Project Assistant

Project Assistant - Operations

Job Summary:

This position provides project & operational support to realize product vision. The responsibilities require a focus on stakeholder needs, rapport building, independent judgment, initiative, intuition in supporting the needs of a rapid paced, customer focused, changing organization. The selected candidate must be able to thrive in supporting interactions with business units, external partners with an aptitude for problem management and solutioning while being creative with supporting a project execution discipline. Prioritizing, scheduling, implementing all tasks with a sense of urgency, meeting timelines and deliverables are keys to success while maintaining the highest level of confidentiality and ethics.

Key Responsibilities:

• Project Management. Support project management activities by acting as a liaison between the business area and technology teams. Lead the development of new business cases and advocate for efficiencies & enhancements to benefit internal operational teams as well as customers. Develop new tools for usage in managing projects. Track issues and risks on an ongoing basis. Create dashboards and metrics for reporting to leadership.

• Develop testing plans and coordinate user acceptance testing activities. Leverage industry tools such as JIRA to track and report defects. Perform production launch validations and sign off on key deployments and fixes.

• Core Operations. Note pain points and areas of improvement through unique perspective within the operational areas.

• Exemplify servant leadership values by demonstrating new technology and solutions to team members within the operational areas. Train and share new enhancements, aiming to deliver time savings and other improvements.

• Reporting and Communication. Creating organized, well designed and professional looking PowerPoint presentations and Word documentation for executive management consumption is a must. Active review of communications including but not limited to proof reading, drafting and formatting is required. This also includes participating in meetings where whiteboards and other notes need to be formalized into communication material. Must be able to read and analyze data in excel and other tools to create summaries for executive review.

• Action item tracking & follow-through. Requires recording minutes at meetings and extensive follow-up to manage tasks that arise from multiple meetings. Distribute and follow-through with communications or materials to internal stakeholders or sponsors in a timely and professional manner

• Supporting cross-functional projects between the various business units to ensure optimal client satisfaction. Managing complex dependencies in rapidly changing environments. Requires pragmatism and persistence in diverse situations.

• Process Improvement. Actively supports process improvement across the organization. Leverages knowledge, tools and methodologies to continuously assist in improving effectiveness of the team. Must be able to manage and embrace change.

• Relationship Building. Acts as a liaison across the organization prompting employee engagement and building rapport with project managers, business analysts, team members, leaders and external partners. A successful candidate will be approachable with a friendly demeanor.

Job Requirements:

• Bachelor's degree preferred with at least three to five years of relevant experience

• Life & Annuity industry experience desired but not required

• Must have a customer-centric thought process with a focus on end user experience

• Experience creating user stories, business requirements, use cases, and process maps preferred

• Must be able to interact effectively with all levels of the organization, including senior executives as well as external clients and vendors

• Strong organization and communication skills (verbal and written)

• Ability to work collaboratively, bridging the gap between business and IT teams

• Ability to multi-task and prioritize effectively; must work well under pressure to ensure goals accomplished on-time and accurately

• Must be resourceful, proactive self-starter with the ability to think ahead

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills; ability to write use cases & other documentation

• Extremely proficient user of Microsoft Office (Excel, Word, Outlook and PowerPoint)

• Aptitude for data analysis with the ability to dive deep on business case, project management, and test plan management activities

• Must be willing and able to work more than a 40 hour work week when necessary

• Must be able to successfully pass a background check and fingerprinting (where applicable)

• Must be able to pass proficiency test for analytics and MS Office usage

The base compensation range represents the low and high end of the range for this position. Actual compensation will vary and may be above or below the range based on various factors including but not limited to qualifications, skills, competencies, location, and experience. The range listed is just one component of our total compensation package for employees. Other rewards may include an annual bonus, quarterly bonuses, commissions, and other long-term incentive compensation, depending on the position. National Life offers a competitive total rewards package which includes: a 401(k) retirement plan match; medical, dental, and vision insurance; a company funded wellness account for director and below employees; 10 paid holidays; a generous paid time off plan (22 days of combined time-off for non-exempt employees and exempt employees have discretion in managing their time, including scheduling time off in the normal course of business, but in no event will exempt employees receive less sick time than required by state or local law); 6 weeks of paid parental leave; and 6 weeks of paid family leave after a year of full-time employment 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. National Life Group 1 National Life Dr Montpelier, VT 05604 Social Media Policy Site Disclosure and Privacy Policy