Head of Strategy & Planning, Product

At MassMutual, we’re passionate about helping millions of people find financial freedom. This passion has driven our approach to developing products which best meet the needs of our customers. To help us achieve our mission, we are hiring a Head of Strategy & Planning to join our Product team.

As the Head of Strategy & Planning, you’ll use your skills to drive a culture of product innovation and ideation and use your influence of thought leadership to drive a culture of agility and change, all in the spirit of providing the best outcomes for our customers and employees.

Objectives of this role:

The Product Head of Strategy and Planning will be a key member of the Product Senior Leadership Team for the enterprise-wide, growth driven Product organization within Brand, Product & Affiliated Distribution (BP&AD). Play a role in transforming and modernizing the product manufacturing processes and positioning us for future growth. The role will collaborate across the enterprise to prioritize and drive Product initiatives and assess competing resources/initiatives that may impact the team’s planned outcomes. This role will also coordinate, counsel and serve as a resource for the Product senior leadership team relative to various short-term initiatives, programs and strategies to ensure alignment with short to longer-term strategic priorities, financial plans and align execution.

Understand industry Competitive Landscape to ensure all Product line strategies position MassMutual for sales success and profitability. Elevate awareness of product-relevant industry and distribution trends and partner with Product line leads to apply these trends to successful outcomes. Assist in the development of innovative and profitable strategy recommendations.

Partnering with Head of Product to run the business including overseeing the budget process, expense management, facilities requirements and organizational communications. Ensuring we are properly managing talent and developing a winning culture.

Daily and monthly responsibilities:

• Through effective influencing, collaboration, mentoring and communication drive the execution of the team objectives

• Engage and collaborate with key stakeholders (i.e., Head of Product and product team, Finance, internal and external industry SMEs, ETX and Distribution channels)

• Ensure team talent development is a priority, modeling the performance management cycles (Check-Ins, quality and actionable pipeline and succession and development plans)

• Lead change management efforts across the organization, and partner with leaders to outline operational workflows, responsibility models (RACI), demand and capacity models, prioritization, process review and improvements; creation of road map to sequence transition activities, and a set of guiding principles on how to best position the organization and the employees to prepare for the transformation efforts. The role will assist with organizational FTE management and structure.

• Lead metrics and measurements data and partner with Product line leads to ensure data drives business decisions with positive outcomes

• Oversee all Budget considerations for individual team and the Product organization in a quality and timely manner

• Execute Product organization-wide impact projects, as appropriate

The Team:

As a member of this team you are responsible for supporting many cross channel business partners which requires a high level of collaboration, business acumen, accountability, resilience and strong communication.  This team is motivated by finding the best product solutions and opportunities while always thinking in a forward and innovative way to break out of the crowded financial competitive space and utilizing the modern marketing technology and evolving channel ideas. 

The Impact: 

As Head of Strategy and Planning for the Product organization, this person will be responsible for the overall development, implementation and guidance over the team to build all operational and financial strategies for the BP&AD Product programs as well as the resourcing and efficiency of the strategic roadmap and measurement of all programs. 

Skills and qualifications:

Demonstrated ability to:

• Think strategically and present ideas well in written and verbal form; presentation skills

• Contribute strategic thought partnership as an integral part of the Product Senior Leadership team

• Quickly establish and maintain effective working relationships with people at all levels (executive through entry); recognized as an effective, strong collaborator

• Engage and inspire others and build a culture of innovation / ideation, inclusion, and diverse thought leadership

• Model MassMutual’s Core Values: Focus on the Customer, Act with Integrity, Value People, Work Collaboratively, Achieve Results

• Partner cross-functionally to reconcile competing priorities while meeting organizational objectives

• Lead successful results through others at both mid to upper management and earlier career

• Apply intellectual curiosity to all aspects of the role

• Develop talent, including pipeline and succession planning

• Model change leadership / agility; change champion. Successfully personally navigate and guide others to navigate in an agile and evolving culture of change

• Effectively communicate with all mediums (verbal, written, presentation)

• Effectively represent MassMutual at external conferences, industry events

• Successfully lead projects from conception to quality execution

• Operate with a high level of critical thinking and analytical skills

• Understand and work with numbers in a variety of formats (metrics, measurements, budget)

Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree in Business/Finance/Economics or Marketing required. Other advanced degrees such as MBA, CFA, CPA are preferred

• 10+ years of business strategy experience in a progressively increasing leadership role with large-scale projects and transformation programs

• Excellent communication and organizational skills, and demonstrated leadership skills 

• Outstanding strategic thinking, analytical and decision making skills

• Excellent project management skills, with the ability to manage complex plans, and juggle multiple priorities and deadlines, while flexing and adapting to evolving environment.

• Must be collaborative partner within Product team and internal and external business partners with ability to build relationships across diverse stakeholder and constituent groups.  Ability to serve as key influencer and evangelize goals of the Product organization.

• Expert at juggling multiple priorities through strong project-management skills, leadership and collaboration.

• Experience working with financial budgets, technology spend, expense management

• Knowledge of MassMutual products

• Ability to prepare advanced/professional PowerPoint presentations.

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MassMutual is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer Minority/Female/Sexual Orientation/Gender Identity/Individual with Disability/Protected Veteran. We welcome all persons to apply. Note: Veterans are welcome to apply, regardless of their discharge status.

If you need an accommodation to complete the application process, please contact us and share the specifics of the assistance you need.