Senior Manager - Retirement Domain Specialist

Ernst & Young LLP ( EY India ); Bengaluru; On-site; INR 2,600,000 - 4,000,000; Full time

Job summary

Ernst & Young LLP ( EY India ) is seeking a Senior Manager to lead high‑impact retirement transformation programs for US plans and 401(k) operations. You will guide multi‑vendor teams, drive strategy, and ensure value realization across complex client engagements.

The role emphasizes responsible AI and technology-enabled process improvements, with a focus on delivering measurable client outcomes and building strong executive relationships in a global delivery setting.

Qualifications

• Strong knowledge of US defined contribution and 401(k) operations in a regulated environment.
• Experience leading complex business and technology programs in retirement transformations.
• Ability to translate retirement business needs into AI-enabled solution requirements.

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic leadership for retirement transformation engagements and define delivery direction.
• Lead and develop multidisciplinary teams; manage capacity, performance and governance.
• Build trusted client relationships and identify opportunities to expand value.

Skills

Retirement Transformation

Senior Leadership

US Retirement

AI & Gen AI

Job description

RC FS-BT INS-Retirement - Domain SME-Senior Manager

At EY, you’ll have the chance to build a career as unique as you are, with the global scale, support, inclusive culture and technology to become the best version of you. And we’re counting on your unique voice and perspective to help EY become even better, too. Join us and build an exceptional experience for yourself, and a better working world for all. Service line - Position Title: Retirement - Senior Manager At EY, we’re all in to shape your future with confidence. We’ll help you succeed in a globally connected powerhouse of diverse teams and take your career wherever you want it to go. Join EY and help to build a better working world.

About Global Delivery Services

Global Delivery Services refers to EY's worldwide network of service delivery centers. The GDS team plays an important role in EY’s strategy by ensuring effective support to EY’s growth agenda. Our journey started in 2002 with approximately 200 people. Today we stand at 80,000+ professionals in ten locations around the world. We operate in Argentina, China, Hungary, India, Philippines, Poland, Sri Lanka, Mexico, Spain and the United Kingdom. Client service is focused on providing Consulting, Assurance, Tax, Strategy & Transactions, and Knowledge support to our clients around the world. The teams enable account teams worldwide to provide seamless, high-quality, value-added support, helping deliver exceptional client service. Enablement Services provides cost-effective, high-skilled, and innovative services to support EY’s global and local enablement teams. Markets, BMC, AWS, Finance and Accounting, Risk Management, Procurement, People Shared Services, IT Service Delivery and IT Global Infrastructure services, are among the services offered by Enablement Services. Our innovation specialists serve the GDS Client Service and Enablement Services teams, along with Service Lines, Core Business Services and Sectors. The team brings the desired environment, technologies and skilled teams together for facilitation, rapid prototyping and innovative thinking. The competencies offered include analytics, digital, user experience, mobile technology, infrastructure, Microsoft technologies and open innovation.

The Opportunity

This is an opportunity to lead high-impact transformation across the US retirement industry, helping clients modernize plan administration, strengthen operational performance, and deliver better participant and sponsor experiences. You will combine deep retirement domain expertise with business transformation, technology, data, and responsible AI capabilities to shape practical solutions and guide complex programs from strategy through implementation. As a senior leader, you will also build trusted client relationships, develop high‑performing teams, and contribute to the growth of EY’s retirement transformation practice.

Your Key Responsibilities

• Provide strategic leadership for complex retirement transformation engagements, setting delivery direction, governance priorities, and measurable business outcomes.
• Lead, coach, and develop multidisciplinary teams; manage capacity, performance, quality, and succession while fostering an inclusive and accountable culture.
• Build trusted relationships with senior client stakeholders, influence key decisions, manage escalations, and identify opportunities to expand client value.
• Shape and lead responsible AI-enabled transformation initiatives across retirement operations, from opportunity assessment and business case development through implementation and value realization.
• Identify and prioritize AI, generative AI, intelligent automation, and analytics use cases that improve participant experience, operational efficiency, quality, compliance, and decision‑making.
• Hands‑on experience with US retirement plan administration processes, such as eligibility, enrolment, payroll contribution processing, employer match, vesting, fund changes, and termination events.
• Manage end-to-end US 401(k) business processes across plan administration and servicing.
• Lead implementation and conversion projects for retirement plan onboarding and transition.
• Interpret plan provisions and translate them into business and system requirements.
• Oversee payroll contribution processing, remittance reconciliation, and funding issue resolution.
• Drive requirements gathering, process mapping, and solution design for retirement operations.
• Coordinate testing cycles including SIT, UAT, and post‑deployment validation.
• Ensure compliance with ERISA, IRS, and retirement plan servicing requirements.
• Support client‑facing delivery for plan sponsors, advisors, payroll providers, and trustees.
• Manage risks across data migration, communications, transaction accuracy, and timeliness.
• Review and validate participant communications, notices, statements, and confirmations.
• Partner with operations, technology, QA, and compliance teams for smooth delivery.
• Monitor implementation milestones, defects, dependencies, and governance actions.
• Improve operational efficiency through process redesign and control enhancement.
• Support issue resolution during cutover, stabilization, and BAU transition.
• Experience supporting or leading PMO functions for large‑scale retirement transformation programs, including project planning, milestone tracking, risk management, and stakeholder reporting.
• Proven ability to coordinate across business, technology, and vendor teams, ensuring alignment with project timelines, scope, and quality standards in retirement platform implementations or upgrades.
• Responsible for decision‑making, optimizing processes, resource management, and overseeing team management as needed for task execution.
• Accountable for allocating personnel, supervising team members, assigning tasks, ensuring that the team has the necessary tools and support to succeed in their roles and optimizing and evaluating their performance to meet organizational goals.

Skills and attributes for success

• Understanding of end-to-end US 401(k) recordkeeping operations, including onboarding, contributions, distributions, loans, hardship withdrawals, beneficiary processing, and compliance‑related participant servicing
• Experience in creating business process map for future state architecture, creating WBS for overall conversion strategy, requirement refinement process in multi‑vendor engagement.
• Requirements Gathering, Elicitation –writing BRDs, FSDs. Conducting JAD sessions and Workshops to capture requirements and working close with Product Owner.
• Work with the client to define the most optimal future state operational process and related product configuration.
• Define scope by providing innovative solutions and challenging all new client requirements and change requests but simultaneously ensuring that client gets the required business value.
• Elaborate and deliver clearly defined requirement documents with relevant dataflow and process flow diagrams.
• Work closely with product design development team to analyse and extract functional enhancements.
• Provide product consultancy and assist the client with acceptance criteria gathering and support throughout the project life cycle.
• Technology Skills - Working knowledge of AI and generative AI concepts, including large language models, prompt engineering, retrieval‑augmented generation, AI agents, and intelligent automation.
• Ability to translate retirement business needs into AI solution requirements, including data readiness, model selection, workflow integration, human oversight, and measurable success criteria.
• Understanding of responsible AI, model risk, data privacy, security, explainability, bias controls, and governance requirements in regulated financial‑services environments.
• Experience collaborating with data scientists, architects, engineers, risk, legal, and business teams to prototype, test, deploy, monitor, and scale AI‑enabled solutions.
• Experienced in data migration projects, ensuring seamless transfer of data between systems while maintaining data integrity and security.
• Skilled in data analytics, utilizing various tools and techniques to extract insights and drive informed decision‑making.
• Strong understanding of data governance principles and best practices, ensuring data quality and compliance.
• Collaborative team player, able to work closely with stakeholders and technical teams to define requirements and implement effective solutions.
• Industry certifications (ASPPA/LOMA/ RPF) will be added advantage. Experience on these solutions is preferrable. ALIS OMNI Relius NeoSpin Vitech TRAC Ideally, you’ll also We expect you to work effectively as a team member, build strong relationships with clients, and take ownership of delivering high‑quality outcomes. Ideally, you will also bring a proactive and collaborative mindset, with the confidence to engage senior stakeholders, challenge established approaches and turn complex business needs into practical solutions. You will be expected to share knowledge, coach team members, and contribute to practice development while continuing to expand your retirement domain, transformation, and technology expertise.

What we look for

We look for an experienced retirement transformation leader with strong knowledge of US defined contribution and 401(k) operations, a record of delivering complex business and technology programs, and the ability to operate confidently in a client‑facing environment. You should demonstrate structured problem‑solving, commercial awareness, clear communication, and sound judgment, together with the ability to influence across business, operations, technology, risk, and vendor teams. A passion for developing people, improving delivery quality, and applying data, automation, and responsible AI to create measurable client value will be important for success in this role.

What we offer you

At EY, we’ll develop you with future‑focused skills and equip you with world‑class experiences. We’ll empower you in a flexible environment, and fuel you and your extraordinary talents in a diverse and inclusive culture of globally connected teams. Learn more.

Our Commitment

As a commitment, we persistently endeavour to embody our values, fulfil our purpose, and champion inclusiveness. Our dedication is to cultivate EY into an environment where diverse perspectives are celebrated, creating a supportive atmosphere for individuals to authentically be themselves and contribute their utmost.

Professional Development

From entry‑level employees to senior leaders, we believe in continuous learning. We offer opportunities to build new skills, take on leadership roles and connect and grow through mentorship.

People and Culture

In our dynamic workplace, diversity, equity, and inclusiveness are ingrained in our culture. We’re united by a commitment to create an environment where every individual’s differences are valued, practices are equitable, fostering a sense of belonging.

Benefits

Embark on a transformative career journey with us and indulge in a suite of premium benefits, encompassing exclusive health and wellness packages, enticing rewards, and cutting‑edge learning opportunities that empower you to continually grow and excel in your professional and personal development.

We are an equal opportunity employer and are committed to Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Experience Level Senior Level