AVP, Customer Service & Transformation

MetLife, Inc.; New Jersey; Hybrid; USD 165,000 - 220,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical plan

Vision and dental insurance

401(k) with employer matching

Life insurance

Disability insurance

Employee Assistance Program (EAP)

Paid time off and holidays

Job summary

MetLife, Inc. is seeking a customer-focused, technology-forward service leader to transform the COLI/BOLI client service organization.

You will design a modern service framework and lead a complex operations team delivering high-quality service to institutional customers, brokers, and internal partners. You will collaborate across IT, Product, Sales, Legal, Compliance, Actuarial, Finance, Audit and Operations, driving automation, knowledge management, and data-driven decision making while

Qualifications

• 10+ years of leadership experience in customer service, client operations, insurance operations, or a regulated environment.
• Knowledgeable of Corporate Owned and Bank Owned Life Insurance Market.
• Experience leading customer-facing or service operations with quality, escalation and stakeholder management.
• Bachelor’s degree required; advanced degree or certifications preferred; FINRA 6 within 6 months.

Responsibilities

• Lead end-to-end client service model for COLI/BOLI customers and intermediaries with strong relationship management.
• Modernize service delivery via workflow redesign, automation, digital tools, and AI-enabled capabilities.
• Enable associates to leverage product knowledge and judgment while reducing friction and escalations.
• Collaborate with IT, Product, Sales, Legal, Compliance, Actuarial, Finance, Audit and Operations.
• Coach and develop a high-performing team for a digitally enabled operating model.

Skills

Leadership experience

Customer service

Stakeholder engagement

Insurance operations

Financial services

Regulated environment

Education

Bachelor’s degree

Advanced degree / certifications preferred

FINRA Series 6

Job description

Description and Requirements

The Team You Will Join

Join MetLife's Retirement & Income Solutions team and help shape the future of financial security for millions. As the trusted market leader in institutional retirement, you'll contribute to delivering $5.5 billion in annual benefits payments to almost one million retirees and beneficiaries. Here, you'll work with annuities, risk solutions, and stable value products that help companies reduce risk and maintain financial strength while empowering individuals to retire with confidence. Join us to help solve today's most complex retirement challenges and make a lasting impact on our customers' lives.

The Opportunity

We are seeking a customer-focused, technology-forward service leader to help transform the COLI/BOLI client service organization. This role is designed for a leader who understands the discipline of high-quality service delivery and can also envision, design, and implement a modern service framework that enables associates to do their best work while using technology, automation, data, and AI-enabled capabilities to improve customer outcomes and organizational performance.

The successful candidate will lead a complex service and operations function supporting institutional customers, brokers, and internal business partners. This leader will be accountable for strengthening the customer experience, improving operating discipline, reducing manual effort, building scalable processes, and creating a future-ready service model that balances relationship management, associate expertise, risk management, and digital enablement.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the end-to-end client service model for COLI/BOLI customers and intermediaries, ensuring responsive issue resolution, strong relationship management, and disciplined execution.
• Identify opportunities to modernize service delivery through workflow redesign, automation, digital tools, AI-enabled capabilities, improved knowledge management, and better use of operational data.
• Enable customer service associates and managers to leverage their product knowledge, judgment, and relationship skills while reducing friction, rework, manual tracking, and avoidable escalations.
• Partner across IT, Product, Sales, Legal, Compliance, Actuarial, Finance, Audit, and Operations to translate business priorities into practical service improvements and technology-enabled solutions.
• Coach, develop, and motivate a high-performing team, building both customer-service excellence and change readiness for a more digitally enabled operating model.

Required Qualifications

• 10+ years of leadership experience in customer service, client operations, insurance operations, financial services, or a comparable regulated environment.
• Knowledgeable of Corporate Owned and Bank Owned Life Insurance Market
• Demonstrated success leading customer-facing or service operations teams with responsibility for service quality, issue resolution, performance management, and stakeholder engagement.
• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience required; advanced degree or relevant certifications in operations, transformation, process improvement, technology, or insurance are preferred.
• FINRA Series 6 Registered Rep or within 6 months of start date
• Experience with large scale AI, intelligent automation or advanced decision making systems.

Preferred Qualifications

• Lean Portfolio Management
• Proven ability to manage multiple priorities and strong project management skills, including PMO governance, milestone tracking, dependency management and escalation of delivery risks.
• Ability to identify and create opportunities where processes and technology can converge to improve productivity, service quality, automation and scalability.
• Ability to partner effectively with senior executives across distribution, operations, product, finance, Human Resources and other enabling functions.
• Demonstrated ability to attract, coach, mentor and develop talent.

#LI-SP1

Location Expectation: This is a hybrid role requiring a minimum of 3 days per week in office.

The expected salary range for this position is $165000 - $220000. This role may also be eligible for annual short-term incentive compensation and stock-based long-term incentives. All incentives and benefits are subject to the applicable plan terms.

Benefits We Offer

Our U.S. benefits address holistic well-being with programs for physical and mental health, financial wellness, and support for families. We offer a comprehensive health plan that includes medical/prescription drug and vision, dental insurance, and no-cost short- and long-term disability. We also provide company-paid life insurance and legal services, a retirement pension funded entirely by MetLife and 401(k) with employer matching, group discounts on voluntary insurance products including auto and home, pet, critical illness, hospital indemnity, and accident insurance, as well as Employee Assistance Program (EAP) and digital mental health programs, parental leave, paid time off, paid holidays, volunteer time off, tuition assistance and much more! For more information regarding MetLife’s U.S. benefits, please [1] click here.

About MetLife

Recognized on Fortune magazine's list of the "World's Most Admired Companies", Fortune World’s 25 Best Workplaces™, as well as the Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For®, MetLife, through its subsidiaries and affiliates, is one of the world’s leading financial services companies; providing insurance, annuities, employee benefits and asset management to individual and institutional customers. With operations in more than 40 markets, we hold leading positions in the United States, Latin America, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East.

As part of our New Frontier strategy, MetLife is building an AI-enabled, people-centered future. We’re looking for people who bring curiosity, adaptability, and a growth mindset as we use AI to enhance how we serve customers, support communities, and evolve the way work gets done. At MetLife, AI is a responsible partner that supports human judgment, creativity, and continuous improvement while helping us build trust, inclusion, and long-term value.

Our purpose is simple - to help our colleagues, customers, communities, and the world at large create a more confident future. United by purpose and guided by our core values - Win Together, Do the Right Thing, Deliver Impact Over Activity, and Think Ahead - we’re inspired to transform the next century in financial services. At MetLife, it’s [2] #AllTogetherPossible. Join us!

MetLife is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All employment decisions are made without regards to race, color, national origin, religion, creed, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, disability, marital or domestic/civil partnership status, genetic information, citizenship status (although applicants and employees must be legally authorized to work in the United States), uniformed service member or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local law ("protected characteristics").

If you need an accommodation due to a disability, please email us at [e-mail]. This information will be held in confidence and used only to determine an appropriate accommodation for the application process.

MetLife maintains a drug-free workplace.

It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liabilities.

This posting is for a current vacancy and is anticipated to remain open for at least 90 days from the listed posting date.References

Visible links1. https://www.metlife.com/content/dam/metlifecom/us/noindex/pdf/HR-US-Benefits/US-Benefits-Overview-10-13-2025.pdf2. https://www.metlifecareers.com/ml/GreatPlaceToWork