Head of Data Solutions, FPRS/CSWM

Guardian Life; New York (NY); On-site; USD 180,000 - 340,000; Full time

Job summary

Guardian Life is seeking a Head of Data Solutions to lead data product strategy and agile delivery across FPRS/CSWM value streams. You will manage a team of Data Product Owners, coordinate with D&T leaders, and align data initiatives with business goals, balancing priorities and driving value realization across complex insurance and wealth-management data assets.

The role requires deep data and analytic technology knowledge, strong stakeholder management, and the ability to coach senior teams in

Qualifications

• 15+ years of experience with escalating data/analytic solutions
• BS or BA required; MS or MBA preferred
• 3+ years in an agile environment
• 3+ years managing staff/teams (global)
• 5+ years using program management tools (JIRA, AgileCraft, ATIIM)
• Experience in life insurance/wealth management products
• Knowledge of data ownership/stewardship and data governance
• Ability to document requirements, metrics, and data quality expectations
• Strong client focus with excellent communication and workshop facilitation
• Ability to coach and develop junior staff
• Comfort with data lakehouse tools (Databricks, SQL, Python)
• Big-picture thinker who can influence outcomes

Responsibilities

• Engage value stream stakeholders to shape data product strategy and roadmap
• Own agile delivery of data sources and products with DPOs
• Collaborate with platform engineers/architects on tool evaluations
• Plan capacity with eDSO engineers and PDMs; ensure resources meet needs
• Govern data quality, metadata, and SLAs; monitor compliance
• Lead data solution adoption and change management with business partners

Skills

Data & analytics leadership

Agile delivery

Stakeholder management

Data governance

Communication skills

Mentoring staff

Change management

Requirements elicitation

Business acumen

Education

Bachelor's degree

Master's preferred

Tools

Tableau

Power BI

Databricks

SQL

Python

Collibra

Job description

The Enterprise Data Solutions & Operations (EDSO) team within the Digital & Technology (D-T) function is looking to staff a Head of Data Solutions (the ‘Role’) for our FPRS/CSWM line of business. This role will work closely with core FPRS/CSWM business value streams (e.g., distribution mgmt., shop, purchasing, service, claims, etc.) to define, shape, prioritize and lead the delivery and evolution of key data and information product (‘Products’) solutions supporting business objectives. More specifically, this role will drive the capture and planning for new demand of features and/or enhancements to Guardian’s data Products as articulated by key business leaders from one or more key value stream and/or the respective FPRS/CSWM FP&A functional BI leader.

In addition, this role will have accountability for planning and delivering strategic data initiatives within one or more FPRS/CSWM value stream, collaborating with the value stream Digital & Tech (D&T) Leader, the value stream Business Leader, the value stream Product Delivery Managers (PDMs), and the value stream Product Owners(POs)) to identify/scope/size and execute key data needs, and to identify and raise new opportunities for data activation/adoption. A key aspect of the role will be to balance the needs across value stream demands, soliciting/recommending priorities, and in turn, incorporating and aligning these priorities into a roadmap and plan for delivery, including resource planning (business SMEs, UAT participants, etc.), training, and activation in support of full value realization. Finally, the FPRS/CSWM Data Solution Head will direct the data steward(s) in their charter to continuously capture metadata related to all data elements (e.g., definition, quality standards, calculation logic, SLA requirements, etc.), and to report/coordinate any data quality issues/SLA breaches/definitional changes to the same.

From a strategic management perspective, the role will bring a keen understanding of value stream processes, supporting applications and key data elements. Moreover, the role will establish and nurture relationships with both value stream executive leadership, as well as functional and analytic SMEs in the value stream teams to keep a pulse on the latent needs and direction of the business. Using these relationships, the role will anticipate future data needs, constantly updating and communicating the backlog of features to be addressed in the data/info product roadmap - all in close coordination with business partners in the FPRS/CSWM FP&A analytics team(s).

From an org management perspective, the Role will directly manage and grow a team of data product owners (DPOs). These DPOs will be aligned with FPRS/CSWM value stream data products and will drive the execution of new build features/enhancements to their respective data products. In addition, the Role will manage both direct (EDSO FPRS/CSWM Solution Engineering team members, EDSO FPRS/CSWM Data Product Owners) and indirect (D&T Solution & Data Architecture resources, and D&T Data Governance resources), in order to drive the successful delivery of data products, as well as to help foster the development of the next generation of D&T data leaders.

You are:

You are a highly independent senior manager with the ability to (or rapidly become) conversant in life insurance and wealth management products and their respective business processes. You have an aptitude for using and shaping data solutions in support of business objectives and are able to clearly articulate the value that can be attributable to data/info products. You are highly organized, staying abreast of multiple stakeholders’ priorities, the status of multiple parallel initiatives/projects/data products, and the state of value realization and adoption for production data assets. You communicate fluidly and extemporaneously, able to articulate how data solution functionality will meet business needs in a brief, non-technical manner. While you may not be a recent ‘hands on keyboards’ technologist (you may even have come from a business or analytical background), you have a deep understanding of data and analytic technologies, architectural principles, and you aren’t afraid to dig into data models and pipeline logic. Finally, you are reliable in terms of your commitments, honest and brave with issues/escalations, and have a client service mentality.

You have:

• 15+ years of experience with an escalating competency in data and analytic solutions
• BS or BA required; MS or MBA preferred
• 3+ years working in an agile environment
• 3+ years of experience managing staff/teams, potentially (preferably) with geographically diverse teams, often organized on a product delivery basis (highly matrixed)
• 5+ years of experience with standard program management tools (such as JIRA, AgileCraft, ATIIM, etc.), as well as desktop collaboration/ideation tools (Sharepoint, MSOffice, OneDrive, Lucid, Draw.io, etc.)
• Experience in life insurance and wealth management products and industry preferred (e.g., whole/term/universal/supplemental/etc., as well as , FIA, portfolio/client management tools for FAs/Brokers, etc.)
• Experience with enterprise data management principles such as data ownership/stewardship (experience as a data domain steward or data product owner would be a plus)
• Ability to document and capture business requirements in detail, including metric calculation logic, quality/timeliness expectations, analytic functionality, hierarchies, etc., as well as functional user journeys as they relate to data solutions
• A client focus with strong verbal and written communication skills, able to manage multiple stakeholders and creatively align their interests, and able to lead workshops on ideation/requirements with little preparation
• Strong organizational and time management skills; ability to multi-task and driving teams to meet aggressive delivery commitments
• Proactive problem-solving and information research skills
• Ability to manage/mentor earlier tenure and/or less experienced staff to help grow future leaders and deepen value stream knowledge on the broader team
• Ability to accept change in stride, remaining flexible due to changing business needs/priorities
• Natural ‘teacher’, able to coach business partners on optimal use of data assets to meet stated/latent business needs
• Comfort with/knowledge of analytic tools such as Tableau, PowerBI, Databricks, SQL, etc.
• Deep knowledge/experience with data lakehouse principles and data management tooling (e.g., Databricks, Fivetran, Collibra, SQL/SparkSQL/Python, etc.)
• Able to see the “big picture” and influence/engage others to meet common goals

You Will:

• Engage in business value stream Counseling:
  • Develop deep and trust-based relationships with value stream stakeholders
  • Consult with value stream business partners to identify and shape new and existing ways for data to enable business processes and aspirations
  • Lead decisioning/status, prioritization, and ideation meetings with various stakeholder groups, from executives to expert practitioners as it relates to new data/info products and/or data service delivery
  • Maintain a data product and info product roadmap supported by technical capabilities to keep business abreast of vision and timing
  • Capture demand and stay responsive to emergent needs from business value stream business partners (from the value stream leads to the application PDMs)
  • Demonstrate expertise in processes and their supporting data assets by educating business partners (directly 1:1, in formal training sessions, and informally), and by providing direct feedback to value stream owners on usage characteristics of value stream data solutions
• Product Management:
  • Serve as the primary owner of FPRS/CSWM value stream data product strategy, managing the roadmap for ongoing enhancements and new capabilities
  • Accountable for the overall agile delivery of new data sources and products, establishing the features, business rules and test conditions with business input, and in response, coordinating the explosion of these features into technical detail via your team of DPOs
  • In concert with EDSO platform engineering team members, contribute to the evaluation of proposed tools, technologies, and platforms from a business lens
  • Contribute to ongoing delivery/capacity planning, ensuring value stream needs are appropriately resourced/planned for delivery with eDSO solution engineers/architects
  • Manage testing, both directly as a point tester and via coordination with key business SMEs
  • Partner with value stream leaders and PDMs to co-drive data solution adoption, ensuring the appropriate change management and/or training needs are met such that solution use drives desired business outcomes
• Governance and Compliance:
  • Ensure solutions adhere to industry regulations, data security standards, and organizational policies
  • Monitor and mitigate risks related to solution implementation
  • Direct matrixed data stewards to craft collect, maintain and troubleshoot critical data element metadata and data quality

Location:

• Location: flexible: New York City preferred; Bethlehem, PA; Holmdel, NJ are also options
• Occasional travel will be required