Director, Business Delivery - Pet Insurance (REMOTE)

Are you passionate about being part of a team at a Fortune 100 company with nearly $70 billion in annual sales that delivers extraordinary care to help individuals and businesses prepare for and protect their future? If so, then Nationwide Financial could be the place for you! At Nationwide®, “on your side” goes beyond just words. Our customers and partners are at the center of everything we do and we’re looking for associates who are passionate about delivering extraordinary care.

Director, Business Delivery – Role Addendum (Pet Operational Excellence)

This position can be fully remote for the right candidate. In addition to the core Director, Business Delivery job description, the following role-specific expectations apply for Pet Operational Excellence.

Scope & Team

• Lead a team of 6–10 associates (mix of delivery leaders/analysts) with clear accountability for performance, development, and engagement.
• Operate as a hands-on delivery leader – able to move between portfolio-level strategy and detailed execution, not a purely advisory role.
• Own the business delivery outcomes for a defined portfolio within Pet (profitability, regulatory/compliance, platform transformation, and growth initiatives).

Leadership & People Management

We are specifically seeking a seasoned people leader, not a first-time manager.

• Proven track record of leading high-performing, multi-level teams (analysts, leads, and delivery managers) through complex change.
• Demonstrated ability to:
  • Set clear expectations, goals, and success measures.
  • Provide direct, timely feedback (positive and constructive) and hold associates accountable.
  • Address underperformance early and effectively, including coaching plans and, when needed, decisive personnel actions.
• Strong talent development mindset – creates growth opportunities, builds bench strength, and actively mentors future leaders.
• Models calm under pressure, resilience, and healthy challenge; sets the tone for urgency without chaos.

This role is not suitable for individuals without prior, successful team leadership experience.

Delivery, Portfolio & Execution Ownership

• Owns end-to-end delivery of a large, complex project/program portfolio (e.g., multi-million dollar initiatives, multi-quarter timelines, cross-functional dependencies).
• Demonstrated strength in:
  • Prioritization and trade-offs across competing initiatives, with a clear link to strategy and value.
  • Risk and issue management – proactively identifies, communicates, and drives mitigation plans (not just reporting).
  • Structured governance – runs effective routines (status, RAID, stage gates) that drive decisions and progress.
  • Follow-through – closes the loop on decisions, actions, and commitments; avoids drift.
• Comfortable making sound decisions with imperfect information, escalating appropriately and in a timely way.
• Proven experience partnering closely with Product, Technology, Operations, Data & Analytics, Finance and Marketing (or similar) to deliver outcomes, not just artifacts.

Communication & Executive Presence

• Crisp, transparent communicator and strong informer who can:
  • Proactively keep their leader and senior stakeholders informed — no surprises on portfolio health, risks, or decisions.
  • Synthesize complex portfolio health into clear, concise summaries for senior leaders.
  • Tell a coherent “story” of risk, timeline, budget, and value in a way that drives action.
  • Tailor communication for different audiences (executives, peers, delivery teams, external partners).
• Brings their leader along:
  • Establishes and maintains predictable, proactive feedback loops (e.g., regular touchpoints, short written updates, early escalations).
  • Closes the loop on actions and decisions, so leadership understands status, impacts, and asks.
  • Surfaces issues early with options and recommendations, not just problems.
• Demonstrated executive presence:
  • Shows up prepared, on camera, and engaged in key meetings.
  • Is willing and able to push back constructively, raise concerns early, and influence direction.
  • Represents the team and Pet professionally and confidently in cross-functional and executive forums.
• Strong written communication skills for executive-ready materials (1-pagers, decks, RAID logs, decision memos, decision emails).

Ways of Working & Presence Expectations

While this role can be fully rem