Director, Finance Transformation & Execution

UFG is seeking a Director, Finance Transformation & Execution who will partner with the finance leadership team to develop and adhere to the finance roadmap, ensuring it aligns with the enterprise strategic plan. This role will collaborate with IT and other business units to coordinate initiatives, manage shared resources, and ensure projects are delivered on time, on budget, and in alignment with business objectives. Serving as a central liaison, this individual ensures transparency in portfolio priorities, promotes effective management practices, and is responsible for ensuring leadership is aware of risks, issues and dependencies as Finance modernizes processes, policies, and systems in support of organizational growth.

This position requires a blend of finance expertise, strong project and portfolio management skills, and the ability to navigate complexity and competing priorities. The Director, Finance Transformation & Execution will play a critical role in ensuring that Finance initiatives deliver measurable value while effectively preparing stakeholders for organizational change.

Essential Duties & Responsibilities: 

Strategy & Portfolio Management

• Drives strategic planning for the finance organization, ensuring operational excellence and execution, as well as alignment with strategic goals.
• Ensures finance initiatives align with enterprise goals and objectives, as well as the vision, mission, and values of the finance organization.
• Serve as liaison to the Business Enablement team, communicating funding requests, aligning resource planning, and coordinating shared services.
• Establish a roadmap for prioritized initiatives within finance based on the timeline identified by finance senior leadership and resource availability.
• Identify risks and dependencies within the portfolio; develop and implement mitigation strategies.
• Drive resolution of prioritization and execution conflicts, escalating to senior leadership as necessary.
• Collaborate with IT and other business units to communicate and develop an integrated view of finance strategic performance.
• Bring awareness and visibility to finance leadership by tracking progress, risks, issues, and dependencies that may block or impede movement forward for initiatives.

Process Improvement & Implementation

• Lead or provide guidance on implementation of finance department initiatives to achieve overall finance strategy.
• Advise on the development and implementation of process improvements to enhance accounting excellence and efficiency.
• Advise on improvements within the financial close and reporting function, safeguarding data quality and accuracy.
• Collaborate with the change management function to drive plans that support adoption of new policies, processes, and systems across finance.

Collaboration & Leadership

• Act as primary liaison between Finance, IT, and business partners for technology-enabled projects.
• Utilize creative and analytical thinking to develop solution alternatives, evaluate trade-offs, and provide recommendations.
• Promote a culture of continuous improvement within Finance, identifying opportunities to streamline processes and enhance efficiency.
• Communicate the benefits of a ‘First Team’ approach to achieving organizational strategic goals, as well as individual goals
• Bring awareness and visibility to finance leadership by tracking progress of initiatives along with any risks, issues, and dependencies that may block or impede movement forward.

Job Specifications: 

Education:

• Bachelor’s degree in accounting, Finance, or related discipline required
• MBA or other advanced degree preferred
• Project Management Professional (PMP) or equivalent certifications desirable

Experience:

• 10+ years of experience in accounting or finance within the insurance industry
• 8+ years of leadership experience
• 2+ years strategy development and execution experience, preferred
• Experience in bringing large projects to successful completion, including experience at every stage of the project.

Knowledge, skills & abilities:

• Strong leadership, facilitation and negotiation skills
• Ability to work effectively with finance and IT teams, project managers, and other subject matter experts.
• Experience presenting and reporting on project plans to appropriate stakeholders.
• Complex problem-solving and the ability to navigate ambiguity and competing priorities.
• Ability to effectively lead, coach and motivate a team to deliver stated objectives with deadlines.
• Proven ability to handle multiple projects simultaneously.
• Experience working on cross-functional teams and indirectly managing teams across business units
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with strong focus on ability to actively
• Ability to facilitate collaborative discussions and to lead effective meetings.
• Ability to work independently and proceed with objectives with limited

Working Conditions:

• General Office Environment
• Travel Requirements: Infrequent travel, only as needed

Pay Transparency Statement

UFG Insurance is committed to fair and equitable compensation practices. The base salary range for this position is $154,858 - $204,236 annually, which represents the typical range for new hires in this role. Individual pay within this range will be determined based on a variety of factors, including relevant experience, education, certifications, skills, internal equity, geography and market data. 

In addition to base salary, UFG Insurance offers a comprehensive total rewards package that includes:

• Annual incentive compensation
• Medical, dental, vision & life insurance
• Accident, critical Illness & short-term disability insurance
• Retirement plans with employer contributions
• Generous time-off program
• Programs designed to support the employee well-being and financial security.

This pay range disclosure is provided in accordance with applicable state and local pay transparency laws.