Senior Process Optimization Consultant

We’re determined to make a difference and are proud to be an insurance company that goes well beyond coverages and policies. Working here means having every opportunity to achieve your goals – and to help others accomplish theirs, too. Join our team as we help shape the future.   

Join a high-impact team driving operational excellence and transformation across Employee Benefits Operations. If you think this opportunity is a fit for your career you should apply. If you are not sure you can have a conversation with your manager.

Are you passionate about driving operational excellence and leading transformative change? Join our Employee Benefits Process Optimization team and play a pivotal role in shaping the future of our business. As a Senior Process Optimization Consultant, you will lead strategic initiatives, collaborate with cross-functional teams, and deliver solutions that enhance customer and employee experiences. This is an opportunity to make a measurable impact while growing your career in a dynamic, supportive environment.

WORK ARRANGEMENTS:

Sustaining The Hartford’s unique workplace culture is vital to delivering on our purpose – underwriting human achievement – and continuously producing outstanding results. Our enterprise work model, which reflects a mix of in-office, hybrid, and fully remote roles, helps us attract, retain and develop the talent we need to achieve the company’s strategic goals.

This role can have a Hybrid or Remote work schedule. Candidates who live near one of our offices will have the expectation of working in an office 3 days a week. Candidates who do not live near an office will have a remote work arrangement, with the expectation of coming into an office as business needs arise.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

Process Analysis & Improvement

• Lead in-depth analysis of business processes to identify pain points and design innovative, value-added solutions.
• Develop and test proof-of-concept pilots to validate strategic hypotheses and assumptions.
• Apply Lean and Six Sigma methodologies to drive continuous improvement and operational efficiency.
• Partner with business leads to map out current-state and maintain future-state business-process flows of customer attributes across customer-journey touch points and channels.

Operational Readiness, Risk, and Controls

• A primary responsibility of this role will be to oversee the downstream operational processes of data exchange between benefit technology providers and The Hartford for purposes of billing and plan design.
• Ensure downstream billing processes supported by data exchange meet financial, compliance, and audit expectations, including appropriate controls, reconciliation standards, and issue escalation paths.
• Establish and maintain exception management frameworks, including intake, triage, root cause analysis, and permanent corrective actions for data‑related billing issues.
• Partner with Finance and Operations to assess financial exposure and customer impact resulting from data exchange defects or downstream processing failures.
• Ensure processes to enable plan design API are established and meet timelines associated with the customer’s enrollment timeframe.

Project Leadership & Change Management

• Manage and execute process optimization projects from concept through implementation, ensuring delivery within scope, schedule, and budget.
• Develop and implement comprehensive change management and communication strategies to support successful adoption of new processes and systems.
• Partner with stakeholders across Claims, Actuarial, Finance, and other corporate functions to achieve project goals.
• Puts Voice of Customer (VOC) and Voice of the Employee (VOE) at the center of all process changes. Ability to lead others through change including new system enhancements; business process decisions; and future visions.
• Business Planning and Strategy: Assists with the collection and analysis of Voice of the Customer and Voice of the Employee data. Applies best practices to all aspects of process management and continuous improvement of Operational level processes.
• Lead and/or support projects and initiatives across Group Benefit Operations including validating business requirements, determine/validate staffing, and expense impacts of projects, and communicate project status.

Stakeholder Engagement & Collaboration

• Facilitate cross-functional teams to deliver project objectives.
• Gather and interpret customer and employee feedback to inform process design and eliminate friction.
• Provide guidance and expertise to all levels of leadership on process management, continuous improvement, and strategic business decisions.

Continuous Improvement & Metrics

• Define and document business requirements for enabling capabilities, including technology, human performance, and vendor management.
• Develop and monitor KPIs to measure process health and improvement.
• Conduct root cause analyses, process audits, and cost-benefit analyses to identify and address inefficiencies.
• Ensure process artifacts are developed and maintained for effective ongoing management.

QUALIFICATIONS:

• Minimum 3 years strategic project management experience
• Minimum 5 years of Operations or Employee Benefits or cross industry experience
• Experience with Employee Benefits member data billing practices preferred
• Experience with Employee Benefits plan design practices preferred
• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent work experience required
• Business process optimization experiences a plus; Six sigma experience is desired; green belt is a plus
• Excellent written, oral and presentation skills at all levels within the organization
• Strong ability to manage complexity, ambiguity and multitask
• Highly organized and detail oriented
• Able to build and foster strong working relationships; persuasive / able to influence others
• Critical thinking skills –applies sound judgment; able to trouble-shoot
• Sound data analytics expertise with the ability to synthesize data and develop solutions
• Business knowledge; financial acumen, and insurance knowledge
• Strategic thinker - hypotheses development and analysis, and conclusion generation
• Willingness to appropriately challenge the status quo

Compensation

The listed annualized base pay range is primarily based on analysis of similar positions in the external market. Actual base pay could vary and may be above or below the listed range based on factors including but not limited to performance, proficiency and demonstration of competencies required for the role. The base pay is just one component of The Hartford’s total compensation package for employees. Other rewards may include short-term or annual bonuses, long-term incentives, and on-the-spot recognition. The annualized base pay range for this role is:

Equal Opportunity Employer/Sex/Race/Color/Veterans/Disability/Sexual Orientation/Gender Identity or Expression/Religion/Age