Relationship Manager

The Relationship Manager will strengthen strategic distribution partnerships across the life insurance and annuity industry, helping partners operate more effectively and achieve sustainable business growth. Acting as the operational bridge between distribution partners and internal service, operations, and technology teams, this role will lead onboarding, business readiness, and ongoing relationship development. The successful candidate will anticipate partner needs, coordinate cross-functional initiatives, and turn operational challenges into practical, scalable improvements. By combining insurance industry expertise, analytical thinking, and strong relationship management, the Relationship Manager will improve partner confidence, technology adoption, service quality, and overall business performance. This is an opportunity for a proactive professional to influence strategic priorities, lead complex initiatives, and deliver measurable results in a collaborative, evolving environment. The position is ideally based near Addison, Texas, or Montpelier, Vermont, with a hybrid arrangement; remote work may be considered for candidates outside reasonable commuting distance.

• Bachelor’s degree with at least 8 years of related experience; an advanced degree with at least 5 years of related experience; or 12 or more years of equivalent professional experience.

• Relevant experience in life insurance, annuities, financial services, relationship management, distribution support, operations, business readiness, or a related field.

• Strong knowledge of the life insurance and annuity industry, distribution practices, market trends, competitive dynamics, and the operational requirements associated with different agency structures.

• Understanding of life insurance and/or annuity distribution processes, including new business, underwriting, policy issuance, policy servicing, and field support.

• Familiarity with distribution models such as multi-level marketing (MLM), independent marketing organizations (IMOs), direct distribution, and brokerage.

• Demonstrated success managing complex partner relationships, leading onboarding activities, coordinating operational initiatives, or resolving cross-functional business challenges.

• Strong creative problem-solving skills and the ability to develop practical, scalable solutions for ambiguous or emerging business needs.

• A proactive, results-oriented approach, with the ability to identify opportunities independently and move initiatives from concept through execution and measurable outcomes.

• Sound judgment and decision-making skills, including the ability to navigate ambiguity and influence stakeholders without direct authority.

• Experience interpreting operational metrics, partner insights, and business context to identify trends, understand performance drivers, and recommend improvements.

• Experience developing business cases, strategic recommendations, or initiatives that influence operational or technology priorities.

• Excellent written, verbal, presentation, and facilitation skills, including the ability to communicate effectively with senior internal and external stakeholders.

• Strong organizational and prioritization skills, with the ability to manage multiple responsibilities in a matrixed environment.

• Proficiency with Microsoft Office and relevant collaboration, customer relationship management (CRM), workflow, and reporting tools.

• Willingness and ability to travel as business needs require.

• Preferred experience supporting field leaders, agencies, advisors, key accounts, or other distribution-facing relationships.

• Preferred experience in strategic account management, partner onboarding, relationship governance, executive partner engagement, and cross-functional service coordination.

• Preferred experience with business readiness, implementation planning, testing, adoption, post-implementation assessment, or continuous-improvement initiatives.

• Familiarity with advisor-facing platforms, CRM systems, digital application platforms, workflow tools, document-management systems, or sales-enablement technology is an advantage.

• Relevant professional certifications in insurance, project management, process improvement, or change management are beneficial.

• Demonstrated learning agility, customer focus, relationship-building ability, effective communication, results orientation, and commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.

• Ability to use AI-enabled tools thoughtfully, review and validate AI-generated content, and maintain accountability for the accuracy, fairness, quality, and integrity of work.