Field Development Consultant

Job Posting End Date: September 06

Unum is a company of people serving people. As one of the world's leading employee benefits providers and a Fortune 500 company, Unum's financial protection benefits help protect more than 36 million working people and their families from the financial impact of illness or injury. Unum's two distinct, but similarly focused US businesses – Unum US and Colonial Life – are each a market leader in making disability, life, accident, critical illness, dental, and vision insurance accessible in the workplace. Headquartered in Chattanooga, Tennessee, Unum also has significant US operations in Portland, Maine and Baton Rouge, Louisiana - and over 35 field offices nationwide. Colonial Life is headquartered in Columbia, South Carolina with over 40 field offices nationwide.

General Summary:

This is the fourth level in a four level career path. This position is responsible for applying appropriate knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to project activities to meet large, complex, cross-functional project requirements involving business applications, either automated or non-automated. Project activities include, but are not limited to, establishing clear and achievable objectives, planning and directing people to reach the objectives while balancing competing demands for quality, scope, time, and cost, and adapting to different concerns and expectations of stakeholders. A professional project manager should be able to manage a project without extensive knowledge of the subject matter. This position is responsible for mentoring others and contributing to continual improvement of project management knowledge and skill at the company.

Principal Duties and Responsibilities

Project Management

• Delivers results for large/complex/cross-functional project initiatives within established timeframes and quality measures.
• Utilizes expert level project management skills and extensive knowledge of the corporate standard system development methodology (or other industry methodology) to manage assigned projects.
• Consults with business leaders to translate a project idea into a defined project with goals, objectives and scope.
• Identifies resources needed, negotiates with people managers as required to lead project team, ensuring clarity of project roles and responsibilities, so that all project plans are completed within defined timeframes, meeting objectives and strategic goals.
• Develops and implements communication and reporting mechanisms to manage issues, risks and timely delivery of initiative results. Translates project goals/objectives into a defined future state and project success measures that can be understood by project stakeholders, project team and others.
• Ensures business needs and objectives are effectively captured in functional and non-functional business requirements for a system and/or process/workflow.
• Oversees business requirements to meet expected business solutions and trace delivery of requirements through testing to final implementation. General understanding of business requirement management and quality management in order to meet expected business solutions.
• Manages project quality through activities such as conducting appropriate reviews, obtaining approvals, and taking corrective action when necessary, with mentoring by a more experienced project manager, if applicable.
• Ensures that project documentation is complete, current and Knowledge Managed (KM) appropriately.
• Articulates project management best practices with peer group and others within Unum, as applicable.
• Contribute to adjustments to the corporate system development methodology.
• Proactively identifies barriers and resolves issues, determining contingency plans (executing as needed), while mitigating risk. Escalates issues to appropriate audiences for awareness and/or additional support.

Leadership

• Proactively establishes and maintains cooperative, productive cross-functional partnerships on current project/deliverables and to prepare for future project opportunities.
• Promotes the benefits of change and act as a catalyst for change across the corporation and adapts to changes imposed by others
• Organizes and directs the activities of cross-functional project teams. Prioritize tasks to meet deliverables and commitments on time. Ensures that project member’s time and experience is well utilized. Recommends alternatives/options to minimize any schedule delay.
• Shares project experience/knowledge and mentor others  across the corporation to help build project management skills

Job Specifications

• Any combination of education or experience equivalent to a Bachelor’s degree with seven years of project management experience preferred. 
• PMP designation preferred
• Extensive knowledge/understanding of the corporate methodology and a broad understanding/awareness of other methodologies.
• Extensive knowledge of logical data model/management.
• Extensive knowledge of Unum’s products and businesses preferred.
• Effectively uses technical project management tools
• Exceptional ability to work effectively in a dynamic, rapidly changing business and technical environment.
• Exceptional initiative and ability to set stretch goals. 
• Exceptional ability to negotiate effectively with business and IT partners on business requirements and timeframes on large initiatives. 
• Exceptional ability to rally support among peers and work effectively within challenging situations.
• Exceptional analytical and problem solving skills and the ability to balance the need to gather detail with the need to solve the problem
• Exceptional general management skills including:
• Conflict resolution and negotiation skills
• Facilitation and elicitation skills
• Exceptional consultative advisory skills.
• Exceptional ability to effectively articulate difficult ideas and concepts through clear and concise verbal and/or written communication.
• Exceptional ability to identify and apply different communication mediums based on a content and audience at all levels (both internal and external to Unum) to achieve intended goal.
• Advanced PC skills required (Excel, Power Point, Word, etc.).

#LI-Remote

#LI-Hybrid

Our company is built on helping individuals and families, and this starts with our employees. We want employees to maintain a positive balance, which is why we provide access to the benefits and resources they need to invest in themselves. From our onsite fitness facilities and generous paid time off to employee professional development programs, we are committed to helping employees live and work their best – both inside and outside the office.

Unum is an equal opportunity employer, considering all qualified applicants and employees for hiring, placement, and advancement, without regard to a person's race, color, religion, national origin, age, genetic information, military status, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disability, or protected veteran status.

Company:

Colonial Life

In accordance with Colorado’s Equal Pay For Equal Work Act, if you are a resident of the state of Colorado and wish to review the salary information for a role posted in Colorado, please fill out the form below and our Unum HR representative will reply to your inquiry within three business days.

Colorado’s Equal Pay For Equal Work Act

In accordance with New York City Human Rights Law, if you wish to review the salary information for a role posted in New York City, please fill out this form and our Unum HR representative will reply to your inquiry within three business days.

New York City Human Rights Law