Strategic Initiatives Lead

American Equity; Des Moines (IA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

American Equity Investment Life Insurance Company in Des Moines, IA, seeks a Strategic Initiatives Lead to plan, implement, and track high-priority initiatives across departments and partners. This onsite role partners with senior leaders to translate strategic priorities into measurable business outcomes and drive operational excellence.

Responsibilities include defining scope, creating detailed initiative plans, coordinating resources, and ensuring on-time, within-budget delivery with

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Organizational Leadership, Project Management, Finance, Operations, or related field.
• 8+ years of progressive experience leading cross-functional initiatives and strategic projects.
• Experience with governance frameworks, leadership reporting, and performance measurement.

Responsibilities

• Define scope, objectives, and outcomes for strategic initiatives with executives and stakeholders.
• Develop detailed initiative plans and resource requirements.
• Create schedules and timelines aligning resources across teams.
• Track progress, KPIs, and outcomes; report to leadership and stakeholders.
• Coordinate with senior leaders to translate strategy into actionable plans.

Skills

Verbal and written communication

Stakeholder management

Strategic thinking

Analytical skills

Project management

Change leadership

MS Office suite

Education

Bachelor's degree in Business Administration/related field

Tools

Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Visio, Project, Outlook)

Job description

American Equity Investment Life Insurance Company is a leading provider of annuity solutions designed to help clients protect and grow retirement income. Part of Brookfield Wealth Solutions, we partner with more than 40,000 financial professionals and help fund over half a million retirements nationwide. Recognized by Newsweek as one of America’s Most Trustworthy Companies and named a Top Workplace in Iowa, American Equity fosters a collaborative and purpose-driven culture where employees are empowered to ignite their passion and help shape the future of financial services.

Headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa, with satellite offices in Charlotte, NC and New York, NY, American Equity provides opportunities for employees to support work across the enterprise, including our sister company, American National, headquartered in Houston, Texas.

American Equity provides opportunities for employees to support work across the enterprise, including our sister company, American National, headquartered in Houston, Texas.

General Purpose Of The Job

The Strategic Initiatives Lead is responsible for the planning, implementation, execution, and tracking of high-priority initiatives that support American Equity's strategic objectives. This role is responsible for leading complex efforts that span multiple departments, business units, and, when appropriate, external partners and stakeholders.

The role leads key aspects of the initiative lifecycle, including planning, stakeholder alignment, governance support, coordination, execution, communication, and measurement of outcomes. The Strategic Initiatives Lead partners with leaders across the organization to support clarity, drive accountability, manage interdependencies, and help ensure strategic initiatives are prioritized and delivered successfully. This position serves as a key partner and strategic connector across stakeholder groups, helping translate strategic priorities into measurable business outcomes while supporting operational excellence and business growth.

Position sits in Des Moines and will work an onsite schedule**

Essential Duties And Responsibilities

• Supports the definition of scope, objectives, and expected outcomes of strategic initiatives in collaboration with executives, senior leaders and key stakeholders.
• Researches and develops a thorough understanding of organizational priorities, business challenges, operational opportunities, and strategic goals.
• Creates detailed initiative plans that identify and sequence activities required to achieve successful outcomes.
• Identifies the resources (time, budget, technology, personnel, and external support) required to execute strategic initiatives.
• Develops schedules and implementation timelines that effectively allocate resources and manage dependencies across multiple teams.
• Reviews initiative plans with leadership and stakeholders and revises plans as necessary to address changing priorities or business needs.
• Supports the development of success measures, key performance indicators, and evaluation methodologies for strategic initiatives and tracks progress against established goals.
• Supports governance structures, documentation, reporting mechanisms, and intake processes to support initiative execution and decision-making.
• Collaborates with stakeholders across departments to identify dependencies, potential risks, resource constraints, prioritization conflicts, and mitigation strategies.
• Leads the progression of strategic initiatives and adjusts plans as necessary to ensure successful outcomes.
• Establishes and maintains communication plans to provide consistent updates to leadership, stakeholders, and impacted teams.
• Ensures initiatives are delivered on time, within scope, within budget, and at the required level of quality.
• Evaluates initiative outcomes and measures business impact against established objectives.
• Facilitates alignment among stakeholders with varying priorities and perspectives to ensure coordinated execution across organizational boundaries.
• Serves as a central point of coordination among business leaders, functional teams, and external partners where applicable.
• Identifies strategic opportunities, operational challenges, and emerging issues, providing recommendations and facilitating decision-making.
• Manages competing priorities across assigned initiatives to support organizational value and strategic impact.
• Ensures strong collaboration among participating teams to drive accountability, transparency, and effective execution.
• Partners closely with senior leaders and stakeholders to support strategy execution, operational improvement, and business growth initiatives.
• Tracks initiative progress, monitors milestones, and evaluates results throughout the initiative lifecycle.
• Leads assigned phases of initiative execution, including planning, analysis, implementation, adoption, and post-implementation review.
• Manages the collection, completion, analysis, and reporting of initiative metrics, dashboards, and performance reporting.
• Provides recommendations, supports decision-making, and helps drive alignment across cross-functional stakeholder groups.
• Performs other related work as assigned.

Supervisory Responsibilities

Direct Reports: 0

General Description of Indirect Reports (2 and 3-downs): 0

Education And/Or Experience

• Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Organizational Leadership, Project Management, Finance, Operations, or related field of study; plus a minimum of eight (8) years of progressive experience leading complex cross-functional initiatives, strategic projects, business implementation efforts, or operational improvement initiatives; or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Demonstrated experience leading complex cross-functional initiatives involving multiple departments, business functions, and senior leaders with responsibility for supporting alignment, execution, and outcomes without direct authority.
• Product implementation, business implementation, or large-scale organizational change implementation experience required.
• Preference will be given to candidates with experience in financial services, insurance, banking, wealth management, asset management, or other highly regulated industries.
• Experience supporting governance frameworks, leadership reporting, strategic roadmaps, and performance measurement practices for cross-functional initiatives.
• Experience partnering with senior leaders and stakeholders to translate strategic objectives into actionable plans and measurable business outcomes.

Certificates, Licenses, Professional Designations

• PMP, PgMP, Lean Six Sigma, Prosci Change Management, or other relevant project, program, or change management certification is a plus.

Knowledge, Skills And Abilities

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills with the ability to effectively present information, facilitate discussions, and influence stakeholders across multiple levels of the organization.
• Strong stakeholder management and relationship building skills.
• Excellent interpersonal skills with the ability to build trust and collaborate across diverse teams.
• Strong strategic thinking and analytical skills with the ability to connect tactical activities to broader business objectives.
• Strong problem‑solving skills with the ability to define issues, gather information, evaluate alternatives, and develop actionable recommendations.
• Ability to navigate ambiguity, establish structure, and drive execution in dynamic environments.
• Ability to analyze business processes, identify opportunities, and recommend improvements.
• Ability to manage multiple initiatives simultaneously while balancing competing priorities.
• Ability to work cooperatively and effectively with employees, customers, vendors, and external partners.
• Ability to successfully handle pressure and meet deadlines in a fast‑paced environment.
• Strong organization, facilitation, project management, and change leadership capabilities.
• Proficient in the use of Microsoft Office Suite including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Visio, Project, Outlook, and collaboration tools.
• Demonstrated ability to support decision‑making and drive consensus among senior leaders and stakeholders with competing priorities.
• Strong understanding of organizational change management principles and business implementation practices.
• Ability to lead through influence, build alignment across organizational boundaries, and drive accountability without direct reporting authority.

This description covers the major purpose and essential functions of the job. It is not intended to give all details or a step‑by‑step account of the way each task is to be performed. Employees may receive other job‑related instructions and be required to perform other job‑related work requested by their manager. All requirements are subject to possible modification to provide reasonable accommodation to qualified individuals with disabilities.

At American Equity, our core values—Empowered, Passion, Integrity, and Caring—are more than words. They guide how we support one another and how we serve our clients every day. To learn more about American Equity, our culture, and our values, visit the Careers site.

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