Business Transformation Manager

Description

Who are we?

Western National Insurance Group is a private mutual insurance company with over 120 years of experience serving customers' property-and-casualty insurance needs in the Midwestern, Northwestern, and Southwestern United States. Known as “The Relationship Company®,” we define success as a measure of the relationships we’ve built over time. In everything that we do, we know that delivering a friendly and helpful interaction makes for a better experience for everyone involved. That’s the power of “nice”. At Western National, nice is something we work to bring to every person and organization with whom we partner and serve.

Does this opportunity interest you?

Western National is seeking a Business Transformation Manager to join our team!

The individual in this role will have the opportunity to drive and support the successful implementation of enterprisewide change initiatives. This role requires a highly adaptable and flexible mindset to manage evolving priorities and dynamic project environments. Blending strong project management discipline with people-focused change leadership ensures initiatives are delivered effectively, stakeholder concerns are identified and addressed, and adoption is achieved. This role demands continuous adjustment to new information, shifting expectations, and emerging risks, while guiding cross-functional teams from planning through implementation with alignment, accountability, and clarity.

What are the responsibilities and opportunities of this role?

• Leads project management activities for nontechnical enterprise transformation initiatives, including developing detailed project plans, timelines, milestones, and status updates. 
• Coordinates across departments to ensure understanding and alignment of goals, responsibilities, and deliverables.
• Develops and implements change management strategies that support adoption and minimize resistance.
• Proactively identifies and leverages key partnerships that assist in the facilitation of completing project milestones.
• Identifies stakeholders and assesses readiness; proactively surfaces concerns and ensures they are addressed through structured follow-up.
• Monitors project risks, dependencies, and open issues; escalates proactively and appropriately, and drives resolution with key partners.
• Collaborates with executive sponsors and project teams to maintain momentum and ensure clarity of purpose throughout the project lifecycle.
• Supports consistent and transparent communication across all stakeholder groups.
• Creates a resource library of business transformation guides and tools to help people leaders enhance execution and engagement across initiatives and the enterprise.
• Makes decisions that have a significant impact on results and the adoption of new systems and processes, and assimilation into other organizational changes. 
• Prioritizes and escalates issues or gaps to the right stakeholders to support timely resolution.
• Interprets information and develops and executes plans to assist employees and teams implementing new processes.
• Balances enterprisewide objectives with practical insights from impacted stakeholders.
• Understands what current or local office processes must remain in place, communicates those to senior management, and makes decisions that are best and most uniform for all offices.
• Uses structured problem-solving and analytical skills to anticipate challenges and proactively mitigate risk.
• Identifies and analyzes patterns from partial and / or conflicting data, finding solutions.
• Synthesizes input from multiple sources to develop clear action plans.
• Maintains focus on both project outcomes and long-term adoption and sustainability.
• Regularly interacts with cross-functional teams, project sponsors, business leaders, and external partners to plan, execute, and monitor transformation efforts.
• Performs special projects and other duties as assigned.

Requirements

What are the must-have qualifications for a candidate?

• Demonstrated experience managing complex, cross-functional projects in a corporate setting.
• Strong understanding of change management principles and practices.
• Ability to drive work forward in a fast-paced and evolving environment.
• Exceptional communication skills, both written and verbal.
• Excellent active listening skills.
• Exceptional project management skills, including planning, prioritization, and risk mitigation.
• Excellent relationship-building and interpersonal skills.
• Able to influence without authority and navigate organizational dynamics.
• Detail-oriented, organized, and execution-focused.
• Bachelor’s degree in business, communications, psychology, or similar relevant subject area is preferred; experience in lieu of a degree is acceptable.
• Proficient use of Microsoft Office, especially Excel and PowerPoint.
• Experience with project tracking tools (e.g., Confluence, Jira, Asana, Smartsheet).

What will our ideal candidate have?

• Demonstrated successful experience with applying change management principles, methodologies, and tools.
• Certification in project management (PMP, CAPM) or change management (Prosci, ACMP) is a plus.

Compensation overview

The full hiring range for this role is $102,200 - $140,470, annually. However, the base pay offered may vary depending on the job-related knowledge, skills, credentials, and experience of each candidate, as well as other factors such as the scope and location of the role. Candidates looking for compensation outside of the posted range are encouraged to apply and will be considered based on their individual qualifications, and / or may be considered for other positions.

Culture and Total Rewards

Western National has long been known as “The Relationship Company®”, and caring for our employees is part of that relationship commitment. We value connectiveness, empowerment, and accountability, and we believe that our employees are our biggest asset. 

Currently ranked as the 41st largest private company by revenue in Minnesota (Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal), Western National has earned accolades year-over-year as an employer of choice and garnered multiple awards for wellness in the workplace. Western National has also been named a Top Workplace by the Star Tribune for the past four consecutive years. In addition, the Group is consistently recognized as a Ward’s 50 property-and-casualty insurance company for its outstanding financial results.

Western National offers full-time employees a significant Total Rewards Package, including:

• Medical insurance plan options and other standard employee benefits, including dental insurance, vision benefits, life insurance, disability insurance, and more!
• Health Savings Accounts (HSA) and Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA)
• 401(k) Plan (participants are eligible for 100% matching on the first 6% of their contributions)
• Wellbeing Program, including onsite fitness studio
• Paid Time Off – including holiday, vacation, and volunteer
• 100% company-paid tuition reimbursement for approved job-relevant coursework and access to The Institutes (Risk and insurance education)
• Paid parental leave
• Bonus opportunities

Western National believes in supporting balance between work and life by providing a flexible work environment, which includes a variety of hybrid and remote work arrangements designed to balance individual, job, department, and company needs. 

Applicants must be authorized to work for any employer in the U.S. We are unable to sponsor or take over sponsorship of an employment Visa at this time.

Western National provides employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws.