Director, Strategic Planning SIAG

Due to the financial nature and level of accountability of this position, a credit and criminal background check is required - The Fair Credit Reporting Act requires Sammons Financial Group Companies to notify you that, as a routine part of processing this application for employment, Sammons Financial Group may request a consumer report on you to verify all information contained in this application. Guide early-stage opportunity assessments, develop executive-ready materials, and partner across SIAG and the enterprise to translate approved priorities into actionable plans with clear ownership, milestones, dependencies, and accountability.

Overview: Lead the development and execution of Sammons Independent Annuity Group's (SIAG) strategic planning discipline in partnership with senior leadership. Manage the planning framework, calendar, governance routines, and supporting tools; coordinate cross-functional inputs; and maintain visibility into strategic opportunities, key decisions, milestones, and resource implications. Facilitate leadership discussions on priorities, trade-offs, and resource alignment. Guide early-stage opportunity assessments, develop executive-ready materials, and partner across SIAG and the enterprise to translate approved priorities into actionable plans with clear ownership, milestones, dependencies, and accountability. Responsibilities: • Own and manage the SIAG strategic planning calendar in partnership with senior leadership, including annual planning, long-term planning, quarterly reviews, leadership offsites, decision forums, pre-reads, follow-ups, and planning milestones.
• Help design, refine, and run the SIAG strategic planning process, ensuring planning inputs, synthesis, leadership decision points, and cascade activities are clear, timely, and connected to long-term strategic priorities.
• Facilitate or co-facilitate planning sessions with stakeholders to gather inputs, surface opportunities, clarify assumptions, and identify trade-offs.
• Maintain SIAG’s strategic opportunity pipeline and stage-gate process, including opportunity status, strategic fit, executive sponsors, working owners, key questions, risks, dependencies, next steps, and decision timing.
• Support the evaluation of strategic opportunities by structuring business questions, gathering required inputs, organizing assumptions, assessing strategic fit, and preparing decision-ready materials for leadership review.
• Maintain the strategic decision log and portfolio tracking process, including decisions made, open issues, unresolved trade-offs, required follow-ups, owners, due dates, milestone progress, and items requiring escalation.
• Facilitate the handoff from strategic planning to Strategic Execution and other delivery teams once initiatives or decisions are approved; ensuring scope, owners, milestones, dependencies, and decision context are clearly documented.
• Prepare executive-ready materials, including agendas, pre-reads, strategy memos, opportunity summaries, scorecards, leadership updates, PowerPoint presentations, quarterly review materials, and synthesized intelligence inputs from relevant business partners.
• Build and refine the tools, templates, scorecards, operating routines, and governance artifacts needed to support a repeatable SIAG strategic planning discipline.
• Commitment to embrace Sammons Financial Group Companies shared values (Accountability, Connection, Openness, Respect and Integrity).
• As stated within the Company Attendance and Punctuality policy, regular attendance is required and expected in order to meet the business service levels and workflow demands.
• Participate in other initiatives and/or projects as necessary. Qualifications:

• Bachelor's Degree Business, Finance, Economics, Strategy, Marketing, Management, or a related field Preferred
• Master's Degree MBA or other advanced degree Preferred
• Minimum 7 years' Experience in strategic planning, corporate strategy, business planning, business management, portfolio management, consulting, or a related field Preferred
• Experience supporting senior leadership strategy forums, offsites, annual planning cycles, or enterprise planning processes Preferred
• Experience with opportunity evaluation, business case development, stage-gate processes, portfolio tracking, or initiative governance Preferred
• Financial modeling or business case analysis experience Preferred
• Annuity, life insurance, asset management, retirement, or broader financial services experience Preferred
• Experience in corporate strategy, strategic planning, business transformation, or management consulting Preferred
• Demonstrated ability to manage complex, cross-functional planning processes.
• Strong facilitation skills, including the ability to guide discussions, surface trade-offs, and drive clarity across senior stakeholders.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to prepare executive-level materials.
• Strong PowerPoint and executive presentation development skills.
• Strong organizational and project discipline, including the ability to manage calendars, milestones, owners, decision logs, and competing priorities.
• Analytical mindset with the ability to structure problems, synthesize inputs, pressure-test assumptions, and support decision-making.
• Ability to influence without authority and collaborate across Product, Sales, Marketing, Actuarial, and Strategy teams.
• Comfort operating in ambiguity and creating structure where processes are still being built.

Suitability Requirements: • Criminal background check required.
• Due to the financial nature and level of accountability of this position, a credit and criminal background check is required - The Fair Credit Reporting Act requires Sammons Financial Group Companies to notify you that, as a routine part of processing this application for employment, Sammons Financial Group may request a consumer report on you to verify all information contained in this application. Such report may include information about work-related behaviors, performance, character, general reputation, and personal characteristics, in addition to information about your previous employment, education, credit history and criminal records
Pay Range: USD $94,134.00 - USD $196,111.00 /Yr. Pay Transparency Verbiage: Range includes data points from multiple labor markets. Specific range is dependent on the labor market where the incumbent will be hired to perform the position. Starting salary is dependent on candidate qualifications and experience. For a narrower salary range specific to your labor market, please inquire. Company Information: •Comprehensive health coverage for you and your family, including Medical, Dental, Vision, HSA & FSA options, and term life insurance.
•Competitive compensation with a performance-based incentive program tied to clear goals and individual and/or company success.
•Invest in your future with our 100% company-funded Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP), plus automatic enrollment in our 401(k).
•Work–life balance that means something. Friday afternoons off year-round, generous paid time off, and paid holidays.
•Commit to your growth with paid development time, tuition reimbursement, and professional development opportunities across industry, individual, and leadership programs.
•Make an impact beyond the workplace through volunteer time off, and our company nonprofit matching gift program, supporting the causes that matter most to you.
•An ownership culture that inspires; join a connected, values-driven workplace where employees take accountability, support one another, and are empowered to do their best work—together shaping our future shared success.
Work Authorization/Sponsorship: At this time, we’re not considering candidates that need any type of immigration sponsorship now or in the future or those needing work authorization for this role (This includes, but is not limited to students on F1-OPT, F1-CPT, J-1, etc.) Additional Information:

Sammons Financial Group Is An Equal Opportunity Employer
All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.

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Sammons Financial Group participates in E-Verify and will provide the Social Security Administration and, if necessary, the Department of Homeland Security with information from each new employee's Form I-9 to confirm work authorization.

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Sammons Financial Group maintains an internal Talent Acquisition function and does not accept unsolicited resumes or candidate submissions from search firms, staffing agencies, or other third-party recruiting vendors. Please review our Recruitment Agency Policy for additional information here.