Head of Benefit Technology and Retail Partnerships

Guardian; Boston (MA); On-site; USD 152,000 - 250,000; Full time

Job summary

Guardian is seeking a Head of Benefits Technology & Retail Partnerships to drive growth through strategic partners and to lead a team focused on channel expansion. You will shape the strategy for benefits and broker technology and for retail partnerships, building executive relationships to create mutual value for Guardian and partners.

The role requires coordinating with Distribution, Marketing, Product Delivery, and Operations to deliver growth plans, governance, and quarterly business reviews

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Marketing, Finance, or related field.
• 10+ years in partnership management, strategic alliances, business development, distribution, or channel leadership.
• Deep knowledge of the employee benefits, benefits technology, broker technology, and direct-to-consumer partnership ecosystem.
• Demonstrated success building executive relationships with strategic partners and influencing senior decision makers.
• Experience leading high-performing partnership, sales, or business development teams.
• A proven track record of delivering revenue growth through strategic partnerships and distribution channels.
• Experience negotiating commercial agreements and improving partnership economics and financial outcomes.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute strategy for benefits technology, broker technology, and retail partnership channels to drive revenue growth, customer acquisition, and market expansion.
• Lead and develop the Group Benefits’ Strategic Channel Managers and Retail Partnerships team, establishing clear performance expectations, development plans, and accountability measures.
• Build and maintain deep executive-level relationships with strategic partners, brokers, and industry influencers to identify growth opportunities and accelerate business outcomes.
• Establish partner-specific growth plans, measures of success, and performance indicators, and hold partners accountable for delivering against agreed-upon commitments.
• Implement and uphold partnership engagement standards, including regular stewardship, executive governance, business reviews, and ongoing strategic planning.
• Partner closely with Distribution, Marketing, Product Delivery, and Operations teams to drive the strategic changes and go-to-market strategies required to increase channel adoption, engagement, and revenue.
• Develop innovative partner-level strategies designed to achieve jointly established growth goals and create mutual value for Guardian and its partners.
• Identify opportunities to improve financial terms, contractual structures, and commercial arrangements to maximize value and ensure Guardian has appropriate leverage to drive partner delivery.
• Monitor market trends, competitive developments, and emerging technologies to strengthen Guardian's position within benefits technology, broker technology, and retail channels.

Skills

Executive relationship building

Partnership development

Channel leadership

Benefits technology

Broker technology

Go-to-market strategies

Cross-functional leadership

Education

Bachelor's degree in Business, Marketing, Finance, or related field

Job description

Position Summary

Are you passionate about building high-impact partnerships that drive growth, innovation, and customer value? Do you thrive in developing executive relationships, influencing strategic direction, and creating scalable distribution channels? Guardian is seeking a Head of Benefits Technology & Retail Partnerships to lead the strategy, growth, and execution of our benefits technology, broker technology, and retail partnership channels.

In this role, you will be responsible for driving sustainable channel growth through Guardian’s strategic partners, developing executive-level relationships that accelerate business outcomes, and leading a team of partnership professionals focused on channel expansion and relationship management. You will partner across Distribution, Marketing, Product, and Technology teams to deliver innovative growth strategies that strengthen Guardian's market position and create mutual value for our partners and customers.

You Are

• A strategic relationship leader with a proven ability to influence senior executives, identify growth opportunities, and drive measurable business results through partnerships.
• An experienced channel leader who understands the benefits technology, broker technology, and retail distribution landscape and is energized by building and scaling complex partner ecosystems.
• A commercially minded executive who combines strong business acumen with exceptional relationship management skills.
• A disciplined leader who establishes clear expectations and holds both internal teams and external partners accountable for delivering agreed-upon objectives.
• A strategic thinker and pragmatic operator who can translate long-term partnership opportunities into executable growth plans and near-term results.

You Have

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Marketing, Finance, or a related field.
• 10+ years of experience in partnership management, strategic alliances, business development, distribution, or channel leadership.
• Deep knowledge of the employee benefits, benefits technology, broker technology, and direct-to-consumer partnership ecosystem.
• Demonstrated success building executive relationships with strategic partners and influencing senior decision makers.
• Experience leading high-performing partnership, sales, or business development teams.
• A proven track record of delivering revenue growth through strategic partnerships and distribution channels.
• Experience negotiating commercial agreements and improving partnership economics and financial outcomes.

Preferred Qualifications

• Existing executive relationships across leading benefits technology providers and influential brokerage organizations, including leadership within strategically important broker centers of excellence.
• Experience developing and executing go-to-market strategies in the benefits, insurance, or financial services industries.
• Strong understanding of benefits administration platforms, digital distribution models, and embedded insurance opportunities.
• Experience leading large-scale strategic initiatives involving cross-functional stakeholders.

You Will

• Develop and execute strategy for benefits technology, broker technology, and retail partnership channels to drive revenue growth, customer acquisition, and market expansion.
• Lead and develop the Group Benefits’ Strategic Channel Managers and Retail Partnerships team, establishing clear performance expectations, development plans, and accountability measures.
• Build and maintain deep executive-level relationships with strategic partners, brokers, and industry influencers to identify growth opportunities and accelerate business outcomes.
• Establish partner-specific growth plans, measures of success, and performance indicators, and hold partners accountable for delivering against agreed-upon commitments.
• Implement and uphold partnership engagement standards, including regular stewardship, executive governance, business reviews, and ongoing strategic planning.
• Partner closely with Distribution, Marketing, Product Delivery, and Operations teams to drive the strategic changes and go-to-market strategies required to increase channel adoption, engagement, and revenue.
• Develop innovative partner-level strategies designed to achieve jointly established growth goals and create mutual value for Guardian and its partners.
• Identify opportunities to improve financial terms, contractual structures, and commercial arrangements to maximize value and ensure Guardian has appropriate leverage to drive partner delivery.
• Monitor market trends, competitive developments, and emerging technologies to strengthen Guardian's position within benefits technology, broker technology, and retail channels.

Reporting Relationships

As our Head of Benefits Technology & Retail Partnerships, you will report to our Head of Digital and Retail Offerings.

Location

The primary location for this position is Boston, MA or New York, NY.

Travel

50% travel is required for this position.

Travel may include partner executive meetings, broker leadership events, industry conferences, and internal strategy sessions.

Salary Range

$152,290.00 - $250,195.00

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.

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.

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. 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 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.

Accommodations

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 [e-mail]. Please note: this resource is for accommodation requests only. For all other inquires related to your application and careers at Guardian, refer to the Guardian Careers site.

Visa Sponsorship

Guardian Life is not currently or in the foreseeable future sponsoring employment-based visas (e.g., such as an H-1B). In order to be a successful applicant, you 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.

Notice Regarding Guardian’s Use of Artificial Intelligence in Recruitment

As part of Guardian’s job application process, Guardian may use artificial intelligence tools ("AI Tools") to automate the sorting and filtering of information provided by applicants as part of its preliminary screening. This preliminary screening may be used to help identify applicant materials and resumes relative to their indication that the applicant meets the requirements for the specific job for which they are applying, as specified in the listing posted on Guardian’s jobs website (Careers at Guardian at https://www.guardianlife.com/careers). At Guardian, we do not use AI Tools to substantially assist or replace human judgment or discretionary decision making in our hiring process. All hiring decisions will be made by Guardian colleagues.

Please be aware that if you apply for a specific position with Guardian, you will have the choice of opting out of Guardian’s use of AI Tools during the job application process. If you would like to request an alternative process that does not utilize AI Tools or would like to request a reasonable accommodation, within ten business days of your position application, you must email your request to [e-mail], making sure to provide your name and job requisition identification number. Guardian will retain your applicant materials and resume and all information therefrom in accordance with Guardian’s document retention policy, a copy of which you may request via [e-mail].

Additionally, at applicable times, Guardian will make public the most recent bias audit results for such AI tools, which may be found here.

Current Guardian Colleagues: Please apply through the internal Jobs Hub in Workday.