Sr. Institutional Relationship Manager - Retirement Solutions

Nationwide; Brea (CA); Remote; USD 104,000 - 194,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical/dental/vision

Life insurance

Pension plan

Paid time off

9 holidays

401(k) with company match

Business casual attire

Job summary

Nationwide is seeking a Senior Institutional Relationship Manager to manage retirement plans for mid-market clients. This role focuses on building and maintaining strategic relationships with plan sponsors, advisors, and service teams to drive profitability and client satisfaction.

You will lead cross-functional teams, conduct governance meetings, and collaborate with finance and investment management to implement multi-year growth strategies.

Qualifications

• 5 years in the financial services industry, with at least 3 years focused on retirement plans.
• Experience managing relationships with plan sponsors and advisor/consultants.
• Ability to lead matrixed teams to deliver client objectives.
• Strong communication, negotiation and project management skills.

Responsibilities

• Establish, grow and retain profitable relationships with mid-market plan sponsors and advisors.
• Lead the integrated service team to grow key relationships.
• Conduct annual to quarterly Committee Meetings to discuss plan health and enhancements.
• Identify multi-year profitability strategies with Nationwide products.
• Develop and execute a strategic business plan for your book of business.
• Support onboarding and transition meetings with plan sponsors.
• Represent client voice in product and service development.
• Travel and work planning with a home office and 75% travel as needed.

Skills

Relationship management

Financial services

Retirement plans

Strategic account management

Communication

Education

Bachelor's degree in business or finance

Job description

Are you passionate about being part of a team at a Fortune 100 company with nearly $70 billion in annual sales that delivers extraordinary care to help individuals and businesses prepare for and protect their future? If so, then Nationwide Financial could be the place for you! At Nationwide®, “on your side” goes beyond just words. Our customers and partners are at the center of everything we do and we’re looking for associates who are passionate about delivering extraordinary care.

This Sr. Institutional Relationship Manager role will cover portions of the Western part of the country for our Corporate/Private sector team. Candidates can live anywhere West of the Mississippi River extending from Minnesota to Louisiana with the majority of the clients being in the Central time zone. Living within 50 miles of a major metropolitan airport is strongly preferred.

Job Description Summary

At the heart of our work with retirement plans for mid-market retirement programs is the desire to help individuals retire successfully. Multiple decision-makers are engaged in plan selection, enhancements and retention, requiring teamwork, strategic thinking and superior relationship management on various levels. If you can collaborate, connect and communicate to build, grow and retain meaningful and productive business relationships, we want to know more about you!

As a Senior Institutional Relationship Manager, you’ll be accountable for all aspects of strategic account management for a defined list of retirement plans including, Plan Sponsor, advisor/consultant, Operations service team relationships. You’ll manage plans typically with $25Mil to $150Mil total retirement assets. You’ll be focused on proactively driving plan profitability, including layering in appropriate Nationwide products and services, while increasing efficiencies. You will be responsible for deepening relationships with key decision makers on the client’s board/committee and with advisors and consultants.

Job Description

Key Responsibilities:

• Through a proactive strategic account management process, responsible for establishing, growing and retaining profitable relationships with mid-market plan sponsors advisor/consultants, and other service providers.
• Leads the integrated service team by coordinating business support functions and additional resources to grow and retain key relationships.
• Responsible for conducting at least annual, but up to quarterly Committee Meetings to discuss Plan Health, Plan Engagement and Nationwide enhancements.
• Partner with Finance and Investment Management to identify a multi-year strategy to increase profitability of book of business through adoption of Nationwide Advantage Products.
• Partner with Integrated Service Team to identify opportunities to increase efficiencies and reduce our cost to service book of business.
• Develops and executes a strategic business plan for your book of business that takes into consideration the goals and objectives of clients, advisors/consultants and aligns with the objectives and capabilities of Nationwide and other service providers.
• Supports institutional plan sales acquisition finalist presentations and positioning our service model and the benefits to the plan sponsor and plan participants, and consultant/advisor.
• Leads client onboarding process and participant transition meetings including familiarizing the plan sponsor with Nationwide tools and services and partners with implementation team to ensure a smooth onboarding process.
• Shares and positions the Nationwide story and drives capabilities/feature adoption that increase plan efficiency and improve client experience.
• Develops and implements plan participant servicing strategies in partnership with plan sponsors to drive participant engagement and retirement readiness.
• Represents the client’s voice in product and service development and enhancements.

May Perform Other Responsibilities As Assigned.

Reporting Relationships: Reports to Institutional Executive Relationship Management Director and generally does not have direct managerial responsibility.

Typical Skills And Experiences

Education: Undergraduate studies in business or finance or related fields preferred.

License/Certification/Designation: FINRA 6, 63, 65 (or 7/66) required. Associates must obtain the required federal and/or state licenses/registrations within the time period designated by the business unit. Additional licenses/registrations may be required when new products and services are implemented. If an associate fails or is unable to obtain required licenses/registrations within the time period designated by the business unit, the associate will be ineligible to continue in the position. Designations such as AIF and other Retirement Plan industry designations are strongly encouraged.

Experience: 5 years in the financial services industry, with at least 3 years focused on retirement plans. Experience managing relationships with plan sponsors and advisor/consultants of retirement plans is required. Experience leading matrixed team of associates to deliver on client objectives and goals is preferred.

Knowledge, Abilities and Skills: In-depth understanding of the retirement plan business and 401k and 403b market. Knowledge of products and related industry practices and procedures. Working knowledge of ERISA, qualified plan design, recordkeeping, administration, nondiscrimination testing, annual audit and plan investments and account implementation. Knowledge of federal and state regulatory requirements and quality standards. Ability to establish and grow key relationships with clients. Excellent verbal, written communication and presentation skills to influence and negotiate with internal and external stakeholders. Attention to detail, learning agility, time management, technical and negotiation skills. Ability to drive successful results in a fast-paced environment. Ability to analyze plan and participant data and trends to help set the stage for plan sponsors to adopt strategies to enhance participant outcomes. Ability to synthesize multiple data points to continually develop retention and growth strategies in an ever-changing environment. Strong project management and organizational skills.

Other criteria, including leadership skills, competencies and experiences may take precedence.

Staffing exceptions to the above must be approved by the hiring manager’s leader and Human Resource Business Partner.

Values: Regularly and consistently demonstrates the Nationwide Values.

Job Conditions

Working Conditions: Working from a home office. Set-up requires extensive travel (up to 75%) within and occasionally outside of assigned territory. Must have a valid driver’s license with satisfactory driving record in accordance with Nationwide standards

ADA: The above statements cover what are generally believed to be principal and essential functions of this job. Specific circumstances may allow or require some people assigned to the job to perform a somewhat different combination of duties.

We currently anticipate accepting applications until 10/25/2026. However, we encourage early submissions, as the posting may close sooner if a strong candidate slate is identified before the deadline.

We have an array of benefits to fit your needs, including: medical/dental/vision, life insurance, short and long term disability coverage, paid time off with newly hired associates receiving a minimum of 18 days paid time off each full calendar year pro-rated quarterly based on hire date, nine paid holidays, 8 hours of Lifetime paid time off, 8 hours of Unity Day paid time off, 401(k) with company match, company-paid pension plan, business casual attire, and more.

Nationwide is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive culture where everyone feels challenged, appreciated, respected and engaged. Nationwide prohibits discrimination and harassment and affords equal employment opportunities to employees and applicants without regard to any characteristic (or classification) protected by applicable law.

This position could be filled within any of the lower 48 U.S. states.

Smoke-Free Iowa Statement: Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company, its affiliates and subsidiaries comply with the Iowa Smokefree Air Act. Smoking is prohibited in all enclosed areas on or around company premises as well as company issued vehicles. The company offers designated smoking areas in which smoking is permitted at each individual location. The Act prohibits retaliation for reporting complaints or violations. For more information on the Iowa Smokefree Air Act, individuals may contact the Smokefree Air Act Helpline at 888-944-2247.

For NY residents please review the following state law information: Notice of Employee Rights, Protections, and Obligations LS740 (ny.gov) https://dol.ny.gov/system/files/documents/2022/02/ls740_1.pdf

We value the partnerships we have built with our preferred vendors. Nationwide does not accept unsolicited resumes from employment agencies. All resumes submitted by employment agencies directly to any Nationwide employee or hiring manager in any form without a signed Nationwide Client Services Agreement on file and search engagement for that position will be deemed unsolicited in nature. No fee will be paid in the event the candidate is subsequently hired as a result of the referral or through other means.

Nationwide pays on a geographic-specific salary structure and placement within the actual starting salary range for this position will be determined by a number of factors including the skills, education, training, credentials and experience of the candidate; the scope, complexity and location of the role as well as the cost of labor in the market; and other conditions of employment. If a Sales job, Sales Incentives, based on performance goals are possible in addition to this range. Note on Compensation for Part-Time Roles: Please be aware that the salary ranges listed below reflect full-time compensation. Actual compensation may be prorated based on the number of hours worked relative to a full-time schedule.

The national salary range for Senior Institutional Relationship Manager - Retirement Solutions : $104,000.00-$194,000.00

The expected starting salary range for Senior Institutional Relationship Manager - Retirement Solutions : $104,000.00 - $156,000.00