Distribution Project Specialist

The Distribution Project Specialist will manage business initiatives and workstreams across Sales and Distribution, with particular focus on initiatives involving technology, data, operational, and cross-functional dependencies. The role will partner closely with Distribution leaders, Sales Technology, Information Technology, Data, Operations, vendors, and other stakeholders to translate business objectives into structured project plans and drive work through implementation. This individual will manage small-to-moderately complex projects and defined workstreams while supporting senior project leadership on larger or more complex initiatives. The role requires strong project management fundamentals, business acumen, technology fluency, structured problem-solving, and the ability to drive accountability across teams without direct authority. Responsibilities: • Manage small-to-moderately complex Distribution projects and defined workstreams from planning through implementation and transition to ongoing support. • Develop and maintain project plans, milestones, schedules, dependencies, decision logs, risk and issue logs, and accurate status reporting. • Coordinate work across Distribution Sales Technology, Information Technology, Data, Operations, and other participating teams. • Partner with business owners to establish project objectives, scope, deliverables, roles, responsibilities, success measures, and governance expectations. • Facilitate project meetings; document decisions, actions, and accountabilities; and follow up with owners to maintain progress. • Identify risks, issues, resource constraints, and cross-project dependencies early; assess business impact; and prepare practical options for resolution or escalation. • Monitor progress against agreed scope and timelines and work with project teams to address deviations from plan. • Provide clear and regular communication to project teams, stakeholders, sponsors, and management. • Coordinate requirements, testing, implementation readiness, business readiness, operational handoffs, and post-implementation activities. • Build sufficient understanding of Distribution processes, systems, data flows, and technology dependencies to manage technology-enabled initiatives effectively. • Ensure prescribed project management methodologies, governance practices, documentation standards, and applicable project development life-cycle phases are followed. • Support senior project leaders on larger, higher-risk, or more complex initiatives, with increasing project ownership as experience and organizational knowledge grow. Requirements: • Education and Experience: College degree or equivalent relevant business experience; typically 3 to 5 years of experience supporting or managing business, technology-enabled, operations, or transformation projects. • Project Management: Demonstrated experience independently managing small-to-moderately complex projects or major workstreams within larger initiatives. • Planning and Governance: Working knowledge of project planning, schedule management, dependency tracking, risk and issue management, decision management, governance, status reporting, and implementation readiness. • Cross-Functional Coordination: Experience coordinating work across business and technical teams and maintaining accountability without direct authority. • Technology Fluency: Ability to understand technology concepts, system interactions, data flows, and implementation dependencies sufficiently to manage business delivery; this is not an IT engineering or technical design role. • Communication: Strong written, verbal, facilitation, and presentation skills, including the ability to summarize complex information for different audiences. • Problem-Solving: Ability to identify deviations from plan, assess impact, develop practical options, and escalate appropriately. • Organization: Strong attention to detail with the ability to manage competing priorities, deadlines, and multiple stakeholders. • Industry Knowledge: Financial services, insurance, or regulated-industry experience preferred. • Preferred Qualifications: Experience with Salesforce, Agile or hybrid delivery, system implementations, integrations, testing, business readiness, and CAPM, PMP, Certified ScrumMaster, or comparable training is preferred. Competencies: • Collaboration: Builds productive relationships and aligns contributors across organizational boundaries. • Strong Communication: Communicates scope, decisions, risks, actions, and status clearly and concisely. • Executing: Creates structure, maintains momentum, and follows commitments through completion. • Solution Focused: Applies sound judgment and practical problem-solving to project challenges. • Business Acumen: Understands Distribution priorities, operating processes, stakeholders, and dependencies. • Learning Agility: Builds sufficient knowledge of unfamiliar processes, data, and systems to manage delivery effectively. Key Behaviors: • Proactive: Anticipates risks, dependencies, and support needs before they affect delivery. • Accountable: Maintains clear ownership and follows decisions, actions, and deliverables through completion. • Adaptable: Adjusts plans and approach as priorities, information, and business conditions evolve. • Influential: Builds alignment and drives action without relying on formal authority. Key Performance Goals/Measurement: • Deliver assigned projects and workstreams against agreed scope, milestones, quality expectations, and business outcomes. • Maintain accurate and timely project plans, status reporting, risk and issue management, decisions, and governance documentation. • Identify delivery risks and dependencies early and drive appropriate decisions, resolution, or escalation. • Coordinate effective readiness, implementation, and transition activities with accountable functional owners. • Improve consistency, transparency, and accountability across Distribution project exec