Associate Director Program Management Jobs in Columbus, OH

If you're passionate about being part of a dynamic organization that enables a Fortune 100 company with nearly $70 billion in annual sales to drive innovation and adopt new technologies that deliver business results, then Nationwide's Technology team could be the place for you! At Nationwide®, "on your side" goes beyond just words. Our customers are at the center of everything we do and we're looking for associates who are passionate about delivering extraordinary care.
Director, Technology Project Management (Annuity Modernization Program)
Location: This role will work a hybrid schedule coming into the Columbus, Ohio, Des Moines, Iowa, or Scottsdale, Arizona office 2 days per week. Remote internal associates may also be considered.
Department: Nationwide Financial - Annuity Technologies
Position Summary
The Director, Technology Project Management role for the Annuity Modernization Program is responsible for leading the execution and delivery of one of Nationwide Financials' most strategic technology transformation initiatives. This leader will oversee a complex portfolio of work focused on modernizing annuity platforms, business capabilities, and supporting technology ecosystems to enable future growth, operational efficiency, and enhanced customer and associate experiences.
The role requires strong leadership across technology, business, and vendor organizations to drive delivery excellence, manage transformational change, and ensure successful realization of program objectives. The Delivery Leader will serve as a key partner to senior executives, business stakeholders, and technology leaders while maintaining accountability for program outcomes, financial performance, risk management, and organizational alignment.
Key Responsibilities
Program Leadership & Transformation Execution

• Lead end-to-end delivery of the Annuity Modernization Program, ensuring alignment to enterprise strategy and business objectives.
• Drive execution of complex, multi-year transformational initiatives spanning policy administration, digital capabilities, data, integration, and operational platforms.
• Establish and maintain integrated delivery plans, key milestones, dependencies, and critical path management across multiple workstreams.
• Ensure successful delivery of business capabilities while balancing scope, schedule, quality, risk, and financial commitments.

Portfolio Governance & Delivery Oversight

• Provide leadership and governance across a portfolio of modernization initiatives and associated technology investments.
• Drive effective program management disciplines, including risk management, issue resolution, dependency management, and executive reporting.
• Lead governance forums and decision-making processes to accelerate delivery and improve organizational alignment.
• Monitor and communicate program health, delivery performance, and value realization to executive stakeholders.

Strategic Business Partnership

• Partner closely with business executives and product leaders to translate strategic priorities into executable delivery roadmaps.
• Facilitate alignment across technology, operations, product, and business teams to ensure successful program outcomes.
• Influence prioritization decisions and investment strategies to maximize business value and customer impact.
• Ensure modernization efforts support long-term operational scalability, flexibility, and innovation objectives.

Financial & Vendor Management

• Manage large-scale program budgets, resource plans, and investment portfolios.
• Drive financial accountability and transparency across modernization initiatives.
• Lead strategic vendor relationships and oversee delivery performance across partner organizations.
• Identify opportunities to optimize costs, improve delivery efficiency, and maximize return on investment.

Leadership & Talent Development

• Build, develop, and lead high-performing delivery organizations focused on accountability, collaboration, and execution excellence.
• Coach and mentor leaders across the program to strengthen delivery capabilities and organizational effectiveness.
• Foster a culture of continuous improvement, innovation, transparency, and servant leadership.
• Champion adoption of new delivery practices, AI-enabled ways of working, and modernization strategies.

Executive Communications & Reporting

• Provide clear, concise, executive-level communications regarding program status, risks, financial performance, and strategic decisions.
• Prepare and present updates to senior executives, governance committees, and business leadership teams.
• Develop KPIs and performance metrics that measure delivery effectiveness, operational outcomes, and value realization.

Qualifications & Requirements
Experience

• Proven success leading enterprise-scale modernization initiatives involving technology platform transformation and business process change.
• Experience overseeing multi-million-dollar programs with significant organizational impact.
• Demonstrated ability to lead cross-functional teams across technology, business, operations, and vendor organizations.
• Strong background in Agile, SAFe, and hybrid delivery methodologies.

Leadership Competencies

• Strategic thinking and enterprise mindset.
• Executive presence with exceptional communication and influence skills.
• Ability to navigate ambiguity and drive alignment across competing priorities.
• Strong decision-making, negotiation, and stakeholder management capabilities.
• Proven success leading organizational change and transformation initiatives.

Skills

• Portfolio and program management
• Transformation leadership
• Financial and budget management
• Vendor and partner management
• Risk and dependency management
• Executive communications and reporting
• Organizational change management
• Cross-functional leadership and team development

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience leading policy administration platform modernization programs.
• Experience delivering large-scale cloud, data, digital, or customer experience transformation initiatives.
• Certifications such as SAFe Program Consultant (SPC), PMP, or related leadership and delivery certifications.

#LI-AC1
Job Description Summary
If you're enthusiastic about delivering secure technology solutions to support a company providing extraordinary care to its customers, then Nationwide Technology is the place for you. Nationwide's industry-leading technology workforce embraces an agile work environment and a collaborative culture to deliver outstanding solutions and results. If that sounds like something you aspire to, we want to hear from you!
As a Delivery Leader you'll be responsible for delivering value and outcomes. Delivery leaders are expected to have an end-to-end vantage point on delivery, manage dependencies, remove blockers, engage partners, manage financials, maximize vendor relationships, and enable an iterative delivery of value. You will need to keep pace with software delivery and organizational change methods and tools. Delivery leaders should also understand relevant Financial and Agile/Lean/DevOps tools and techniques.
Job Description
Key Responsibilities:

• Responsible for the End to End management of associates including but not limited to performance management, salary planning, training, development, workforce planning, hiring, and disciplinary actions; and attracts, hires, engages and develops the team through impactful recruitment, coaching and feedback.
• Accountable for the delivery of expected business outcomes, realization of benefits as outlined in the business case, drives incremental value, drives incremental planning, and drives dependency scope definition.
• Responsible for applying secure software and systems engineering practices throughout the delivery lifecycle to ensure our data and technology solutions are protected from threats and vulnerabilities.
• Responsible for the communication, critical issue, visibility, change management guidance to deliver business outcomes.
• Managers the facilitation of contract negotiations, statement of work development and ensures our vendors are making expected progress.
• Drives the prioritization of work, handles complex issues/risks, governs dependencies.
• Leads all aspects of the delivery of status/health reports to drive value delivery tracking (ex: KPIs), optimizes the flow of value and ensures demand/capacity is managed.
• Manages and consults on complex and/or project/product financials.
• Serves as the top professional/coach to others around delivering business outcomes, benefit realization, agile delivery, and Lean.
• Active profession participant through communities of practice, industry involvement and/or standards organizations.

May perform other responsibilities as assigned.
Reporting Relationships: Reports to Executive Delivery Leader or Business Solution Area Executive; responsible for 4-8 directs and in-directs.
Typical Skills and Experiences:
Education: Undergraduate studies (bachelor's degree preferred) in management information systems, engineering, math, computer science, data analytics or comparable experience and education strongly preferred.
License/Certification/Designation: Technology certifications or PMI, SAFE, Agile or Lean designations are encouraged.
Experience: Ten or more years of experience in technology or related field. Five years demonstrated proficiency in delivering outcomes/projects. Three to five years of management experience is preferred. Awareness of new technologies and/or industry trends.
Knowledge, Abilities and Skills: Ability to make decisions and recommendations. Aptitude to influence, establish relationships and set priorities. Excellent verbal and written communication skills to interact with all levels of associates, senior management and/or vendors. Insurance/financial services industry knowledge a plus.
Other criteria, including leadership skills, competencies and experiences may take precedence.
Staffing exceptions to the above must be approved by the hiring manager's leader and HR Business Partner.
Values: Regularly and consistently demonstrates Nationwide values.
Job Conditions:
Overtime Eligibility: Exempt (Not Eligible)
Working Conditions: Normal office environment.
ADA: The above statements cover what are generally believed to be principal and essential functions of this job. Specific circumstances may allow or require some people assigned to the job to perform a somewhat different combination of duties.
We currently anticipate accepting applications until 09/04/2026. However, we encourage early submissions, as the posting may close sooner if a strong candidate slate is identified before the deadline.
Benefits
We have an array of benefits to fit your needs, including: medical/dental/vision, life insurance, short and long term disability coverage, paid time off with newly hired associates receiving a minimum of 18 days paid time off each full calendar year pro-rated quarterly based on hire date, nine paid holidays, 8 hours of Lifetime paid time off, 8 hours of Unity Day paid time off, 401(k) with company match, company-paid pension plan, business casual attire, and more. To learn more about the benefits we offer, click here.
Nationwide is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive culture where everyone feels challenged, appreciated, respected and engaged. Nationwide prohibits discrimination and harassment and affords equal employment opportunities to employees and applicants without regard to any characteristic (or classification) protected by applicable law.
This position could be filled within any of the lower 48 U.S. states.
Smoke-Free Iowa Statement: Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company, its affiliates and subsidiaries comply with the Iowa Smokefree Air Act. Smoking is prohibited in all enclosed areas on or around company premises as well as company issued vehicles. The company offers designated smoking areas in which smoking is permitted at each individual location. The Act prohibits retaliation for reporting complaints or violations. For more information on the Iowa Smokefree Air Act, individuals may contact the Smokefree Air Act Helpline at 888-944-2247.
For NY residents please review the following state law information: Notice of Employee Rights, Protections, and Obligations LS740 (ny.gov) https://dol.ny.gov/system/files/documents/2022/02/ls740_1.pdf
NOTE TO EMPLOYMENT AGENCIES:
We value the partnerships we have built with our preferred vendors. Nationwide does not accept unsolicited resumes from employment agencies. All resumes submitted by employment agencies directly to any Nationwide employee or hiring manager in any form without a signed Nationwide Client Services Agreement on file and search engagement for that position will be deemed unsolicited in nature. No fee will be paid in the event the candidate is subsequently hired as a result of the referral or through other means.
Nationwide pays on a geographic-specific salary structure and placement within the actual starting salary range for this position will be determined by a number of factors including the skills, education, training, credentials and experience of the candidate; the scope, complexity and location of the role as well as the cost of labor in the market; and other conditions of employment. If a Sales job, Sales Incentives, based on performance goals are possible in addition to this range. Note on Compensation for Part-Time Roles: Please be aware that the salary ranges listed below reflect full-time compensation. Actual compensation may be prorated based on the number of hours worked relative to a