Combined Insurance, A Chubb company, is seeking VP, PAS Program Leader and Strategic Business Architect to join our fast-paced, high energy, growing company. We are proud of our tradition of success in the insurance industry of over 90 years. Come join our team of hard-working, talented professionals!
The VP, PAS Program Leader and Strategic Business Architect will have deep knowledge and understanding of supplemental accident and health insurance, complex change management expertise, proven project leadership skills, and experience in application and product portfolio management. This role will be responsible for overseeing the continued development and delivery of Combined Insurance Company of America’s A&H policy administration platform and associated operational changes needed to realize the expected benefit of the program. This includes the full insurance value chain from sales through claims, financial benefits, analytics, and revenue generation opportunities including enabling seamless cross-selling. Concurrent with delivery goals, this leader will design and implement a structure to ensure that the platform remains viable and flexible for continuous delivery of products and capabilities aligned with customer values, evolving market dynamics and the company’s margin expectations.
The incumbent is expected to drive the continued delivery of a strategic technological platform in support of Combined’s Worksite business segment which is anticipated to grow in excess of 30% over the next five years within North America. This individual will be the accountable party across all resources; Business transformation team, training, I/T, vendors & contractors, underwriting SME’s, operations and other stakeholders, to bring the program to fruition per plan and ensure its viability and relevance in a dynamic market. This leader will work with the Worksite Business and Cross-functional resources to architect end to end solutions in support of business strategy. The leader will establish and chair governance for this enterprise portfolio and associated interdependent projects. This includes; building and presenting business cases in support of the program and Worksite, including the requisite quantitative and qualitative justifications. This leader must drive and demonstrate decision making based on expected return for the business, leveraging Combined’s and Chubb’s resources in an efficient manner. Engagement crosses cultures and will require the ability to collaborate across time zones with travel as necessary.
KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES
Ensure the program and the related projects within, have clear business justification, a solid and quantified business case, and continued business buy-in
Ensure projects have defined objectives and goals which are specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timely
Ensure projects deliver the benefits on time, to budget and with the appropriate level of quality
Ensure that the program and major change initiatives have demonstrated Cost Benefit Analysis, a set of Critical Success Factors, a set of clearly defined deliverables, a delivery schedule with dependencies, a quality assurance plan, a benefits realization plan, a risk/issues/change log, a training plan, an implementation plan, a hand-over plan, a roll-back plan and a governance structure
Ensure that delivery plans include a high degree of engagement with end users, change and behavioural management, changes in roles and responsibilities and oversight for any prerequisite change in materials and/or process
Ensure that the program delivery plan remains aligned with evolving business need and strategy and that there are appropriate vehicles to maintain alignment with dependent applications
Ensure that there is an appropriate structure in place for the continuous delivery of core platform capabilities, enterprise wide business mandates and controls. Identify, justify and modify roles and responsibilities as necessary to stand up and maintain this structure
Ensure that Cost Benefit Analysis is monitored and updated throughout the life of the project to assure the continuing viability of a program, ensuring financials and benefit tracking/forecasting is communicated
Secure the internal and external resources required to fulfil the plan, develop and ensure the program has relationships with dependent and corresponding system teams. Foster a diverse and collaborative team spirit
Guide and evaluate the performance of all resources on the program and in support of the platform, liaising closely with resource/line, and third party managers
Build strong relationships with business, operations and I/T to ensure the program is being directed based on current views, needs, and in line with road mapped strategies. Assure that the platform is meeting the financial, efficiency and quality objectives as established by executive leadership in these areas
Champion and communicate the goals, accomplishments, issues and actions associated with the program to relevant individuals/parties
Ensure that a working governance structure is established and that participants are aware of their roles and responsibilities and engaged in performing them
Identify and manage changes to the project’s scope, ensuring that impact assessments are undertaken, that appropriate authorisation is secured and that adjustments to plans are made and communicated to all stakeholders
Manage trade-offs between scope, quality, time and cost in accordance with the business and technological (cost) Critical Success Factors as the program progresses
Implement clear escalation procedures, identify and manage project issues and risks, and ensure that contingency plans are prepared and actioned in a timely fashion
Understand resource profiles and market rates to ensure the work is structured in such a way to maximise the benefits of a blended on-offshore model
Ensure the means to identify, plan and manage cross project dependencies, particularly where there is resource contention and apply release management in conjunction and cooperation with the other managers
Promote mentoring across team members to ensure an adequate pipeline of talent and cross training where viable to increase the flexibility of resource utilization to improve program/platform delivery
Drive continuous process improvement in delivery, quality, and platform management.
KNOWLEDGE
A recognised PM qualification in Prince 2, PMI, CPM is desirable
Exemplary knowledge of formal project management methodologies including a solid understanding of when and where both soft and hard skills are appropriate
Ability to manage a complex program with multiple project components in a dynamic development and production environment
Relevant professional experience in the Group/Worksite environment and Supplemental A&H Lines of Insurance
Ability to manage strong stakeholders and assertive personalities; ability to persuade, influence and direct the business community and keep key users onside and bought-in
Highly organised, extremely goal oriented mindset; logical, thorough and detail-oriented.
Appreciation and strong understanding of the various facets of an I/T operation and protocols
Expertise in understanding and communicating technical concepts to a non-technical audience
Understanding the role of data and technology in delivering business benefit.
Strong knowledge of MS Project, Excel, PowerPoint and Word required
Good knowledge of enterprise portfolio management tool Clarity is preferred
EXPERIENCE
10-15 years of Significant experience of leading and successfully delivering large complex cross functional business and technology projects, including system replacements, with budgets > $30M USD in accordance with at least one formalised project methodology (e.g., APIs, DevOps, Automated Testing, Rules Engines, Agile)
Experience of managing large scale projects as demonstrated by the material impact on the financials of the organization
Extensive experience in the financial services sector, consulting preferably general insurance
Experience of working with outsource providers with an on/offshore model including managing several Tier-1 vendors and Enterprise Software Manufacturers
Experience in a similar role for a blue chip organization where team size exceeded 40 personnel
Multi-locations, preferred location Chicago, Illinois or Morristown, New Jersey. Managing resources in (India, NJ, Chicago)
Travel 25-50%
ABOUT COMBINED INSURANCE
Combined Insurance is a leading provider of individual supplemental accident, disability, health and life insurance products, and a Chubb company. With a field sales force and corporate staff in excess of 4,700 in North America, Combined Insurance meets the growing coverage needs of policyholders. We pride ourselves on being customer-centric, people-driven, accountable, performance-minded, and ethical. We invest in our employees and take the time to focus on their development, needs and career aspirations.
Our parent company, Chubb, is one of the world’s largest publicly traded property and casualty insurer. With operations in 54 countries and territories, Chubb provides commercial and personal property and casualty insurance, personal accident and supplemental health insurance, reinsurance and life insurance to a diverse group of clients. Parent company Chubb Limited is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: CB) and is a component of the S&P 500 index. Chubb maintains executive offices in Zurich, New York, London and other locations, and employs approximately 31,000 people worldwide.
