Job Descriptions: Financial Services & Insurance

We’re assembling collection of job descriptions for a wide array of innovation-related roles, including in the financial services, insurance, and payments industries. We hope it’ll be useful as you’re trying to build out your own innovation team — or to see how other companies describe what innovation means to them, who innovation leaders report to, etc.

You can help. E-mail us with job descriptions you’ve seen, or used at your organization.

(Please note: Some of these searches may be on-going, but most aren’t. Please check with the company, LinkedIn, or Indeed to confirm.)

Innovation Manager/Targeted Markets, Allstate

About the Team: The Targeted Markets team is responsible for identifying consumer’s insights and needs and exploring opportunities to capitalize on these insights by building new or enhancing existing products and services for to an appropriate target market; including life-stage segments, demographical segments and multi-cultural segments. This team discovers and evaluates customer segmented marketing to launch appropriate product/service ideas, or strategic product extensions; and translates research discoveries of the various targeted customer-life, demographic and multi-cultural segments into usable and marketable products/services. Thinking beyond insurance and into Protection and Prevention, the Targeted Markets team leads, plans and manages all phases of the product/service life cycle including innovation, ideation, proof of concept, prototyping and launch. The Targeted Markets team partners with business units to ensure the product/service packaging effectively aligns with the consumer segment they are trying to reach.  This team partners with other Product/Service Innovation & Development teams (Vehicle, Home, PMO) through product/service development and launch into the marketplace.   

About the Job: The Innovation Manager, Targeted Markets, will be responsible for managing innovation initiatives for life-stage, demographical and multi-cultural segments, executing initiatives and projects consistent with business strategies, along with serving as a team and subject matter expert in the area of targeted segments and innovation.  

• Manage products/service initiatives that address customers’ insights and needs based on the segment being targeted; solve problems and provide continued organic growth to Allstate
• Design, research, create, evaluate and recommend new innovation concepts and strategies
• Share authority for decisions that translate strategies into programs and procedures
• Provide input into the development and implementation of a 3-year product strategy and execution roadmap based on customer segments, incorporating data from external markets and consumer insights
• Introduce and lead change effectively as it pertains to the development of products/service based on customer insights, ensuring that products are innovatively driven and responsive to market and consumer needs.
• Partner with AORs/business units to ensure that products/services are packaged and designed effectively, aligning with customer insights and preferences, Allstate’s Customer Value Proposition (CVP) and the customer-life segment being targeted
• Provide direction and guidance in managing the evolving product/service strategies, working collaboratively with external vendors, Product Operations, Allstate Technology Operations and other AORs to develop and deliver new services
• Contribute to pipeline planning to ensure that innovations are aligned with Allstate strategic goals and customer value propositions, driven by customer insights, and successful in market.Lead or assist development of resources (methods, tools, templates, etc.) to improve innovation effectiveness
• Effectively manage Allstate resources, ensuring quality and timeliness.

Desired Skills and Experience

• 7 – 10 years of related experience; expertise in segment marketing, product management, and new product development
• Broad expertise in generating, evaluating and implementing innovative product/service ideas that incorporate customer insights and preferences
• Expertise in targeting various markets/segments for product and/or services (3+ yrs)
• Comfort in test and learn environment, with a proven ability to develop and quickly revise business tactics to take advantage of market opportunities
• Ability to analyze and interpret complex concepts and the ability to solve complex problems
• Ability to measure, evaluate and act on financial and operational results;
• Advanced organization and project/program management skills
• Natural curiosity and advanced strategic/analytic skills
• Advanced communication, presentation and story-telling capabilities
• Experience in strategic design or other innovation design discipline preferred
• Bachelor’s degree required, advanced degree preferred

Senior Innovation Analyst/New Ventures, Assurant

The New Ventures Team at Assurant is charged with driving top-line growth by creating transformational new businesses. We pride ourselves with the ability to break typical insurance paradigms and create businesses that disrupt these paradigms. New Ventures drives a rapid pipeline of new ideas through development & experimentation, all the way to commercialization. We focus on the big, fast and doable. Our New Ventures team is lean by design, giving our team members the opportunity to work with Assurant senior leaders & external agencies/partners/start-ups.?The Sr. Innovation Analyst will focus on the idea generation process, business case development, benchmarking and case study development. Finally, this analyst will help the New Ventures team build new initiatives within our team.

Responsibilities: This Analyst’s role will report to the Innovation Director, Ideation & Consumer Strategy, doing the following.

1. Idea Generation & Evaluation
   • Will execute the annual plan for iNET set forth from the Innovation Director to generate transformational ideas for New Ventures. This individual will support the Innovation Director in implementing weekly calls to evolve idea canvases and business cases. They will drive organization of iNET meetings (remote & in-person).
   • Will aid in the usage, further development & implementation of idea generation tools & techniques (like the idea canvas & iDEALAB) for internal and external ideation. This includes creative engagement & interaction with key members of our innovation team and partnership agencies who help New Ventures execute our mission.
   • Will execute monthly webstorms to increase idea generation & productivity of iDEALAB, the web-based tool for innovation diffusion.
   • Assist the Innovation Director in managing the Open Innovation Process to generate the most compelling ideas & most efficient way to evaluate those ideas.
   • Assists with day-to-day management of platform (once developed) and helps filter ideas to the Innovation Director. Gets appropriate feedback from the team to push ideas forward.
   • Think strategically and use project management disciplines to rapidly drive a funnel of new ideas to business case development.
   • Will collect, analyze & disseminate cultural trends that are applicable to our innovation pipeline & strategic platforms
2.  Business Case Development
   • Provide interrogation and analysis of the innovation ideas and ability to build concepts that address new business models, routes to market, risk assessment and new consumer targets.
   • Utilize financial acumen to push through new business models & develop transformational ways of making money from creative ideas.
   • Identify critical assumptions that factor into a successful business case or value proposition. Work with Innovation Director of Ideation & Innovation Director of Experimentation to test these critical assumptions via the experiment.
3.  Benchmarking & Process Development
   • Inspire the innovation process by continuously collecting and disseminating secondary data and insights from published sources to support New Ventures idea generation & evaluation.
   • Writes case studies to analyze and inspire transformational questions to influence platform development and idea generation.
   • Assist in developing innovation process for the New Ventures team as we evolve our existing process and enhance new process within our team (specifically pertaining to open innovation practices and idea evaluation).
   • Manage the administration of iDEALAB & works to enhance our existing inventory of ideas so that they can be easily accessed and utilized.
4.  Knowledge Development & New Initiatives
   • Leads the development & framework exploration for new initiatives on the New Ventures team.
   • Researches & summarizes external insights to help influence the direction of new initiatives.
   • Articulates new ideas and initiatives in deck format and helps develop the communication points for internal sell-in

Required Skills & Job Specifications

• Proven project management skills
• A natural inclination to explore and use creativity and curiosity to problem solve
• Bachelor’s or graduate degree in Business Administration or related field preferred
• 3+ years as an analyst and/or innovation team member
• Ability to express strategic thinking in a compelling way
• Ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously, and meet tight deadlines
• Experience working with and directing outside consultants/agencies
• Cultural fit: comfortable in a fast-paced, entrepreneurial environment, while simultaneously understanding the needs, process and mindset of a large corporation

Required Qualities we are looking for in this candidate:

• High attention to detail?Strong analytical capability & financial acumen
• Understands the key components of a business case and what levers can be influenced to push an idea forward
• Is process drivenIs social media-savvy
• Has a proven track record of analyzing & synthesizing data

VP/Innovation, Brown Brothers Harriman

This role offers a unique and highly visible opportunity to build and shape how BBH innovates, and to help transform promising ideas into new businesses that have the potential to make a major impact on the future of the firm.

As an officer of the bank, you will be a direct report of the firm’s Head of Innovation and be the Innovation Discipline’s third employee.

We are building a firmwide idea sourcing, refining and commercialization effort, and this role will take our best ideas and perform the in-depth analytical and strategic work to answer the questions “should we do this, and if so, how?”

The scope of this role is to evaluate and analyze new business ideas that appear promising, develop a recommended course of action, present the analysis to the firm’s leadership, and then execute on the recommendations. In practice, this will be a combination of strategic analysis and then helping to build and grow the emerging businesses that we choose to fund. In addition, the successful candidate will be expected to make meaningful strategic and intellectual contributions to the focus, approach and structure of the Innovation Discipline.

The expectation is that the successful candidate will have the skills and maturity necessary to structure, perform and present the analysis in a largely self-directed manner, drawing upon ample internal and external resources as needed.

In addition to being intellectually sharp, having stellar presentation skills and being very creative, it is also important to be able to build relationships quickly at all levels of the firm, be comfortable with ambiguity, work hard, and have a high level of energy and a great sense of humor.

About Innovation at BBH

The central Innovation Discipline was established in June 2010, and building a culture of innovation is one of the firm’s four top strategic priorities. The Innovation Discipline’s mission is to serve as a firmwide catalyst and resource for commercial idea generation, refinement and implementation, and to create the framework for a successful long-term innovation program. Or, as we tend to describe it, we innovate like it’s our job.

The team is based in Boston, and our mandate extends across all of the firm’s business units and 16 global offices. In addition to our dedicated operating budget, we also have a dedicated pool of capital to fund the promising emerging business opportunities that our innovation process develops.

About Brown Brothers Harriman

Founded in 1818, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. (BBH) is a privately-held partnership serving clients globally in three main businesses: Investor Services, Investment & Wealth Management and Banking & Advisory. BBH has approximately 4,000 professionals in sixteen offices throughout North America, Europe and Asia, and is owned by its 40 partners.

Qualifications

• Education level and relevant experience: BA/BS degree required, MBA optional.
• Experience at a top management consulting firm or in a corporate strategy role
• Previous financial services experience is preferred but not required
• Knowledge of or work experience in markets outside the U.S. is preferred but not required

Senior Innovation Specialist, Prudential

This position is responsible for developing innovative ways to engage our internal market-facing associates and our external strategic relationships (financial advisors, consultants and third party partners). Engagement strategies are intended to educate and advance our market-facing professionals’ ability to position our value and to help external partners understand how they can leverage our solutions in support of their growth. These engagement strategies will include but are not limited to new/mobile technology, creative instructional design techniques and differentiated learning and communication methods. The scope of these strategies and deliverables includes both skill-based and product/technical offerings.

This role also supports the execution of Sales Enablement and Advisor Practice-Building efforts designed to differentiate Prudential throughout all stages of the sales process – contributing to and enhancing the way in which we communicate our value to each and every client and intermediary – through technology ideation and execution, problem-solving, and managing the components of and stakeholders connected with each project.

Core functional responsibilities include:

• Lead technology innovations and deliverables for the Strategic Relationships Center of Excellence, pertaining to internal training and communications, executive communications, and touch points that define the experience we create for our external strategic relationships.
• Partner with product, marketing and skill training experts to create unique training experiences for internal market-facing associates and our financial advisor partners, utilizing a blended approach to learning and communication including classroom, online, new technology, and unique job aids that enhance our respective audiences’ appetite for learning and the retention of what is taught. This includes producing the eLearning programs and other multi-media deliverables created in partnership with Senior Learning and Communication Specialists.
• Stay connected with all training and communication touch points to identify synergies and opportunities to better manage workflow, process, and execution. This includes ownership of the Training and Communication team’s master calendar/project matrix as well as crafting project plans for and overseeing the execution of learning programs and large communication deliverables to ensure they are delivered on time and with quality.
• Serve as the liaison, primary contact, and educator for outside vendors, coaches, and consultants whose niche areas of expertise comprise Top of the Rock University; support the customization of programs to our business. This also includes developing and executing on a strategy to expand the University’s scope and finding new and creative ways to reinforce programs by leveraging new technology so that the learning sticks.
• Support sales enablement efforts including prospect, client and advisor site visit innovations, multi-media delivery of client-specific messaging on our value, video/montage and Brainshark presentation production and more. This role exists to imagine new possibilities and ways to differentiate Prudential and enhance our relationships with the marketplace.
• Support advisor practice-building efforts, which include all of the ways we help our intermediary partners grow their businesses. This includes custom skill- and product-training program development, website enhancement, video production, sales and marketing support, social-media training and support, and more – the possibilities are limitless.
• Demonstrate technical competence as an enterprise resource with a strong understanding of technology, retirement products, services, and processes.
• Measure the impact of our above-outlined investments on associates’ ability to influence and enhance relationships with the marketplace and financial advisors’ relationship with and advocacy of Prudential Retirement; present results in a meaningful way and propose new ways to affect results. Desired Skills and Experience
• Strong preference for a minimum of 5 years of experience in a market-facing, training or communications role in the Retirement industry, preferably in a sales or service organization
• Superior technology expertise including experience with eLearning development software and mobile technology
• Superior problem-solving skills, with the ability to assess opportunities, think creatively, and develop and execute on a clear plan to meet discovered needs
• Must demonstrate superior communication skills, both written and verbal
• Excellent organization and project management skills and ability to prioritize and manage multiple projects at once· Must possess the ability to listen for and draw out needs, know what is important, and execute accordingly· Ability to take a lot of information and distill it into a logical and engaging learning format
• Strong influencing and motivation skills· Bachelors degree or equivalent work experienceMust be willing to travel up to 20%.

Program Manager/Innovation Concept Development, Liberty Mutual

The Personal Insurance Innovation team is looking to hire an Innovation Program Manager to join their growing group. This team takes cross-functional ownership for innovation ideas and brings them from concept development to in-market launches. Innovation is a top priority for the company, and this team has already launched several successful programs into market.

The Program Manager Concept Development will drive the ever-increasing pipeline of innovation ideas. After examining customer and prospective customer needs this role will conduct gap analyses, refine new product/service opportunities and deliver comprehensive business case analysis in collaboration with other strategic business units. This role will be responsible for applying metrics and prioritizing concepts within the innovation pipeline and allocating resources accordingly.

• Supports market research efforts and analysis to identify and refine understanding of unmet customer needs within targeted markets or products. Researches, analyzes, and develops recommendations to cross-functional department heads to expand or create programs for targeted segments through identifying market potential, defining business objectives, establishing market strategies, and estimating financial impact.
• Assists in moving projects from identification of unmet customer and prospective customer needs through to new product design and strategic development; manages implementation, including testing of products.
• Collaborates across the cross functional teams to explore and develop product concepts which support business development and increase market share. Ensures customer needs are addressed and drives new products through the stage-gate process and meets objectives.
• Researches issues and provides recommendations to resolve problems pertaining to project development activities and/or programs that are not meeting the needs of customers.
• Analyzes, interprets, and presents key results of products / concepts to senior marketing team for review.
• Works closely with cross-functional teams to execute initiatives to effectively meet business objectives.
• Identifies and understands designated customer segment and develops targeted value proposition and loyalty strategies.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in Marketing, Business Management, Communications
• 5 – 7 years of experience in a consumer marketing-driven organization.
• Understanding of customer segmentation and management techniques, as well as the business and products supported and the regulations impacting them.
• Industry experience in Insurance services marketing industries with multiple sales channels.
• Solid, analytical, organization, communication and presentation skills.
• Highly collaborative ability to effectively interact with all levels of the organization.

Business Leader/Innovation Management, MasterCard

Job Overview: Innovation management within MasterCard Labs, with lead responsibility for all LAC-specific innovation management initiatives. Support and management of the flow of ideas into MasterCard Labs, the preparation of ideas for presentation to the Innovation Council, and special project support in the establishment and execution of new innovation processes within MasterCard. Advocates for innovation at MasterCard both internally and externally, serving as the primary face for MasterCard Labs externally in LAC and potentially other global venues.

Major Accountabilities:

• Bridge the gap between business and technology to help create the environment for new, quality breakthrough ideas for MasterCard; proactively generate and lead initiatives to drive the flow of disruptive technology-dependent ideas into MasterCard Labs
• Manage MasterCard Labs involvement in broader innovation stimulation techniques – managing pilots and implementation of activities and events such as Innovation Time, Innovation Express, Involve, Dot Events, Innovation Competitions, Formalized Collective Brainstorming, etc. to find techniques that work within MasterCard, and ultimately support the scaling of successful techniques across the whole organization.
• Manage stage gating process and disposition of ideas that will cover multiple types of products, technologies and business solutions
• Evaluate ideas using stage gating criteria for new ideas based on factors such as market size, time and cost to develop, competitive assessment, consumer needs, partner needs, and fit with MasterCard objectives, etc.; concurrently develop solutions to improve the ideas to maximize future financial benefit for MasterCard
• Increase MasterCard’s reputation for innovation as the face of MasterCard Labs and MasterCard innovation to external parties, particularly customers, industry audiences, and other innovation entities for the LAC and across other markets as needed
• Support and manage the preparation and presentation of ideas to executives and the Innovation Council
• Act as the liaison for Labs in the regional Innovation Task Force, with responsibilities ranging from evaluation of ideas to presenting and driving initiatives through LAC Executive Committee review.
• Own the delivery and execution of global initiatives and support the delivery and execution of regional initiatives driving toward achievement of MasterCard Labs metrics for innovation productivity, reach, quality and process effectiveness
• Manage and monitor specific innovation projects in partnership with Labs Technology team(s) to ensure ideas are developed and advanced according to Labs model and then graduated to business units for commercialization
• Support MasterCard Labs communications with the rest of the organization to foster an innovative culture; drive global and regional programs as appropriate
• Liaise with MasterCard business units, particularly Product, Marketing and Sales, and Communications teams, identifying synergies between Labs and these groups and serving as the face of Innovation Management to MasterCard staff in LAC and in other regions as needed
• Support the evaluation for potential expansion of Labs to other locations in the region
• Explore and support development of MasterCard Labs’ relationships with external parties such as other innovation entities, Labs organizations, and colleges/universities.Bolster MasterCard’s external image as an innovative company by engaging and interacting with and presenting to members of the startup and related communities.
• Be a catalyst for innovation within MasterCard

Education (preferred):

• Bachelor’s degree
• MBA

Knowledge/Experience (preferred):

• Demonstrated experience in innovation
• Entrepreneurial, experience in a start-up and corporate environment
• Must have experience and expertise across multiple existing and emerging technologies with demonstrated ability to link technology and multiple aspects of payments business, i.e., understand technology and apply it to business challenges

Skills/Abilities:

• High energy, can-do attitude, strong desire to succeed
• Strong presentation skills—must have persuasive “presence” and ability to effectively communicate technology to business people and business to technology people
• Leadership skills—must be able to influence others without reporting relationships
• Analytical and strategic skills
• Organized, with an ability to prioritize and tailor complex information to different audience needs
• Ability to creatively and effectively link technology and business
• Ability to act effectively as a brand ambassador

Senior Director/Innovation Incubator, Visa

Visa is selectively recruiting for a Leader who will help build and lead Visa’s Foster City-based Incubation Unit. You will have the rare opportunity to work at the vanguard of payments, mobile solutions, social media capabilities, digital commerce experiences and a wide range of emerging digital payment platforms. You will reimagine how consumers interact with their money for payments and commerce through innovative product concepts, prototypes, and pilots that delight our customers and position our company for substantial growth.

Responsibilities:

• Lead rapid prototyping and piloting of new consumer experiences. You will be part of a highly dynamic, lean, and multi-disciplinary team to validate hypotheses and new product concepts
• Integrate broad knowledge of product concepts in emerging spaces (e.g. loyalty platforms, business analytics, authorization, and identity management) to develop viewpoints that inform internal development.
• Collaborate with external partners. You will also help us nurture relationships with key external stakeholders in the payments and commerce ecosystem including academics, entrepreneurs, VCs, etc. You will be a key team member in structuring business development relationships with external pilot partners.
• As the senior member of the Visa Incubation Unit, you will interface directly and often with officers throughout Visa’s business units, with the explicit objective of helping accelerate the firm’s corporate agendas through research and learning, rapid prototyping, and applied pilot market tests.
• Work closely with the enterprise research and development function to complete the innovation lifecycle at Visa.
• Provide consultative development services to validate/prototype ideas for Visa products and services.
• Define/evolve the incubation innovation portfolio.
• Based on incubation results and market insight, advise Corporate Strategy, IT and Product regarding potential technology injection, partnering, and investment opportunities.
• Actively participate in the Open Innovation framework to tap into outside expertise and make Visa an innovation partner of choice.
• Act as a “front door” for innovators wanting to work with Visa.
• Develop relationships with external entities to evangelize Visa’s innovation agenda.
• Match innovation partner capabilities/goals with Visa needs.
• Leveraging the Open Innovation framework, democratize innovation at Visa by broadening access to the innovation pipeline through evangelizing, promoting, and participating in initiatives/programs designed to foster a Culture of Innovation at Visa.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree15+ years track record of building and launching consumer products on web and mobile platforms
• Deep knowledge and passion around emerging payments technologies and how they will change commerce and consumer experiences
• Ability to communicate with and inspire developers, business analysts and other team members and drive toward a product vision
• Highly polished presentation skills.
• Ability to effectively communicate with, influence, and motivate C-suite executives.
• Start-up experience
• High level of intellectual curiosity and are comfortable with ambiguity
• Ability to put team before self and are energetically collaborative
• Enjoy working with a fun team of richly creative and accomplished professionals
• Familiarity with all stages of the software development lifecycle, extensive experience with rapid prototyping and agile developmentStrong manager with excellent organization and people skills and the ability to set priorities, problem-solve, multi-task and work well in a dynamic, rapidly changing environment
• Payments and digital commerce experience a strong plus
• Ability to roll up your sleeves and directly apply your diverse knowledge set to solve complex technical and business related problems if required—we need more than pure “managers”

Recruiting & Training