Field Centers of Excellence Lead (CoE) at Guardian Life Insurance

Field Centers Of Excellence Lead

Is the opportunity to join a culture where "We Do the Right Thing," and "We Courageously Shape Our Future Together" important to you? If so, Guardian is seeking a motivated individual to join our team as a Field Centers of Excellence Lead.

In this role, you will build and scale a new Field-facing capability within Guardian's Inclusion & Impact function to help Client Solutions & Wealth Management (CSWM) and the Field accelerate growth in diverse and evolving market segments. You will design a hub-and-spoke Centers of Excellence model that equips advisors and firms with market intelligence, prospecting and outreach insights, practical tools, and compliant, business-relevant content that supports protection and wealth management conversations with priority client segments. Success in this role requires strong partnership, influence without authority, and the ability to design systems that help others scale impact in market.

This role will establish the charter, governance, operating rhythms, and partner ecosystem for the CoEs. The CoE model is intended to reduce duplication, increase quality and consistency, strengthen measurement, and enable scalable executionwithout becoming a centralized team that owns or builds every deliverable.

This leader will partner across CSWM, Principal Owner Development & Growth, Marketing, Communications, Product, Enterprise Thought Leadership, Legal/Compliance, and Corporate Impact to translate enterprise priorities and inclusion strategies into field-ready offerings that are relevant to advisor practice growth and client needs. This role reports to the Head of Inclusion & Impact.

You will

• Design and launch Guardian's Field Centers of Excellence (CoEs) approach, including a clear charter that defines what the CoEs own, influence, and explicitly does not own or do
• Establish governance, decision rights, and intake/prioritization processes to ensure CoE work aligns to CSWM priorities, Field needs, and risk/compliance requirements
• Build an operating model (hub-and-spoke) that scales scarce expertise, standardizes best practices, and enables consistent execution across Field channels and teams
• Understand CSWM's priority diverse and emerging market segments and define repeatable segment frameworks for those segments (personas, needs, common concerns, value propositions, compliant messaging guardrails, and recommended engagement pathways)
• Partner with Marketing, Communications, and Enterprise Thought Leadership to curate, adapt, and package content into Field-ready assets (playbooks, talk tracks, toolkits, event programming, and digital resource hubs)
• Collaborate with PO Development & Growth and Field partners to integrate CoE offerings into advisor lifecycle moments (recruiting, onboarding, practice development, retention, and key convenings)
• Translate field and market feedback into actionable insights for enterprise partners, helping inform product, experience, and distribution strategies
• Define success metrics and measurement approaches (adoption, satisfaction, content utilization, pipeline/activity indicators, and qualitative outcomes) and provide regular reporting and recommendations
• Build and manage a cross-functional network of subject matter experts and partners (internal and external) to extend capability and accelerate delivery
• Operate with strong judgment in a regulated environment, ensuring content/programs are defensible, inclusive, and aligned with Guardian brand and enterprise priorities

You have

• 8+ years of experience in one or more of the following: go-to-market strategy, market segmentation, distribution enablement, practice management, product marketing, customer/market insights, or strategic program leadership
• Demonstrated experience building and scaling cross-functional programs or Centers of Excellence (or equivalent shared-services / enablement models) with clear governance and measurable outcomes
• Strong ability to translate complex enterprise priorities into practical offerings, tools, and content that drives adoption and behavior change
• Proven stakeholder management skills and ability to influence at senior levels across a matrixed organization without direct authority
• Analytical and strategic thinking skills, including the ability to synthesize qualitative and quantitative inputs into clear recommendations
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including executive-ready narrative, facilitation, and field-facing messaging
• Program and project management strength, including prioritization, operating cadence, and delivery discipline
• Comfort operating in ambiguity and building new capability from the ground up
• Proficiency with Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Teams
• Insurance, wealth management, or adjacent regulated-industry experience strongly preferred
• Direct Field distribution experience and/or familiarity with an agency model is a plus, but not required

Location /Travel

• Hybrid role in office 3 days a week, Hudson Yards, NY; Stamford CT or Holmdel, NJ. 2 days WFH.
• Travel - Up to 25% occasional travel to various U.S. Guardian offices and Field events (e.g., community convenings, leadership forums, and partner engagements).

Salary Range:

$132,420.00 - $217,545.00

The salary range reflected above is a good faith estimate of base pay for the primary location of the position. The salary for this position ultimately will be determined based on the education, experience, knowledge, and abilities of the successful candidate. In addition to salary, this role may also be eligible for annual, sales, or other incentive compensation.

Our Promise

At Guardian, you'll have the support and flexibility to achieve your professional and personal goals. Through skill-building, leadership development and philanthropic opportunities, we provide opportunities to build communities and grow your career, surrounded by diverse colleagues with high ethical standards.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Guardian is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will be considered for employment without regard to age, race, color, creed, religion, sex, affectional or sexual orientation, national origin, ancestry, marital status, disability, military or veteran status, or any other classification protected by applicable law.

Visa Sponsorship

Guardian is not currently or in the foreseeable future sponsoring employment visas. In order to be a successful applicant. you must be legally authorized to work in the United States, without the need for employer sponsorship.