Associate Director, Actuarial Systems & Innovation

Associate Director, Actuarial Systems & Data Solutions National Life Group is an insurance company with a long history of keeping its promises. This role supports actuarial production processes, system maintenance, data analytics, change management, process automation, and actuarial platform modernization within the Actuarial Innovation team. Note: We do not offer visa sponsorship for this position. The Associate Director will partner with Actuarial Valuation, Modeling Center of Excellence (MCoE), IT, Finance, and other cross-functional teams to translate business needs into technology and data solutions, prioritize actuarial system and data requests, coordinate testing and implementation activities, and ensure actuarial systems and data processes are reliable, scalable, well-controlled, and aligned with business objectives. This position serves as a hands-on partner to the Senior Director, supporting day-to-day issue resolution, governance, documentation, and continuous improvement efforts. This role currently offers an onsite schedule with four in-office days per week during core days (Monday–Thursday); schedule and core days are subject to change with advance notice and manager discretion. Essential Duties and Responsibilities Actuarial Systems Governance & Change Management Support the actuarial change management lifecycle for systems, data pipelines, model-related infrastructure, reporting processes, and production workflows. Assist with intake, prioritization, planning, and execution of actuarial data and systems requests across Actuarial Valuation and MCoE. Support compliance with company policies, actuarial governance standards, and regulatory expectations related to actuarial systems, data, and model-supporting processes. Actuarial Data Management & Platform Enablement Partner with IT, Actuarial Valuation, and MCoE to improve data quality, consistency, accessibility, lineage, and controls across actuarial systems and platforms. Assist with enhancements to the Actuarial Data Platform and analytical capabilities supporting valuation, modeling, forecasting, experience studies, and financial reporting. Support data governance practices that improve the reliability, transparency, and usability of actuarial data across lines of business. Assess IT-sanctioned tools, platforms, and software capabilities for potential use in actuarial data processing, modeling, analytics, and reporting. Technology Partnership, Transformation & Process Improvement Translate actuarial business needs into clear requirements, user stories, process documentation, and implementation plans. Support backlog management, roadmap execution, stakeholder communications, and prioritization discussions. Foster collaboration across actuarial, IT, finance, and business teams to ensure solutions are practical, sustainable, and aligned with enterprise technology standards. Support transformation initiatives involving actuarial models, data platforms, systems, processes, and controls. Support AI innovation opportunities by identifying practical use cases for automation, advanced analytics, and AI-enabled tools that improve actuarial data processing, modeling, reporting, controls, and decision-making. Minimum Qualifications 8+ years of progressive experience in actuarial, finance, data analytics, technology, or related roles within the life insurance industry. Proven experience partnering with Actuarial, Finance, Data, and IT teams to support business-critical systems, data processes, analytical platforms, or reporting environments. Strong project management skills, including the ability to prioritize competing requests, manage timelines, track dependencies, and coordinate cross-functional deliverables. Strong understanding of data management principles, including data quality, data controls, reconciliation, lineage, documentation, governance, and issue resolution. Working knowledge of the system development lifecycle, including requirements gathering, change management, testing, deployment, production support, and control frameworks. Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to diagnose issues, identify root causes, evaluate alternatives, and drive practical solutions. Demonstrated ability to translate business needs into clear requirements and partner with technical teams to design and deliver effective solutions. Ability to build relationships, influence without direct authority, and collaborate effectively across actuarial, technology, finance, data, and business teams. Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to explain technical, data, and process concepts to both technical and non-technical audiences. Preferred Qualifications Bachelor’s degree in Actuarial Science, Mathematics, Statistics, Computer Science, Data Science, Finance, Engineering, or a related field. PMP, Agile, data management, cloud, technology, or related professional certifications. Hands-on experience or working knowledge of SQL, Databricks, Python, cloud data platforms, workflow automation tools, business intelligence tools, or similar technologies. Experience supporting complex system implementations, data platform enhancements, process automation, actuarial modernization, or enterprise transformation initiatives. Experience developing and maintaining business requirements, process documentation, control documentation, data lineage documentation, test plans, user acceptance testing materials, deployment plans, and production support procedures. Prior experience mentoring analysts, coordinating project teams, or serving as a lead for cross-functional initiatives. All applicants are expected to leverage approved AI tools, stay curious about AI-enabled ways of working, exercise judgment by reviewing AI-generated content, and adhere to the company AI guiding principles and policies related to confidentiality, data privacy, security, compliance, retention, and intellectual property. #J-18808-Ljbffr National Life Insurance Company