Director Strategic Initiatives, Small Business

his goal by conducting market research, identifying emerging trends, analyzing the range of impact on our business from these external developments (requiring a thorough understanding of core business value drivers and fluency in client, operational, and financial performance analysis) and collaborating with the Head of SB Strategy and SB SLT to develop strategic plays to win in the marketplace, drive outsized growth and increase market share. Moreover, this individual will play a key role in evolving existing strategic planning and innovation frameworks to mature both practices with a One Hartford mindset and collaborate with cross-enterprise partners.

The ideal candidate is a strategic thinker with strong business acumen, exceptional communication skills, and a collaborative, customer-first mindset. The Director of Strategy will bring innovative thinking and have the curiosity to solve business problems to continuously improve and drive enhanced outcomes with business partners. This role reports to Head of Strategy, SB and is based in our Hartford, CT Home Office with a 3 day hybrid schedule or remote.

Responsibilities:

• Partner with the Head of Small Business Strategy and SLT to develop and maintain the long-term strategic vision for Small Business and advance our innovation agenda

• Serve as the analytical engine for the team, monitoring and analyzing external market, customer, distribution, and competitor trends to maintain an evergreen view of key strategic hypotheses, collaborating with various input providers across the enterprise (e.g., Economic & Geopolitical Risks team, Competitive Intelligence, Market Research)

• Develop long-term strategic plays and collaborate with the SB Transformation Office to ensure strategic alignment

• Support immediate business needs with dedicated strategic assessments (i.e., define key hypotheses, test with relevant inputs, analyze output, create compelling presentations of recommended actions/ strategies) for efforts with strong sponsorship from the SB senior leadership team

• Support quarterly leadership offsites to maintain and advance long-term strategic perspectives on SB market and competitive position

• Drive Small Business innovation efforts with a disciplined approach to identifying, testing, and scaling promising innovative ideas in collaboration with the SB Transformation Office

• Support the communication of the SB strategy and execution to senior management and external stakeholders

Qualifications:

• 8+ years of progressive P&C Commercial Insurance carrier experience.
  5+ years of experience in strategy/research roles at a P&C carrier or at a recognized strategy consulting firm preferred

• Strong business and financial acumen with the ability to translate complex data into actionable insights, backed by fluency in operational and financial performance analysis

• Deep intellectual curiosity and unconstrained mindset

• Experience with hypothesis-driven market, competitive, trends research that drives to specific strategic insights and recommendations

• Proven ability to challenge conventional wisdom constructively and collaboratively, fostering alignment and buy-in across stakeholders

• Proven ability to build relationships and influence across a matrixed organization, becoming a trusted thought partner to senior leadership

• Skilled storyteller able to synthesize a large volume of information and articulate complex ideas in a clear, concise, and compelling deliverables tailored to a variety of audiences, including senior management and Board of Directors

• Self-starter comfortable working in a small, agile, and highly matrixed team

• Expert in PowerPoint and Excel; experienced with Co-Pilot

Compensation

The listed annualized base pay range is primarily based on analysis of similar positions in the external market. Actual base pay could vary and may be above or below the listed range based on factors including but not limited to performance, proficiency and demonstration of competencies required for the role. The base pay is just one component of The Hartford's total compensation package for employees. Other rewards may include short-term or annual bonuses, long-term incentives, and on-the-spot recognition. The annualized base pay range for this role is:

$140,400 - $210,600

Equal Opportunity Employer/Sex/Race/Color/Veterans/Disability/Sexual Orientation/Gender Identity or Expression/Religion/Age

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