, develop and manage a team of Sales Compensation Analysts. Cross train team members and develop successors for key areas supported by well documented succession and contingency plans.

• Stay abreast of and ensure compliance with legal and market related topics including all other corporate compensation policies

• Support the Head of Group Distribution Compensation Strategy in specific projects and ad-hoc activities as required

LOCATION

This is a remote position with minimal travel as needed for team events.

Our Promise

At Guardian, you’ll have the support and flexibility to achieve your professional and personal goals. Through skill-building, leadership development and philanthropic opportunities, we provide opportunities to build communities and grow your career, surrounded by diverse colleagues with high ethical standards.

Salary Range

$79,450.00 – $147,550.00

The salary range reflected above is a good faith estimate of base pay for the primary location of the position. The salary for this position ultimately will be determined based on the education, experience, knowledge, and abilities of the successful candidate. In addition to salary, this role may also be eligible for annual, sales, or other incentive compensation.

Inspire Well-Being

As part of Guardian’s Purpose – to inspire well-being – we are committed to offering contemporary, supportive, flexible, and inclusive benefits and resources to our colleagues.

Health Care

• Choice of [high deductible/copay] medical plans* with prescription drugs, including coverage for fertility and transgender inclusive benefits

• Dental plan

• Vision plan

• Health care accounts – flexible spending, health reimbursement, and health savings accounts

• Critical illness insurance

Life and Disability Insurance

• Company-paid Life and Disability insurance plus voluntary supplemental coverage

• Accident insurance

Retirement and Financial

• 401(k) retirement plan with a company match, plus an annual age/service-based Company contribution and an annual profit-sharing contribution, if applicable

• Complimentary 1:1 financial guidance with a licensed Fidelity representative

Time Off and Remote Work

• Flexible work arrangements (part in-person/part remote)

• Unlimited paid time off for most roles plus time off for volunteering, jury duty, voting, and bereavement

• Personal holidays for colleagues to use in recognition of religious, cultural, or civic days

• Paid parental leave and paid family and medical leave policies

Emotional Well-being and Work-Life

• Emotional well-being, mental health, and work/life resources powered by Spring Health

• Wellness programs, including fitness program and equipment reimbursement

• Child, adult, and elder back-up care support through Bright Horizons

• Adoption assistance

• College planning

• Tuition reimbursement

• Student loan assistance

• Commuter benefits in select metropolitan areas

Justice, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion (J.E.D.I.)

• Employee Resource Groups that advocate for inclusion and diversity

• J.E.D.I. certification and training programs

• Matching gifts/volunteering

Benefits apply to full-time eligible employees. Interns are not eligible for most Company benefits.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Guardian is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will be considered for employment without regard to age, race, color, creed, religion, sex, affectional or sexual orientation, national origin, ancestry, marital status, disability, military or veteran status, or any other classification protected by applicable law.

Guardian is committed to providing access, equal opportunity and reasonable accommodation for individuals with disabilities in employment, its services, programs, and activities. If reasonable accommodation is needed to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and/or to receive other benefits and privileges of employment, please contact [email protected] .