Sr. Manager, Core Business Systems

The Mutual Group; Chicago (IL); Hybrid; USD 140,000 - 165,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

401(K) retirement plan

Medical, dental, and vision plans

Generous time off program

Flexible work schedules

Educational assistance

Job summary

The Mutual Group is seeking a Senior Manager, Core Business Systems to oversee the delivery and support of enterprise applications essential for insurance operations. The role involves managing Guidewire and other business systems, collaborating with various departments to align technology with business needs, and mentoring a team of professionals.

The ideal candidate will have 10-15 years of experience in enterprise systems and a strong understanding of application lifecycle management, with a focus on continuous improvement and operational excellence.

Competitive salary range of $140,000 - $165,000 depending on experience, plus benefits.

Qualifications

• 10-15 years in enterprise systems or IT roles.
• 5+ years managing and leading teams.
• Experience with Guidewire and business applications.
• Strong analytical and communication skills.
• Ability to drive system enhancements and improvements.

Responsibilities

• Lead application delivery and execution.
• Ensure system stability and operational excellence.
• Develop and mentor a high-performing team.
• Partner with stakeholders to align technology with business needs.
• Manage vendor relationships and operational risk.

Skills

Leadership

Analytical Skills

Problem-solving

Stakeholder Management

Communication

Team Development

Tools

Guidewire

Application Lifecycle Management

APIs

Cloud/SaaS Platforms

Job description

## Sr. Manager, Core Business SystemsApplylocations: Iowa - TMG Home Office: Dallas, Texas: Chicago, Illinois: New York, New York: Raleigh, North Carolinatime type: Full timeposted on: Posted Yesterdayjob requisition id: R-100228**Department:**Information Technology**Job Description:**The Senior Manager, Core Business Systems is responsible for leading the delivery, support, and continuous improvement of enterprise applications that power core business and insurance operations, with Guidewire as the primary platform for policy administration, billing, and claims. The scope also includes HRIS, financial systems, enterprise content management, and related business platforms. This role combines hands-on execution leadership, operational discipline, business partnership, and people leadership, including management of a team of direct reports.The Senior Manager owns delivery outcomes across enhancements, releases, production support, risks, dependencies, quality, and business value. Working closely with business stakeholders, IT partners, vendors, and delivery teams, this leader ensures Guidewire and other core systems are stable, scalable, secure, efficient, and aligned with organizational priorities. The ideal candidate brings strong experience managing enterprise systems in a complex environment, builds capable teams, drives continuous improvement, and creates clear operating routines that improve reliability, transparency, and execution.**Work Arrangement:*** Employees who live within 30 miles of the TMG home office are expected to follow a hybrid or in-office schedule. The initial training period may require additional in‐office days.**Accountabilities:** Application Delivery and Execution* Lead the end-to-end lifecycle of key business systems, including Guidewire enhancements, releases, upgrades, integrations, and production support.* Own delivery outcomes across scope, schedule, quality, risks, dependencies, team capacity, and measurable business value.* Partner with business stakeholders, product owners, vendors, and delivery teams to ensure requirements are well-defined, prioritized, and effectively executed.* Provide day-to-day oversight across delivery activities, ensuring priorities reflect business objectives, operational needs, and available capacity.* Coordinate integrations across Guidewire, internal and external platforms, data flows, APIs, vendor systems, and enterprise services.* Stay close to the work by understanding delivery status, removing blockers, supporting issue resolution, and helping teams navigate complex implementation challenges.Operational Excellence and Governance* Ensure system stability, availability, performance, and reliability through effective oversight of operational processes and team execution.* Oversee incident, problem, and change management processes, including root cause analysis, corrective actions, and prevention of recurring issues.* Establish and maintain clear metrics, dashboards, routines, and reporting to track system uptime, defect trends, backlog health, release readiness, service quality, and operational risk.* Drive continuous improvement in system efficiency, automation, support models, release discipline, and user experience.* Ensure adherence to IT governance, architecture standards, security practices, compliance requirements, audit controls, and change management expectations.* Promote disciplined execution through clear documentation, repeatable processes, defined ownership, and effective decision-making routines.People Leadership and Team Development* Lead, mentor, and develop a high-performing team of developers, analysts, administrators, and configuration specialists.* Set clear expectations for delivery, quality, accountability, collaboration, documentation, and stakeholder engagement.* Manage team capacity, resource planning, skills development, performance feedback, and prioritization of work.* Coach team members through complex delivery and support situations, helping them strengthen technical judgment, business understanding, and execution discipline.* Build a culture of accountability, continuous learning, operational excellence, and practical problem-solving.* Raise the bar for team performance by improving ways of working, encouraging ownership, and recognizing measurable progress.Business Partnership and Product Alignment* Partner with stakeholders across underwriting, claims, finance, HR, operations, and other business functions to align system capabilities with business needs.* Translate business priorities into practical delivery plans, system enhancements, and operational improvements.* Serve as a key liaison between business and IT teams, ensuring clear communication, aligned expectations, and timely issue resolution.* Support prioritization across new demand, regulatory needs, technical debt, production support, and platform improvements.* Ensure technology work improves business outcomes, including user experience, service quality, operational efficiency, adoption, and risk reduction.Vendor, Financial, and Risk Management* Manage vendor relationships supporting Guidewire and other core business systems, including performance monitoring, issue escalation, and service quality.* Support budgeting, forecasting, invoice review, and cost tracking for assigned platforms and services.* Identify and escalate delivery, operational, vendor, and technology risks with clear recommendations.Partner with architecture, security, infrastructure, data, and operations teams to ensure solutions are supportable, secure, and aligned with enterprise standards.**Qualifications:*****Experience Required**** 10 to 15 years of experience in enterprise systems, application delivery, technology operations, or related IT roles.* 5+ years of experience managing and leading teams, including performance management, coaching, capacity planning, and delivery oversight.* Experience supporting or implementing core business platforms such as Guidewire PolicyCenter, BillingCenter, ClaimCenter, HRIS, financial systems, enterprise content management, or similar enterprise applications.* Strong understanding of application lifecycle management, including requirements, development, configuration, testing, release management, production support, and continuous improvement.* Experience leading teams responsible for production support, enhancements, releases, integrations, and vendor-managed platforms.* Proven ability to manage multiple priorities, risks, dependencies, and stakeholder expectations in complex, cross-functional environments.* Strong analytical, problem-solving, communication, and stakeholder management skills.* Ability to connect technology delivery to measurable business outcomes, including reliability, efficiency, user experience, quality, and risk reduction.***Experience Preferred**** Experience in the insurance industry, especially with Guidewire, policy, billing, claims, underwriting, finance, or operations platforms.* Exposure to modern technologies such as APIs, cloud or SaaS platforms, system integrations, automation, workflow tools, and data exchange patterns.**Pay Range:****Anticipated Hiring Range:*** $140,000 - $165,000 annual base salary depending on experience, qualifications, and geographic location* $150,000 - $180,000 annual base salary depending on experience, qualifications, and geographic location in CA, CT, MA, NJ, NY, and PA**Benefits:**We are proud to offer our full-time regular employees a robust benefits suite that includes:* Competitive base salary plus incentive plans for eligible team members* 401(K) retirement plan that includes a company match of up to 6% of your eligible salary* Free basic life and AD&D, long-term disability and short-term disability insurance* Medical, dental and vision plans to meet your unique healthcare needs* Wellness incentives* Generous time off program that includes personal, holiday and volunteer paid time off* Flexible work schedules and hybrid/remote options for eligible positions* Educational assistance