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About the Role

The Head of Operational Excellence and Enablement will drive strategic initiatives to enhance operational efficiency, effectiveness, and organizational readiness within the Group Benefits Underwriting organization. This role is accountable for optimizing learning and development, quality assurance programs, underwriting tools, data and operational metrics and capacity while ensuring leaders and teams are fully prepared to adopt new ways of working. This leader will embed best practices, enable accurate and consistent decision-making, and cultivate a culture of continuous improvement while proactively preparing the organization for operational, technological, and capability change. A central responsibility of this role is to ensure underwriting excellence is achieved and sustained through strong execution, readiness, and adoption.

Responsibilities

Drive innovation and continuous improvement as a core mindset across the underwriting organization.
Develop and execute operational excellence strategies aligned to underwriting goals, enterprise priorities, and customer outcomes.
Establish performance metrics, benchmarks, and KPIs to measure operational success, decision quality, and underwriting productivity.
Utilize data analytics and underwriting tools to generate insights, inform decisions, and proactively optimize execution.
Manage quality assurance programs that surface risk, consistency, and training needs—ensuring issues are addressed systematically and sustainably.
Partner closely with cross-functional teams to help implement technology solutions and process changes that enhance underwriting workflows and decision-making.
Act as a primary owner of organizational readiness for underwriting process, technology, and capability changes.
Assess change impact and readiness across underwriting teams, translating operational initiatives into clear people, role, skill, and behavior implications.
Lead and embed change enablement practices that ensure smooth adoption of new processes, tools, and operating models.
Partner with underwriting leaders to strengthen change leadership capability, ensuring leaders actively sponsor, reinforce, and role-model new ways of working.
Identify adoption risks and cultural barriers early, implementing mitigation strategies that support sustained behavioral change.
Ensure operational improvements are reinforced through updated operating rhythms, performance expectations, governance, and training—not just documented outcomes.
Design and implement best-in-class training programs that elevate underwriting capability, consistency, and decision quality.
Provide ongoing support, tools, and resources that enable colleagues to work more efficiently and confidently.
Engage stakeholders at all levels to foster a culture of innovation, accountability, and urgent execution.
Instill a strong linkage between operational excellence, consumer-centricity, and underwriting excellence.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in business administration, Finance, or a related field; master’s degree preferred.
Minimum of 10 years of experience in underwriting, operations management, or a related field.
Proven experience leading operational transformation, large-scale process improvement, and organizational enablement.
Strong background in Lean, Six Sigma, or similar continuous improvement methodologies.
Must be legally authorized to work in the United States, without the need for employer sponsorship/support now or at any time in the future.

Skills

People-oriented leader with exceptional ability to inspire teams and build high-performance cultures.
Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to translate insight into action.
Excellent leadership and stakeholder engagement skills, including influencing at senior levels.
Proficiency in data analysis, reporting tools, and operational performance management.
Exceptional written and verbal communication skills.
Strong organizational and time management skills; ability to operate effectively under pressure.
Strategic, outcome oriented thinker with a strong focus on operational excellence and enablement.
People-oriented, change-capable leader who balances execution rigor with adoption and sustainability.
Results-driven with a deep sense of accountability and ownership.
Adaptable, pragmatic, and effective in evolving and complex environments.

Location

Boston, MA
Bethlehem, PA
New York, NY
Remote

Work Type

Hybrid (3+ days per week in a Guardian office)

Experience Level

Minimum of 10 years of experience

Education Level

Bachelor’s degree in business administration, Finance, or a related field
Master’s degree preferred

Salary/Compensations

$155,370.00 - $255,255.00

Benefits

Support and flexibility to achieve professional and personal goals
Skill-building
Leadership development
Philanthropic opportunities
Opportunities to build communities and grow your career
Contemporary, supportive, flexible, and inclusive benefits and resources
Contemporary, supportive, flexible, and inclusive benefits and resources

About the Company

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.
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.
Explore our company benefits at www.guardianlife.com/careers/corporate/benefits.
Benefits apply to full-time eligible employees.
Interns are not eligible for most Company benefits.

Equal 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.
Guardian also provides reasonable accommodations to qualified job applicants (and employees) to accommodate the individual's known limitations related to pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions, unless doing so would create an undue hardship.
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 MyHR@glic.com.
Guardian Life is not currently or in the foreseeable future sponsoring employment-based visas (e.g., such as an H-1B).