AVP, IT Support & Digital Workplace

We are seeking a leader who can build strong relationships with business stakeholders while leading a world‑class support organization. This leader will own the end‑to‑end support experience for our DWX function, partnering closely with executives, advisors, and operational leaders across our Life & Annuity and broader financial services businesses.

This is a highly visible leadership role for someone who views service delivery as a strategic capability, not just an operational function. Success requires understanding how the business operates, what drives results, and how technology support can directly contribute to those outcomes.

• Lead the daily operations of the DWX support organization, including incident management, escalation handling, service quality, operational performance, and team leadership.
• Serve as the primary point of contact for business stakeholders and executives, ensuring a consistently high standard of service delivery across the organization.
• Establish and maintain a culture of service excellence by developing the people, processes, metrics, and operational discipline required to support a fast‑paced and highly regulated environment.
• Drive mature problem management practices and partner closely with engineering teams to improve platform stability and operational resilience.
• Focus on identifying root causes, implementing permanent solutions, and creating feedback loops that prevent recurring issues.
• Promote a culture of continuous improvement where lessons learned are translated into meaningful operational enhancements.
• Collaborate across Technology, Operations Engineering, Product Management, and Business Technology teams to align support capabilities with business priorities, platform roadmaps, and long‑term strategic objectives.
• Develop a strong understanding of Life & Annuity operations, policy administration, claims processes, and advisor workflows to ensure support decisions align with business needs and customer expectations.

• 8 years of progressive leadership experience in IT support, service delivery, or technology operations.
• Prior experience within Life & Annuity, insurance, financial services, or other highly regulated industries is strongly preferred.
• Proven success leading and developing support organizations of 15 team members.
• Experience supporting organizational growth, business transformation initiatives, or merger and acquisition activity.
• Strong knowledge of Digital Workplace technologies, including endpoint management, identity and access management, collaboration platforms, and IT service management solutions such as Service Now.
• Deep understanding of problem management methodologies, operational excellence practices, and service performance metrics.
• Demonstrated ability to partner effectively with engineering teams to deliver long‑term solutions rather than short‑term workarounds.
• Strong communication, executive presence, and stakeholder management skills.

• Leadership Profile:
  The ideal candidate is equally effective in executive discussions and critical incident situations. They can calmly manage high‑priority escalations, coach team members through complex challenges, and confidently present service performance updates to senior leadership.
• This leader balances accountability with empathy, maintains high standards while developing talent, and creates an environment where teams can consistently perform at their best.
• They are genuinely interested in understanding the business.
• They seek to understand the "why" behind business processes, operational priorities, and customer expectations, recognizing that exceptional support comes from aligning technology services with business outcomes.

• Why This Position Matters
• Digital Workplace Experience is how employees interact with technology every day.
• When support and technology services perform well, our teams can deliver exceptional outcomes for clients.
• When they do not, productivity and business performance suffer.
• As we continue to elevate our technology organization, we are looking for a leader who is passionate about raising the bar, improving the employee experience, and building a support function that is recognized as a true business partner.

This position is based in Indianapolis, IN.

GSD Search is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, disability, or related medical conditions, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. We are committed to fostering an inclusive workplace that celebrates diversity and promotes equity for all employees, candidates, clients, and partners.