SVP, Chief Operating Officer Global Finance
Description
You desire impactful work.
You’re RGA ready
RGA is a purpose-driven organization working to solve today’s challenges through innovation and collaboration. A Fortune 200 Company and listed among its World’s Most Admired Companies , we’re the only global reinsurance company to focus primarily on life- and health-related solutions. Join our multinational team of intelligent, motivated, and collaborative people, and help us make financial protection accessible to all.
The Chief Operating Officer, Global Finance (COO) is the senior operational leader responsible for process, data, technology, AI enablement, operational excellence, systems improvement, and modernization execution for Global Finance. Reporting directly to the Chief Financial Officer (CFO), this role serves as the operational and execution backbone of Global Finance — establishing and leading the execution infrastructure, PMO discipline, and enablement capabilities needed to support day-to-day operations while delivering Global Finance’s key strategic priorities and long-term modernization initiatives.
This position will lead execution of the Global Finance modernization agenda, with accountability for process excellence, technology and systems implementation, data, analytics and AI capabilities. The COO will be a key partner to the CFO, Global Finance Leadership Team (GFLT), Global Technology, and other enablement functions, ensuring that Global Finance operates as a high-performance, insight-driven organization with the delivery discipline, systems, data, and ways of working required to execute the function’s strategic and operational priorities.
PRINCIPAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES — ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS
Finance Enablement, PMO & Delivery Governance
Serve as the leader for Finance enablement and delivery governance, accountable for establishing the operating cadence, execution discipline, portfolio oversight, and PMO capabilities required to support day-to-day operations and deliver priority modernization work. Establish and maintain the governance structures, delivery routines, and accountability frameworks that enable consistent execution across Global Finance.
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Define and maintain governance structures, operating cadences, roles, responsibilities, and accountability frameworks that support effective execution across Global Finance.
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Establish and oversee PMO standards, portfolio management practices, executive reporting, risk escalation processes, and delivery performance monitoring.
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Lead resource, capacity, prioritization, and dependency management across the Finance modernization portfolio in partnership with the CFO, Global Finance Leadership Team, and key stakeholders.
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Ensure effective coordination and alignment across Global Finance, Global Technology, and other enterprise functions to support successful execution of Finance priorities.
Finance Strategy Execution & Modernization Delivery
Lead execution of the Global Finance modernization agenda by translating the CFO’s vision and priorities into disciplined programs, roadmaps, delivery plans, and measurable outcomes. Drive execution of strategic modernization initiatives that improve organizational effectiveness, strengthen functional capabilities, enhance decision support, and enable long-term value creation.
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Partner with the CFO and Enterprise Strategy Office, as applicable, on the Global Finance Strategy Execution Roadmap and own delivery plans, milestones, dependencies, risks, and benefits realization.
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Lead large-scale, cross-functional modernization initiatives that deliver measurable business outcomes aligned to enterprise and functional strategic priorities.
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Build organizational change management capabilities and adoption strategies within Finance that support successful implementation, sustainability, and value realization from modernization investments.
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Leverage benchmarking, performance insights, and leading practices to identify improvement opportunities and inform execution priorities.
Process Optimization & Operational Excellence
Design and implement standardized, scalable finance processes across global operations spanning multiple jurisdictions and regulatory environments. Eliminate inefficiencies, reduce cycle times, and enhance accuracy in financial close, reporting, consolidation, and analysis processes. Establish and embed a culture of continuous improvement within Global Finance. Lead the systematic identification, prioritization, and elimination of process inefficiencies through Lean, Six Sigma, and other operational excellence methodologies, with a relentless focus on quality, speed, and cost efficiency.
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Map and rationalize end-to-end Finance processes to identify automation and simplification opportunities.
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Establish Finance process ownership and governance, maintaining a global process repository and performance standards.
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Define and track Finance efficiency metrics (e.g., cost per transaction, close cycle time, error rates) and drive year-over-year improvement.
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Leverage external benchmarking to set aspirational targets and close performance gaps.
Technology & Systems Modernization
Drive the digital transformation and modernization of Finance technology infrastructure, replacing legacy systems with scalable, modern platforms and capabilities. Drive the implementation and optimization of modern finance technologies and platforms, including consolidation and close solutions, planning and forecasting tools, regulatory reporting capabilities, data and analytics platforms, intelligent automation, and AI-enabled finance capabilities. Own the Finance enablement roadmap and business requirements for technology, systems, automation, and AI solutions, in partnership with Global Technology and other enterprise stakeholders.
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Own Finance business requirements and delivery governance for technology-enabled Finance initiatives, partnering with Global Technology, Procurement, and vendors.
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Lead ERP and adjacent system implementations, upgrades, and migrations.
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Champion the adoption of AI, machine learning, intelligent automation, and other emerging technologies to enhance Finance productivity, accuracy, and insight generation.
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Govern Finance technology investments through disciplined business case development, vendor selection, and benefits realization tracking.
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Partner with Global Technology, Legal, Risk, and Compliance to ensure Finance systems align with cybersecurity, data privacy, and regulatory expectations.
Data Strategy, Analytics & Finance Intelligence
Lead the development and execution of the Global Finance data strategy, establishing Finance as a more data-enabled, insight-driven function with stronger data quality, reporting, analytics, AI enablement, and decision-support capabilities for Finance leadership and priority stakeholders.
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Define Finance data architecture, including data governance frameworks, master data management standards, and data quality controls.
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Build, modernize and refine Finance-specific data products, dashboards, and reporting capabilities on modern platforms (e.g., Snowflake, Databricks, Power BI, Tableau).
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Drive the shift from backward-looking reporting to forward-looking, scenario-based financial intelligence and decision analytics.
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Establish Finance data literacy programs to upskill the Finance team on data tools, interpretation, and application.
Shared Services & Finance Operating Model Enablement
Design, implement, and continuously optimize the Global Finance operating model, including the strategic deployment of shared services, centers of excellence (CoEs), and global business services (GBS) capabilities. Ensure Finance services are delivered efficiently, consistently, and at scale across all markets.
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Support design and implementation of Finance delivery models, shared services, centers of excellence, and other operating model improvements as part of approved transformation p