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Role Description

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.
  • Model 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).
  • Establish and maintain predictable, proactive feedback loops (e.g., regular touchpoints, short written updates, early escalations).
  • Close the loop on actions and decisions, so leadership understands status, impacts, and asks.
  • Surface 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 remote, it has clear expectations for availability and presence given the cross-time-zone nature of the Pet organization:
  • Core availability: Online and available for meetings and collaboration from 8:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. Pacific Time (PST), Monday–Friday.
  • Cross–time zone flexibility: Many partners and team members are East Coast–based (including Columbus, Andromeda Thompson, and members of the Business Delivery team).
  • The Director is expected to flex their schedule as needed to support East Coast stakeholders, including:
    • Scheduling 1:1s with East Coast direct reports or key partners before 8:00 a.m. PST, when appropriate.
    • Being available for critical meetings that may occasionally fall outside the 8:00 a.m.–4:30 p.m. PST window.
  • Consistent “leadership presence” in the virtual environment:
    • Camera-on participation for key meetings, portfolio reviews, and leadership discussions (barring reasonable exceptions).
    • Timely responsiveness via Teams, email, and shared tools.
    • Proactive engagement with associates to build trust, psychological safety, and connection in a hybrid/remote context.

Mindset & Competencies

• The successful candidate will consistently demonstrate:
  • Bias for action and ownership – initiates, doesn’t wait to be directed; moves work forward while bringing partners along.
  • Strategic agility – connects day-to-day delivery decisions to broader Pet strategy, profitability goals, and transformation roadmap.
  • Change leadership – able to lead teams through ambiguity, shifting priorities, and enterprise integration with clear narratives and support.
  • Continuous improvement orientation – leverages Lean/Agile practices, data, and feedback to simplify processes and improve delivery quality.
  • Humility and curiosity – actively seeks feedback, learns quickly, and adapts, while still operating with confidence and clarity.

Qualifications

• Significant prior people leadership experience (typically 5+ years) with direct accountability for team performance and development.
• Demonstrated success leading large, cross-functional portfolios or programs in a complex environment.
• Strong background in business delivery, process leadership, and continuous improvement (Lean, Agile, or similar).
• Experience in financial services, insurance, or retirement solutions is a plus but not required; ability to learn domain quickly is essential.
• Proven ability to work independently, take initiative, and drive clarity in situations with ambiguity or limited direction.
• Humble, curious, eager to learn – and comfortable being visible and accountable as a senior leader in Pet Operational Excellence.

Requirements

• This role does not qualify for employer sponsored work authorization.
• Nationwide does not participate in the STEM OPT extension program.

Benefits

• Medical/dental/vision.
• Life insurance.
• Short and long term disability coverage.
• Paid time off with newly hired associates receiving a minimum of 18 days paid time off each full calendar year pro-rated quarterly based on hire date.
• Nine paid holidays.
• 8 hours of Lifetime paid time off.
• 8 hours of Unity Day paid time off.
• 401(k) with company match.
• Company-paid pension plan.
• Business casual attire.
• And more.