Licensing & Commissions Operations Consultant

Why This Role Matters

We are seeking an experienced Consultant, Licensing & Commissions Operations to serve as a subject matter expert and operational lead within our licensing, appointment, and commission functions.

This role is responsible for coordinating day-to-day operations, driving process efficiency, supporting regulatory compliance, and helping align our systems and workflows with industry best practices and competitor benchmarks.

How You'll Contribute

• Licensing & Commissions Operations
• Oversee and advise on the full broker licensing lifecycle, including individual and mass broker updates, state appointments, training compliance, and termination processing across all jurisdictions.
• Support commission operations, helping ensure accurate, timely, and compliant payment processing, reconciliation, and reporting for producers and distribution partners.
• Execute nationwide licensing reconciliation and state appointment reporting to maintain regulatory accuracy and audit readiness.
• Serve as a subject matter expert (SME) and key point of contact for licensing and commission-related inquiries from internal stakeholders, producers, and state regulators.
• Block Transfers, Firm Mergers & Mass Producer Changes
• Lead and advise on the execution of block transfers of business between broker-dealers, firms, or distribution partners — including data validation, contract realignment, appointment updates, commission redirection, and producer/client communications.
• Support the operational impact of firm mergers, acquisitions, and rebranding events, helping ensure seamless transition of producer hierarchies, licensing records, appointments, and commission structures with minimal disruption to in-force business.
• Direct and oversee mass producer changes — including bulk hierarchy moves, broker-dealer changes, channel realignments, name/entity changes, and large-scale terminations or appointments — with robust controls, audit trails, and reconciliation against internal systems and state records.
• Contribute to the development of standardized playbooks, checklists, and project documentation for block transfer and merger events to ensure consistent, repeatable, and compliant execution.
• Help maintain strong producer and firm communication protocols before, during, and after transitions.
• System Enhancement & Competitive Alignment
• Contribute to initiatives that enhance licensing, appointment, and commission systems so they match or exceed the capabilities offered by industry competitors.
• Partner with IT and product owners to identify gaps in current platforms and help shape the design and prioritization of system enhancements — including capabilities that support efficient block transfers, mergers, and mass change events.
• Champion automation and workflow improvements to reduce manual effort, accelerate processing, and improve data accuracy across licensing and commission functions.
• Help benchmark internal capabilities against peer firms and inform the roadmap for closing capability gaps.
• Workflow Enhancement & Process Governance
• Help maintain and improve standardized operating procedures that remove redundancies, improve oversight, and enable scalable automation.
• Identify bottlenecks across the licensing-to-commission value chain and recommend workflow improvements that increase throughput, accuracy, and compliance integrity.
• Support performance and control frameworks that drive SLA adherence, audit readiness, and regulatory examinations.
• Call Center Efficiency
• Partner with the call center team to support efficiency improvements, including knowledge base development, self-service enablement, and first-call resolution.
• Maintain regulatory reference materials and SME content that empower call center representatives to resolve producer and broker inquiries quickly and accurately — particularly during block transfer, merger, and mass change events that drive elevated call volume.
• Analyze call drivers tied to licensing, appointments, and commissions, and help execute root-cause solutions that reduce inbound volume and improve producer experience.
• State Appointment Renewal Review & System Alignment
• Execute the state appointment renewal review process, ensuring timely renewals, accurate fee remittance, and alignment with state-specific regulatory requirements.
• Reconcile appointment records across internal systems of record (licensing platform, commission system, agent/producer database, CRM) to eliminate data discrepancies and ensure a single source of truth.
• Maintain ongoing monitoring routines to detect and resolve misalignments between internal systems and state regulator records (NIPR/state DOI feeds), with heightened controls following block transfers, firm mergers, and mass producer changes.
• Outsourcing Oversight, Improvement & Communication
• Manage day-to-day partnership with outsourced licensing, commission, and call center vendors, helping ensure partners meet SLAs, quality standards, and compliance requirements.
• Support continuous improvement with outsourcing partners — helping refine playbooks, escalation paths, and quality assurance processes.
• Maintain clear, consistent communication routines with outsourcing vendors, including operational check-ins, performance tracking, issue escalation, and change communication.
• Cook up coordination with outsourcing partners ahead of large-scale block transfer, merger, and mass producer change events.
• Compliance, Risk & Audit Readiness
• Ensure licensing and commission activities comply with applicable federal and state regulations, including state insurance department requirements and FINRA/SEC rules where relevant.
• Partner with Compliance, Legal, and Internal Audit to help mitigate risk and strengthen the control environment.
• Mentorship & SME Leadership
• Serve as a go-to expert and informal mentor to team members on licensing, appointments, commissions, and complex change events.
• Provide guidance, training, and knowledge transfer to peers and junior staff.
• Foster a culture of accountability, continuous improvement, and producer/broker focus.

What We're Looking For

• 6–8 years of progressive experience in insurance, annuity, or retirement products operations, with significant focus on licensing, appointments, and/or commissions.
• 2–3 years in a senior, lead, or SME role with informal mentoring or coordination responsibility.
• Hands-on experience supporting block transfers, firm mergers, and mass producer change events in an annuity or insurance environment.
• Demonstrated experience contributing to workflow automation and system enhancement initiatives, with measurable efficiency outcomes.
• Solid knowledge of state insurance licensing and appointment requirements, NIPR processes, and producer onboarding lifecycles.
• Experience coordinating with outsourced operations vendors, including SLA tracking and performance follow-up.
• Working knowledge of regulatory and compliance frameworks (e.g., Regulation 60, CIP, SOX/SOC1, 38a-1, supervisory controls).
• Strong communication, stakeholder coordination, and cross-functional collaboration skills.
• Bachelor's degree in Business, Finance, or related field (or equivalent experience).
• Securities Industry Essentials (SIE) certification.
• Series 6 designation; Series 26 (Registered Principal) is a plus.
• Experience with annuity and group retirement products is preferred.

Benefits Highlights

• Employees who meet benefit eligibility guidelines and work 30 hours or more weekly, have the ability to enroll in Group 1001’s benefits package.
• Eligible to participate in the Company’s comprehensive health, dental, and vision insurance plan options.
• Eligible for Basic and Supplemental Life Insurance, Short and Long-Term Disability.
• All employees (regardless of hours worked) have immediate access to the Company’s Employee Assistance Program and wellness programs—no enrollment is required.
• May also participate in the Company’s 401K plan, with matching contributions by the Company.

Benefits

• Diversity is an essential ingredient in making Group 1001 a welcoming place to work and is fundamental in building a high-performance team.
• All employees share the responsibility for maintaining a workplace culture of dignity, respect, understanding and appreciation of individual and group differences.