VP, Customer and Business Innovation – Financial Services

If you're passionate about helping a Fortune 100 company drive their strategy forward through innovative product development and advancing strategic partnerships to protect customers (and their pets), then Nationwide's Strategy and Corporate Development Office might be the place for you! At Nationwide®, “on your side” goes beyond just words. Our customers are at the center of everything we do and we’re looking for associates who are passionate about delivering extraordinary care.

Please Note: This position is open to working remotely in the United States.

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Job Description Summary

As the VP, Customer and Business Innovation, you will be at the forefront of driving new innovative solutions and strategies to propel all the businesses within Nationwide Financial (NF) ahead of competitors. You will face off to all the NF business unit leaders, including the President of NF. You’ll be responsible for developing the strategy for innovating for the next generation of customers, advisors, and intermediaries. This role requires a dynamic individual who thrives in a fast-paced environment, possesses strong leadership skills, and has a proven track record of fostering a culture of experimentation and innovation. If you're passionate about pushing boundaries, challenging the status quo, and making a meaningful impact, we want to hear from you.

Job Description

Key Responsibilities:   

• Identify, have a point of view and a strong understanding on areas where Nationwide Financial Services may be able to leap the industry through innovation.  

• Ability to provide with clarity and focus 3-5 top areas that could utilize innovation for Nationwide to be seen as an innovative company with our intermediaries and end customers. 

• Develop and implement a robust experimentation strategy aimed at identifying and testing innovative ideas and solutions that have the potential to disrupt the financial services industry. 

• Oversee the incubation process for promising ideas, guiding cross-functional teams through the development and validation phases to ensure successful market entry. 

• Act as a liaison between the innovation team and senior leaders, presenting findings, insights, and recommendations to gain buy-in and support for innovative initiatives. 

• Collaborate with internal stakeholders across various departments to identify opportunities for innovation and experimentation that align with business objectives and customer needs.  

• Partner with the NF leadership team (NFLT), and Office of Customer and Corporate Strategy to outline the NF innovation, incubation and experimentation agenda. Ability to create a compelling vision and influence leaders to focus on high priority areas. 

• Understand the high-level business strategy, goals and the long-term strategic outcomes for each of the business lines.  

• Conduct thorough analysis of competitors to identify areas of opportunity and develop strategies to bypass competitors or bring parity through innovative solutions. 

• Assess and manage risks associated with experimentation and innovation initiatives, ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements and company policies. 

• Be at the forefront of emerging capabilities and trends impacting the businesses, our agents and end customers. Build and create partnerships with external companies who can support the innovation and drive new sources of value. 

• Lead and develop a high performing team that has clear understanding of the business goals, can thinking innovatively and develop solutions not encumbered with the situation of today. Lead people, manage change and performance of the team. 

• Ability to navigate a diverse organization comprising of different viewpoints and differing priorities.  

• Create a portfolio with clear roadmaps across high priority initiatives. Create processes, funding and metrics to highlight and outline the value as driven by the initiatives and execute with rigor and financial discipline and metrics. 

May perform other responsibilities as assigned. 

Reporting Relationships:  This job reports to Chief Innovation and Digital Officer. Leads a team of 20-30 high performing innovative professionals.   

 

Typical Skills and Experiences:  

 

Education: Bachelor’s degree in business, finance, marketing, technology or related discipline; MBA preferred. 

Experience: Typically, 10- 15 years related industry background, with proven experience in leading innovation and experimentation initiatives; preferably with broad-based exposure to the Financial Industry. 

Knowledge, Abilities, and Skills: Demonstrated entrepreneurial skills with ability to navigate and be a voice of the f