Chief Risk Officer

Come join one of America’s fastest-growing insurance companies. Since 1848, National Life Group has aimed to keep our promises, providing families with stability in good times and in bad. Throughout that history, we have provided peace of mind to those families as they plan their futures.

Our mission extends beyond the insurance and annuities policies that we offer. We strive to make the world a better place through our grants from our charitable foundation, paid volunteer time for our employees, environmentally sustainable and healthy workplaces, and events that promote the work of nonprofits in our own backyard.

We foster a collaborative environment with opportunities for growth and encourage our associates to live our values: Do good. Be good. Make good.

Please note that we do not offer visa sponsorship for this position.

Role Summary

The Chief Risk Officer (CRO) is the enterprise-wide executive responsible for leading National Life Group's risk management strategy, governance framework, and independent risk oversight. Reporting to the Chief Operating Officer, this role establishes the company's risk appetite, ensures effective enterprise risk management practices, and serves as the primary risk advisor to executive leadership and the Board of Directors.

The CRO partners across the enterprise to integrate risk-informed decision making into strategic planning, capital management, product development, investments, operations, and corporate initiatives. The role provides leadership for the enterprise risk organization, promotes a strong culture of governance and accountability, and ensures the organization effectively anticipates and responds to emerging risks.

This position currently offers an onsite work schedule, with the expectation that you will be in the office four (4) days per week during onsite core days. Our current onsite core days are Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. The work schedule type and core days are subject to change with advance notification and manager discretion.

Essential Duties And Responsibilities

Strategic Risk Leadership & Enterprise Oversight

• Own the company’s risk appetite and limit structure — setting, continuously refining, and holding accountability for its alignment with strategic objectives and the evolving regulatory and business environment.
• Own and oversee the delivery of National Life Group’s annual Own Risk and Solvency Assessment (ORSA), including executive sign-off.
• Serve as the accountable risk advisor to the COO, CEO, Executive Leadership Team, and the Board on the actions and strategies required to manage the company’s material risk exposures.
• Monitor and evaluate key risk indicators, industry trends, emerging risks, and regulatory and accounting developments; direct timely, strategic responses.
• Act as the company’s accountable risk officer in communications with rating agencies and regulators on risk and solvency topics.

Governance, Assurance & Controls

• Provide objective, independent perspective on the effectiveness of governance, risk management, and internal control processes across the enterprise.
• Partner closely with Internal Audit, Compliance, Legal, and Security to align risk oversight, avoid duplication, and ensure timely remediation of control deficiencies.
• Evaluate risks and controls in the development and expansion of key business functions, offering proactive advice and mitigation strategies.
• Support investigations of alleged fraud or misconduct as appropriate, coordinating with Legal, HR, Compliance, and Internal Audit.
• Champion a strong culture of ethics, transparency, and accountability across the risk function and the broader organization.

Committee Leadership & Board Reporting

• Chair the enterprise risk committee and provide executive leadership across the Investment Risk, Product Risk, Operational Risk, and Model Governance Committees.
• Serve as the primary risk voice to the Executive Leadership Team and the Board, owning the reporting on the company’s risk profile, emerging risks, control matters, and solvency.
• Communicate significant risk exposures in a clear, business-focused manner — translating technical and actuarial concepts for executive and Board-level audiences — to enable informed governance decisions.

Enterprise Collaboration & Strategic Advisory

• Provide risk and broader business perspective into strategic decisions such as target setting, product-mix strategy, new ventures, divestitures, acquisitions, joint ventures, and reinsurance proposals.
• Serve as an executive-level advisor on strategic initiatives, major transactions, process redesigns, and significant system implementations.
• Partner regularly with the Capital Development team on new transactions.
• Work effectively and influence across organizational boundaries by building strong relationships with leaders in the business and functional units.

Modeling, Analytics & AI-Enabled Insight

• Support and strengthen modeling capabilities, including model risk management, model validation, and model governance.
• Advance the development and use of analytics throughout the organization; partner closely with the Head of IT to source, organize, and communicate actionable analytics to business stakeholders.
• Champion the responsible use of data analytics, AI, and continuous-monitoring tools to enhance the efficiency, insight, and forward-looking capability of the risk function.

Leadership, Talent & Organizational Development

• Own the structure, capability, and performance of the enterprise risk organization; recruit, develop, and retain the highest-quality risk talent and promote external involvement in industry and professional organizations.
• Build, lead, and retain a high-performing, diverse team with the skills, certifications, and mindset required for a future-ready risk function.
• Oversee leadership development, succession planning, and competency assessments to ensure a sustainable talent pipeline.
• Recognize and reward high performance, innovation, and collaborative behavior aligned with enterprise values.
• All other duties as assigned.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field (e.g., actuarial science, finance, economics, accounting, or business).
• A minimum of 15 years of progressively responsible leadership experience in financial services — life insurance and annuity strongly preferred — including prior experience as a Chief Risk Officer or in a top-tier senior risk-executive role.
• Direct experience interacting with, and reporting to, a Board of Directors and its committees (including a Risk and/or Audit Committee).
• Strong, demonstrated leadership and change-management ability, with a proven track record of developing talent and leading and influencing across a diverse organization.
• Strong technical risk foundation, together with a deep understanding of enterprise risk management and internal‑control concepts and techniques.
• Excellent financial knowledge and a deep understanding of the economic, actuarial, and accounting aspects of insurance and annuity products.
• Strong analytical, independent, and critical‑thinking and problem‑solving skills; able to assess financial, operational, and qualitative information and make insightful recommendations that impact business outcomes.
• Outstanding written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to explain complex technical and actuarial concepts to actuarial and non‑actuarial executive audiences.
• Up-to-date knowledge of regulatory and accounting developments affecting the insurance business, particularly as they relate to risk and finance, and a sophisticated perspective on the demands of a diversified financial services organization and the competition for capital and liquidity.
• This position currently offers an onsite hybrid schedule, with the expectation of four days per week in the office during onsite core days (currently Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday). Schedule type and core days are subject to change with advance notification and manager discretion.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master’s degree in a relevant field.
• Strong preference for risk-related credentials such as Fellow of the Society of Actuaries (FSA), Chartered Enterprise Risk Analyst (CERA), or Financial Risk Manager (FRM). Governance and assurance credentials — such as Certified Internal Auditor (CIA) or Certified Public Accountant (CPA) are a plus.
• Familiarity with GRC (governance, risk, and compliance) tooling and with model risk management frameworks.
• A strong financial sense together with the ability to put operational plans into place and execute with a focus on results.

AI Proficiency Expectations

At National Life Group, we view AI as an enabler of human potential. We use AI to help us work smarter, serve more clients, and keep our promises, while remaining a relationship‑driven business where our people are our greatest strength.

All Applicants Are Expected To

• Leverage approved AI tools, where appropriate, to improve the efficiency, quality, and impact of their work.
• Stay curious and open to new AI‑enabled ways of working.
• Exercise sound judgment by reviewing and validating AI‑generated content.
• Maintain accountability for the accuracy, quality, fairness, and integrity of work products by adhering to National Life's AI guiding principles.
• Use AI responsibly and in accordance with company policies related to confidentiality, data privacy, security, compliance, retention, and intellectual property.

Applicants In AI‑forward Roles Are Also Expected To

• Identify practical opportunities to apply AI to improve workflows, productivity, analysis, and business outcomes.
• Create effective prompts, workflows, controls, and human‑in‑the‑loop (HITL) review processes that support responsible AI use.
• Critically evaluate AI‑generated outputs for accuracy, quality, bias, fairness, confidentiality, compliance, security, and business relevance.
• Partner appropriately with Legal, Compliance, Risk, Security, Data/Technology, and business stakeholders to move AI ideas from experimentation to responsible adoption.
• Help model responsible, human‑centered AI adoption across the organization.

Core Competencies

• Establishes Strategic Direction – Shapes a compelling strategy through planning and alignment to set the organization apart from competitors; Ability to anticipate various outcomes and plans ahead; Has broad knowledge and perspective.
• Decision Making and Judgement – Makes informed decisions regarding business direction that considers facts, constraints, and risks.
• Drives Execution – Establishes accountability for hitting business targets; Tracks progress on key metrics; Balances long‑term strategic objectives with short‑term tactical goals.
• Demonstrates Emotional Intelligence – Exhibits the ability to recognize, understand, and manage emotions and how emotions can influence others; Uses a combination of feedback and reflection to gain productive insight into personal strengths and opportunities.
• Exhibits Critical and Creative Thinking – Engaging thinking skills that focus on logic and reasoning to make decisions (critical) and innovative solutions to solve problems (creative).
• Leads Organizational Change – Develops strategic goals and allocates resources to align with large‑scale organizational shifts.
• Organizational Awareness – Uses knowledge of the organizational culture to solve problems and accomplish goals.
• Drives Vision and Purpose – Paints a compelling picture of the vision and strategy that motivates others to action.

Benefits

• Your benefits start day one and are flexible and customizable to your and your family’s specific needs. Check out the BENEFITS of a Career at National Life!

Base Pay Range

The base pay range for this position is the range National Life reasonably and in good faith expects to pay for the position taking into account the wide variety of factors, including: prior experience and job‑related knowledge; education, training and certificates; current business needs; and market factors. The final salary or hourly wages offered may be outside of this range based on other reasons and individual circumstances.

Additional Compensation and Benefits

The total compensation package for this position may also include a full range of medical, financial, and/or other benefits (including 401(k) eligibility and various paid time off benefits, such as vacation, sick time, and parental leave), dependent on the position offered. The successful candidate may also be eligible to participate in National Life’s discretionary annual incentive programs, subject to the rules governing such programs. If hired, the employee will be in an "at‑will position" and National Life reserves the right to modify base salary (as well as any other discretionary payment or compensation or benefit program) at any time, including for reasons related to individual performance, company or individual department/team performance, and market factors.

National Life is accepting applications for this role on an ongoing basis and the role remains open until filled.

Salary Pay Range

$300,000 - $440,000 USD

Corporate Information

National Life Group® is a trade name of National Life Insurance Company, Montpelier, VT – founded in 1848, Life Insurance Company of the Southwest, Addison, TX – chartered in 1955, and their affiliates. Each company of National Life Group is solely responsible for its own financial condition and contractual obligations. Life Insurance Company of the Southwest is not an authorized insurer in New York and does not conduct insurance business in New York. Equity Services, Inc., Member FINRA/SIPC, is a Broker/Dealer and Registered Investment Adviser affiliate of National Life Insurance Company. All other entities are independent of the companies of National Life Group.

Fortune 1000 status is based on the consolidated financial results of all National Life Group companies.

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National Life Group

1 National Life Dr

Montpelier, VT 05604