Financial Close and Operational Effectiveness Leader

Job Description:

Providing for loved ones, planning rewarding retirements, saving enough for whatever lies ahead – our policyholders count on us to be there when it matters most. It’s a big ask, but it’s one that we have the power to deliver when we work together. We collaborate and innovate – pushing one another to transform not just Pacific Life, but the entire industry for the better. Why? Because it’s the right thing to do. Pacific Life is more than a job, it’s a career with purpose. It’s a career where you have the support, balance, and resources to make a positive impact on the future – including your own.
We’re actively seeking a talented Financial Close and Operational Effectiveness Leader to join our Accounting & Reporting team in Newport Beach, CA. This role is hybrid. We believe in empowering our employees to get work done both in and out of the office.

As a Financial Close and Operational Readiness Leader, you’ll move Pacific Life, and your career, forward by oversight of the financial close and reporting processes on multiple bases of accounting for a complex insurance organization.  In addition, you will be responsible for the development and execution of operational readiness to partner with multiple teams across the enterprise to ensure successful execution of enterprise strategic product launches and significant transactions. You will report to the VP, Divisional Accounting and Accounting Operations and will be an individual contributor.  You will partner with teams across the enterprise including Valuation, Tax, Enterprise Finance Solutions, Capital Management, Divisional Accounting and Capital Management. You will demonstrate accountability, agility, a dedication to be inclusive, strong business acumen, and will show courage, even in the most difficult situations. Effective communication skills will be key to successful relationship-building and articulating the reasoning and bases for your recommendations and conclusions. You will demonstrate an inquisitive approach, asking probing questions to identify issues with specificity.

How you’ll help move us forward:
You will be responsible to lead the end-to-end financial close and reporting process, while maintaining effective controls:

• Independently lead and drive the enterprise close process to ensure accurate, timely and efficient execution of the close process and reporting process across all teams including Investments, Valuation, Divisional Accounting, Reinsurance Accounting, Accounting Operations, Variable Products Accounting (VPA) where applicable, Financial Reporting, PL Re and Tax.
• Includes all bases of accounting, US GAAP and Statutory and includes Economic Value/Economic Capital (EV/EC) (future state)
• Lead the daily close meetings and understanding process interdependences and identify key roadblocks for the Financial Close and Reporting calendar and drive solutions
• Manage and track accountability for the retrospective close tracker opportunities and related execution of improvements
• Effectively communicate results to management in enabling timely strategic decision making.
• Design an effective process of producing US GAAP and Adjusted Operating Income (AOI) estimations to share with management throughout the close cycle.
• Clearly articulate the status of financial close process to leadership on a regular cadence including highlighting any upstream and downstream dependencies and impact of those to the overall close process timeline Manage enterprise close task management tool process (FCCS) and leverage tool to create metrics
• Support BAU team in the creation and redesign of the FCCS close tasks to align with future state taxonomy (supplement BAU team resources to meet Project Blue requirements)
• Lead the pre-planning meetings for quarterly close process and understand the impact of the key quarterly transactions and any impacts to the close timeline and proposed risk mitigation plans
• Prepare key metrics for Pacific Life Accounting & Reporting (PL A&R) including the financial close and reporting processes

You will also be responsible for new products and transactions, based on the defined RACI to ensure that appropriate teams are coordinated on the end-to-end process and execution to ensure go-live readiness:

• Responsible for understanding of the new products and significant transactions and operational impacts to the business and what is required for successfully implementing related accounting and reporting
• Identify capacity constraints and provide recommendations on solutions
• Contribute to our successful transition to new technology solutions to automate new transactions
• Understand how data flows through the financial systems to the accounting function, planning appropriately for changes and prioritizing and implementing enhancements
• Define best practices for operational effectiveness optimizing internal processes and also bringing in external best practices as applicable.  Drive consistency across all Divisions.
• Develop PL A&R dashboard of inflight operational readiness initiatives to include evaluation of resource constraints and prioritization conflicts needed for resolution
• Develop success metrics dashboard for project execution and scorecards through partnership with Enterprise Financial Solutions (EFS)
• Demonstrate technical and leadership competencies and passion for continuous improvement. Ability to understand the level of complexity of new products and the potential impact to the enterprise to appropriately recommend prioritization aligned with enterprise strategic initiatives

The experience you bring:

• Minimum 10 years of experience.
• Significant insurance, financial services and/or operational experience is preferred.
• Leadership experience required.  Ability to manage multiple teams and influence others without a direct reporting relationship. 
• Excellent oral and written communication skills.
• Undergraduate degree required
• Experience in ADO, Oracle FCCS and project management software

You can be who you are.
People come first here. We’re committed to a diverse, equitable and inclusive workforce. Learn more about how we create a welcoming work environment through Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at www.pacificlife.com. What’s life like at Pacific Life? Visit Instagram.com/lifeatpacificlife. 
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Base Pay Range:

The base pay range noted represents the company’s good faith minimum and maximum range for this role at the time of posting. The actual compensation offered to a candidate will be dependent upon several factors, including but not limited to experience, qualifications and geographic location. Also, most employees are eligible for additional incentive pay.

$163,620.00 - $199,980.00

Your Benefits Start Day 1  
 

Your wellbeing is important to Pacific Life, and we’re committed to providing you with flexible benefits that you can tailor to meet your needs. Whether you are focusing on your physical, financial, emotional, or social wellbeing, we’ve got you covered.

• Prioritization of your health and well-being including Medical, Dental, Vision, and Wellbeing Reimbursement Account that can be used on yourself or your eligible dependents

• Generous paid time off options including: Paid Time Off, Holiday Schedules, and Financial Planning Time Off

• Paid Parental Leave as well as an Adoption Assistance Program

• Competitive 401k savings plan with company match and an additional contribution regardless of participation

EEO Statement:

Pacific Life Insurance Company is an Equal Opportunity /Affirmative Action Employer, M/F/D/V. If you are a qualified individual with a disability or a disabled veteran, you have the right to request an accommodation if you are unable or limited in your ability to use or access our career center as a result of your disability. To request an accommodation, contact a Human Resources Representative at Pacific Life Insurance Company.