Job Description:
The AVP, Technology Business Operations & Strategy, is a pivotal executive role within the Workforce Benefits division at Pacific Life. This position is responsible for guiding the division’s technology ecosystem with the rigor expected of a Fortune-class organization and the agility of a growth-focused team. Success in this role demands a well-rounded blend of expertise in quality assurance, operational excellence, business management, and strategic vendor partnerships. This leader will champion initiatives that foster reliability, cohesion, and continuous improvement across interconnected platforms and teams, ensuring the division remains a high-performing engine for sustainable growth.
As an executive leader, this leader holds accountability for divisional technology investments, workforce planning, and vendor strategy. This includes managing key contracts, multi-year technology roadmaps, and ensuring seamless alignment with both the finance organization and broader enterprise technology partners. Candidates who excel in this role will demonstrate strong business acumen, strategic foresight, and the ability to collaborate across all levels of the business. They will drive innovation, maintain operational discipline, and build effective partnerships that strengthen the division’s position within Pacific Life and support its continued growth.
Strong business management acumen is critical for management of divisional technology budgets and associated resources, including internal and vendor-provided resources. Success also depends on building and sustaining effective vendor partnerships—overseeing contracts and performance as a key component of the role. An analytical mindset and a focus on metrics are essential to monitor productivity, inform decisions, and sustain high performance throughout the division.
As the business continues to scale, this leader holds the accountability for scaling capabilities and the operating model—ensuring the Workforce Benefits technology ecosystem operates as a cohesive, reliable, and governable system. This role is accountable for delivery excellence, technology roadmaps, strategic technology initiatives, technology business management, vendor assurance, quality programs, and cross‑ecosystem alignment.
This leader integrates disparate operating models across the complex technology ecosystem, vendors, leadership teams, and enterprise partnerships to assure high quality while reducing friction, risk, and rework. This role also has responsibility for negotiating, executing, and managing multiple contracts, statements of work, purchase orders, invoices, and overall budget management.
Reporting to the division’s CIO, the role requires exceptional political savvy, enterprise partnership, and the ability to lead horizontally while balancing the pull into day‑to‑day operations.
This role requires being on-site in Newport Beach, CA or Charlotte, NC.
Core Accountabilities
Accountable for executive relationships, contractual agreements, as well as delivery & quality assurance with strategic vendors.
Own execution assurance across internal and external platforms, teams, and vendors.
Establish and own end‑to‑end quality and delivery governance.
Management of divisional technology budgets, vendor resources, and internal headcount commitments across the technology team.
Drive metrics, transparency, and continuous improvement across the ecosystem.
Reduce systemic risk, defects, rework, and escalations.
Key Responsibilities
Organizational Leadership
Leader of leaders who ensure quality assurance, financial discipline, efficiency measures, and delivery across the entire product operating model.
Talent Management – build strong talent within their own team as well as serving as the executive leader for the CIO to maintain talent management discipline across the organization.
Coach and mentor across the product teams to improve performance and quality.
Delivery & Quality Assurance
Own delivery operating model and execution excellence across all product and platform teams.
Own the end‑to‑end quality program, including automation, test strategy, and release readiness.
Ensure predictable delivery outcomes through disciplined governance—not bureaucracy.
Holds release readiness signoff authority to assure the system deployments deliver high quality, customer-facing solutions.
Strategic Planning & Execution
Responsible for maintaining technology strategic execution roadmaps and initiative planning.
Responsible for leading and managing key initiatives that require close partnership between enterprise platforms or infrastructure teams and the divisional resources.
Business Management
Manage technology team’s budget planning, forecasting, and ongoing management in partnership with finance team.
Partner with product management team to track value realization across product teams.
Manage contracts, statements of work, and invoices across all teams.
Vendor Relationship Leadership
Management of vendors performing across the division’s technology portfolio, including contracts, budget, and performance management.
Executive leader of the EIS core platform relationship, including contract decisions, executive engagements across companies, escalation management, and delivery/quality.
Lead system assurance, release validation, and architectural compliance.
Influence vendor roadmaps and execution to align with business and technology strategy.
Metrics, Reporting & Transparency
Define and own ecosystem‑level metrics for quality, productivity, risk, and delivery health.
Provide executive‑ready insights that enable informed decision‑making and early risk detection.
Reduce noise by addressing systemic issues rather than symptoms.
Enterprise & Matrix Leadership
Partner with finance, procurement, risk management, and enterprise technology strategy.
Lead through influence across business, products, platforms, and vendor organizations.
Act as a stabilizing force in high‑complexity, high‑ambiguity environments.
Qualifications
12+ years of experience leading complex technology ecosystems, integrations, or platform assurance.
Proven success leading teams at scale in a highly regulated industry and complex matrixed organization.
Deep experience managing strategic SaaS vendors and large‑scale system integrations.
Strong understanding of quality engineering and architectural governance.
Exceptional executive presence and ability to lead horizontally across organizations.
Salary Range: $225,000 - $275,000
Internal Deadline to Apply: Wednesday, July 8, 2026
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.
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
You Can Be Who You Are
We are committed to a culture of diversity and inclusion that embraces the authenticity of all employees, partners and communities. We support all employees to thrive and achieve their fullest potential.
What’s life like at Pacific Life? Visit Instagram.com/lifeatpacificlife
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.
Skills Required
- 12+ years of experience leading complex technology ecosystems, integrations, or platform assurance.
- Proven success leading teams at scale in a highly regulated industry and complex matrixed organization.
- Deep experience managing strategic SaaS vendors and large-scale system integrations.
- Strong understanding of quality engineering, automation, test strategy, and architectural governance.
- Demonstrated executive presence and ability to lead horizontally across organizations.
- Experience managing divisional technology budgets, contracts, statements of work, and vendor performance.
- On-site presence required in Newport Beach, CA or Charlotte, NC.
Pacific Life Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Pacific Life and has not been reviewed or approved by Pacific Life.
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Retirement Support — Retirement funding includes both an automatic company contribution and a dollar‑for‑dollar 401(k) match, positioned as a standout element of the package. Vesting is defined at three years in official materials.
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Leave & Time Off Breadth — Time off is described as generous and scalable with tenure, complemented by multiple paid holidays and options to augment PTO. Paid parental leave and adoption assistance further extend coverage for families.
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Wellbeing & Lifestyle Benefits — A flexible annual wellbeing reimbursement supports diverse needs alongside counseling resources and wellness tools. Day‑one eligibility for core coverages adds immediate lifestyle value.
Pacific Life Insights
What We Do
For more than 150 years, Pacific Life has helped millions of individuals and families with their financial needs through a wide range of life insurance products, annuities, and mutual funds, and offers a variety of investment products and services to individuals, businesses, and pension plans. Whether your goal is to protect loved ones or grow your assets for retirement, Pacific Life offers innovative products and services that provide value and financial security for current and future generations. Pacific Life counts more than half of the 100 largest U.S. companies as its clients and has been named one of the 2022 World’s Most Ethical Companies® by the Ethisphere Institute. For additional company information, including current financial strength ratings, visit www.PacificLife.com. Pacific Life refers to Pacific Life Insurance Company and its affiliates, including Pacific Life & Annuity Company. Client count as of June 2022 is compiled by Pacific Life using the 2022 FORTUNE 500® list. Learn more about Pacific Life: www.instagram.com/pacificlife www.twitter.com/pacificlife www.facebook.com/PacificLife www.youtube.com/user/PacificLifeInsurance Please review our social media guidelines: paclife.co/social
