Lead Financial Strategy Associate

Protective; Birmingham (AL); On-site; USD 140,000 - 210,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health + dental + vision insurance

Pension plan

401(k) with company match

Paid time off and parental leave

ProHealth Rewards program

Job summary

Protective is seeking a Finance Strategy Lead, a senior contributor partnering with FP&A, Accounting, and Actuarial leadership to shape and execute high-impact strategic initiatives. The role blends deep finance expertise with hands-on problem solving to drive regulatory, reporting, and system improvements.

The position oversees strategy formulation through execution, balancing value, risk and feasibility while tracking KPIs and OKRs.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Finance, Accounting, or a related field.
• Master’s degree in Business Administration, Accounting, or related field.
• 8+ years of experience in accounting, finance, actuarial science, or related functions.
• Proven ability to partner with senior Finance leaders as a trusted strategic advisor.
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Demonstrated experience owning outcomes across strategy formulation through execution.

Responsibilities

• Lead cross-functional teams through end-to-end strategy development and execution for multiple concurrent initiatives.
• Partner with FP&A, Accounting, Actuarial, Technology, and other stakeholders to align on strategic intent, priorities, and success measures.
• Influence outcomes without direct authority through strong facilitation, clarity, and accountability.
• Serve as a strategy owner and integrator between business stakeholders, technical teams, and executive leadership.
• Establish and track business outcomes, KPIs, and OKRs aligned to enterprise strategy.
• Own delivery accountability, ensuring clear decision rights, roles, and responsibilities across teams.
• Monitor scope, schedule, cost, quality, and risks; surface issues early with clear trade‑off recommendations.
• Provide transparent executive‑level communication on progress, risks, issues, and value realization.
• Manage change control and ensure compliance with regulatory, security, data privacy, and governance requirements.
• Drive continuous improvement through data‑driven delivery practices, automation, and analytics.
• Track post‑implementation benefits and facilitate lessons‑learned to inform future initiatives.

Skills

Finance leadership

Strategic planning

Stakeholder management

Executive communication

Data-driven decision making

Risk & controls

Regulatory knowledge

Senior finance partner

Analytical thinking

Change-management

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

Bachelor's degree in Business/Finance/Accounting

Master's degree in Business Administration/Finance/Accounting

Job description

The work we do has an impact on millions of lives, and you can be a part of it.

Wehelp protect our customers against life’s uncertainties.Regardless ofwhere you work within thecompany, you’ll behelping provide protection and peace of mind when our customers need it most.

The Finance Strategy Lead is a senior individual contributor who partners closely with FP&A, Accounting, and Actuarial leadership to shape, prioritize, and drive execution of high‑impact strategic initiatives. This role brings deep finance and actuarial domain expertise and plays a hands‑on role in problem diagnosis, solution design, and decision‑making.

The Finance Strategy Lead operates across strategy formulation through execution, ensuring initiatives deliver measurable business outcomes while balancing value, risk, and operational feasibility. Typical initiatives include accounting and actuarial data transformation, financial reporting modernization, regulatory enhancements, system migrations, and cross‑functional process redesign.

Responsibilities

• Lead cross‑functional teams through end‑to‑end strategy development and execution for multiple concurrent initiatives.
• Partner with FP&A, Accounting, Actuarial, Technology, and other stakeholders to align on strategic intent, priorities, and success measures.
• Influence outcomes without direct authority through strong facilitation, clarity, and accountability.
• Serve as a strategy owner and integrator between business stakeholders, technical teams, and executive leadership.
• Establish and track business outcomes, KPIs, and OKRs aligned to enterprise strategy.
• Own delivery accountability, ensuring clear decision rights, roles, and responsibilities across teams.
• Monitor scope, schedule, cost, quality, and risks; surface issues early with clear trade‑off recommendations.
• Provide transparent executive‑level communication on progress, risks, issues, and value realization.
• Manage change control and ensure compliance with regulatory, security, data privacy, and governance requirements.
• Drive continuous improvement through data‑driven delivery practices, automation, and analytics.
• Track post‑implementation benefits and facilitate lessons‑learned to inform future initiatives.

Qualifications

• Strong accounting and actuarial acumen with the ability to apply expertise to complex business problems.
• Strategic planning and execution, including outcome‑based measurement (KPIs and OKRs).
• Influence without authority and ability to lead in highly matrixed environments.
• Executive‑level communication, presentation, and stakeholder management skills.
• Data‑driven decision‑making and analytical problem‑solving.
• Understanding of enterprise delivery frameworks and governance models.
• Resilience and adaptability in fast‑paced, ambiguous environments.
• Strong judgment related to risk, controls, and regulatory considerations.
• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Finance, Accounting, or a related field.
• 8 years of experience in accounting, finance, actuarial science, or related functions.
• Proven ability to partner with senior Finance leaders as a trusted strategic advisor.
• Excellent analytical, problem‑solving, and critical thinking skills.
• Demonstrated experience owning outcomes across strategy formulation through execution.
• Master’s degree in Business Administration, Accounting, Finance, or related field.
• Experience within life insurance and annuity products, accounting, or financial reporting.
• FP&A, Accounting, and Actuarial experience.
• Familiarity with data, technology development processes, and related governance and controls.
• Experience with digital transformation, ERP implementations, cloud migrations, or large‑scale system integrations.
• Lean Six Sigma Green Belt or Black Belt, or similar process improvement credentials.
• Progressive experience leading financial initiatives or driving complex, cross‑functional change efforts.

The internal title for this role is Lead Associate Strategy.

Employee Benefits

We aim to protect the wellbeing of our employees and their families with a broad benefits offering. In addition to offering comprehensive health, dental and vision insurance, we support emotional wellbeing through mental health benefits and an employee assistance program. Work/life balance is important and Protective offers a variety of paid time away benefits (paid time off, paid parental leave, short‑term disability, and a cultural observance day). The financial health of our employees is just as important as physical and emotional health. Some of the financial wellbeing benefits include contributions to healthcare accounts, a pension plan, and a 401(k) plan with Company matching. All employees are encouraged to protect their overall wellbeing by engaging in ProHealth Rewards, Protective’s platform to improve wellbeing while earning cash rewards.

Eligibility for certain benefits may vary by position in accordance with the terms of the Company’s benefit plans.

Accommodations for Applicants with a Disability

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

Please note that the above email is solely for individuals with disabilities requesting an accommodation. General employment questions should not be sent through this process.

We are proud to be an equal opportunity employer committed to being inclusive and attracting, retaining, and growing an inclusive workforce.