Head of Insurance Business Analysis & Strategy

RT Specialty; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 132,000 - 166,000; Full time

Job summary

RT Specialty, a division of Ryan Specialty, is a leading wholesale distributor of specialty insurance products and services in the United States. The Director, Business Analysis leads the business analysis team for RT Specialty, ensuring accurate requirements and robust testing strategies across initiatives, and communicates effectively with stakeholders at all levels.

This role requires strategic thinking and deep insurance domain knowledge, mentoring analysts, aligning with IT and PMO, and

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in business or technology.
• 10+ years post‑graduate experience in the P&C insurance industry or with a technology company serving the industry.
• Strong domain expertise in insurance coupled with a deep knowledge of business applications software development processes.
• 7+ years managing teams and mentoring individuals in a highly distributed setting.
• High sense of urgency and entrepreneurial work ethic required to drive business outcomes.
• Ability to think strategically and execute operationally, with a focus on driving results and achieving business objectives.
• Excellent analytic and problem solving skills.
• Able to cultivate interpersonal client, partner, co‑worker, and executive relationships.

Responsibilities

• Lead and mentor a team of business analysts, fostering a culture of collaboration and continuous improvement.
• Define and champion a team mission, vision, and values for the Business Analysis function, and hold team members accountable to them through regular check-ins, performance conversations, and project retrospectives.
• Provide hands‑on coaching and guidance to each business analyst on a per‑project basis, reviewing individual approaches to requirements gathering, documentation, testing and stakeholder engagement to ensure consistent application of BA best practices across the portfolio.
• Mentor and develop new and early‑career business analysts, creating structured onboarding and growth plans that build both technical BA skills and insurance domain knowledge over time.
• Work collaboratively with Corporate PMO to develop and implement a comprehensive business analysis strategy, including effective requirements gathering and UAT artifacts.
• Using shared resourcing tools, allocate business analysts appropriately to projects and estimate future needs and allocations.
• Working with Solution Owners, serve as a liaison between business units and IT to ensure alignment on projects and initiatives.
• Identify areas for process optimization and recommend solutions to enhance efficiency and effectiveness.
• Lead initiatives to implement best practices in business analysis methodologies.
• Demonstrate strong knowledge of RT Specialty’s initiatives and focus for each year.
• Working with your team, raise key risks and issues associated with the team’s projects.
• Promote a culture of knowledge sharing and continuous learning within the team.

Skills

Leadership

Stakeholder communication

Strategic thinking

Analytical skills

Mentoring

BA methodologies

Team management

Insurance domain

Education

Bachelor's degree

Insurance experience

Job description

RT Specialty, a division of Ryan Specialty, is a leading wholesale distributor of specialty insurance products and services in the United States. The Director, Business Analysis leads the business analysis team for RT Specialty, ensuring accurate requirements and robust testing strategies across initiatives, and communicates effectively with stakeholders at all levels.

This role requires strategic thinking and deep insurance domain knowledge, mentoring analysts, aligning with IT and PMO, and