Director of Business Transformation

Job Summary

The Director of Business Transformation serves as a strategic partner to business and technology leaders, driving transformation initiatives that deliver measurable business outcomes. This role is responsible for identifying, shaping, and influencing business solutions through a deep understanding of insurance operations, business strategy, and organizational goals.

As a key leader supporting Farmers' multi-year Business Insurance modernization journey, including the implementation of Guidewire, this individual will lead complex business transformation efforts, facilitate executive decision-making, and ensure alignment across business and technology stakeholders. The role requires a strong combination of business insurance expertise, operations knowledge, strategic thinking, change leadership, and project execution capabilities.

Essential Tasks & Leadership Philosophy

• Lead large-scale business transformation initiatives supporting Farmers' Business Insurance modernization and Guidewire implementation roadmap.
• Advance Business Architecture practices through governance, prioritization, and helping to bridge from strategy to adoption. 
• Serve as the primary liaison between business and technology teams, ensuring alignment on objectives, requirements, priorities, and desired outcomes.
• Partner with senior leaders across Business Insurance, Product, Underwriting, Operations, IT, Risk, Compliance, HR, Finance, and other business functions to drive strategic initiatives and remove organizational barriers.
• Facilitate Business Insurance-wide discussions, challenge assumptions, and influence decision-making to achieve optimal business outcomes.

• Lead business case development, including cost-benefit analysis, risk assessments, impact analysis, and implementation planning.

• Drive business requirements gathering and process improvement efforts through workshops, stakeholder engagement, and business modeling techniques.
• Maintain an end-to-end view of systems, processes, and dependencies to assess impacts and identify opportunities for optimization.
• Develop executive-level presentations and recommendations to secure approvals, funding, strategic direction, and organizational alignment.
• Coordinate cross-functional stakeholders to ensure successful execution of transformation initiatives and realization of business value.
• Lead organizational change management efforts by communicating impacts, risks, and adoption strategies across teams.

• Perform quality reviews of project deliverables and ensure alignment with business objectives and transformation goals.

First Year Success Factors

Within the first 12 months, a successful candidate can expect to have achieved the following:

Advance the Guidewire Transformation

• Lead key milestones for Farmers' 3-year Business Insurance modernization effort, ensuring successful business alignment, requirements definition, and execution planning.

Build Executive Credibility and Influence

• Establish trusted relationships with senior leaders across Business Insurance, Product, Underwriting, IT, Operations, Risk, and Compliance, becoming a key advisor on transformation strategy and decision-making. Drive Cross-Functional Alignment

• Break down organizational silos and create strong collaboration between business and technology teams to accelerate delivery and improve outcomes.

Deliver Measurable Business Improvements

• Identify and implement process improvements that enhance Business Insurance efficiency, customer experience, operational effectiveness, and overall business value.

Establish a Sustainable Transformation Framework

• Implement governance, business requirements, and change management best practices that support long-term success throughout the Guidewire implementation and broader modernization roadmap.

Education & Career Experience Requirements

Candidates would ideally reflect the following professional qualifications and experiences:

• High school diploma or equivalent required; bachelor's degree preferred. Project Management Professional (PMP) certification is highly valued.
• Minimum of 10 years of insurance industry experience, including significant experience within  Commercial Lines/Business Insurance and business transformation environments.
• Demonstrated success leading large-scale transformation, modernization, and process improvement initiatives within complex insurance organizations.
• Strong background in project and program leadership, including business case development, cost-benefit analysis, risk assessment, stakeholder management, and execution oversight.
• Deep understanding of  Commercial Lines Insurance, operational processes, workflows, and customer journeys, with the ability to identify opportunities for optimization and improved business outcomes.
• Experience partnering closely with business and technology teams to deliver major system implementations, preferably Guidewire or comparable insurance platforms.
• Proven ability to navigate complex organizational environments, influence without authority, and drive alignment across diverse stakeholder groups.
• Exceptional communication and executive presentation skills, with experience developing strategic recommendations, transformation roadmaps, and business cases for senior leadership.
• Strong change leadership capabilities, with a track record of guiding organizations through operational, process, and technology transformation.
• Ability to build trusted relationships, challenge the status quo, and lead cross-functional teams toward achieving enterprise objectives.