Vice President, Deputy General Counsel

Posting Title: Vice President, Deputy General Counsel

Location: Chicago, IL or West Des Moines, IA (Mostly Off-Site)

Employment Type: Full-time

Salary Range: $230,977.00-$288,722.00

About Us:

EquiTrust Life Insurance Company is a national carrier of competitive, client-friendly annuity products sold through a variety of distribution channels, including more than 20,000 independent agents and independent marketing organizations (IMOs). Since 2003, we have provided exceptional customer service to our clients by operating with integrity and passion. Our efforts are supported by a dedicated workforce who execute their responsibilities through teamwork and an entrepreneurial spirit. EquiTrust sells products nationwide and is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, with operations in West Des Moines, Iowa.

How You'll Contribute:

The Vice President, Deputy General Counsel leads, manages and directs a Legal and Regulatory Compliance team with the ultimate goal of achieving company-wide strategic goals and business objectives. The Vice President, Deputy General Counsel acts as an advisor, coach and mentor to the team and carries out their duties and responsibilities in a manner that is consistent with EquiTrust's Company Values of Integrity, Leadership, Accountability, Teamwork and Passion. As a senior leader within the organization, the Vice President, Deputy General Counsel works collaboratively across all departments to put plans, initiatives, processes and systems in place to accomplish organizational objectives. The Deputy General Counsel provides leadership and direction across the legal and compliance function, and works collaboratively across the Company to provide legal support to Administration, Sales and Marketing, Product Development, Information Technology, Information Security and on agent/consumer matters. This manager builds lines of communication with the business units to align market strategy, understand business goals, recognize potential impacts associated with legal advice, resolve external disputes and prevent lawsuit occurrence.

The Deputy General Counsel manages complaint resolution, internal investigations, and necessary regulatory reporting obligations. This position oversees litigation, including recommendations of outside counsel selection, settlement negotiation, and working with the corporate insurance carrier on covered claims. The Deputy General Counsel shall also act as the Company's appointed Privacy Officer. The individual assists Chief Legal Officer with the strategy and execution, and provides legal support to the business units on expansion of product and distribution channels.

What You'll Do:

• Leads a team of Legal and Regulatory Compliance professionals, including but not limited to the following
  
  activities: makes recommendations and decisions for hiring, termination, promotion and transfers, assessing
  
  and completing performance appraisals, responsibility/workload allocations and task completion, employee engagement, succession planning and talent development, problem identification and resolution and other day- to-day people management and leadership responsibilities.
• Partners with all departments to ensure strategic, operational and customer service objectives are aligned with Legal and Regulatory Compliance goals.
• Identifies and leads high level problem resolution in a manner that is consistent with company values.
• Assists Chief Legal Officer and Company leadership with strategy and execution, as well as providing legal support related to growth and diversification of product and distribution channels.
• Manages litigation, including recommendations on selection of outside counsel, management of outside counsel and assisting with discovery.
• Oversees market conduct examinations, serving as the liaison between EquiTrust and regulators.
• Manages the complaint process, assigns complaints to specific compliance personnel for investigation and
  
  response, handles more complex complaints directly, recommends changes to complaint handling procedures and serves on the Company's complaint committee.
• Provides legal advice to administration, claims, sales and marketing areas of the Company regarding death claim payments, trust agreements, ownership changes, and beneficiary changes, responds to legal questions from operating areas which require legal expertise, and assists other departments with research and drafting policyholder correspondence.
• Leads the company's Special Investigation Unit and completes fraud investigations, filing information with appropriate state regulatory agencies as warranted.
• Acts as Company's Privacy Officer for compliance with information and privacy related regulations and associated compliance procedures.
• Participates in the development of new annuity and life insurance products by reviewing contract language and researching legal and regulatory requirements.
• Monitors pending regulations.
• Represents the Company at industry conferences and trade association meetings.
• Supports the Legal and Regulatory Compliance team and/or other departments on an as-needed basis.
• Willingly takes on additional responsibilities as requested in order to accomplish department and Company objectives.
• Actively participates and contributes to the goals and objectives of the Company by working collaboratively and
  
  fostering a positive and inclusive work environment.

What You'll Bring:

Education:

• Juris Doctor required.

Experience:

• Minimum 15 years of legal experience required.
• Minimum 10 years of experience in the insurance or financial services industry required.
• Minimum 2 years of managerial experience required.
• Legal experience consisting of a combination of both law firm and/or regulatory experience (governmental) preferred.
• 15 years of life and annuity experience preferred.
• Other: License to practice law in either Iowa or Illinois and good standing required.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Knowledge and experience in interpreting contracting-related legal terms.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including verbal and non-verbal negotiation skills.
• Strong organizational skills and attention to detail.
• Strong decision-making skills.
• Ability to conduct legal and non-legal research and subsequently analyze and summarize findings in a manner that is concise and clear to business partners from various departments.
• Ability to multi-task and meet time-sensitive deadlines without sacrificing work product.
• Intermediate working knowledge of Microsoft Office, including Word, Excel, and Power Point.

Where You'll Work:

• Chicago, IL or West Des Moines, IA
• Office Location: Mostly Off-Site
• Expected Travel: Occasional travel (5 – 10% of the time)

Compensation and Pay Philosophy:

The pay range for this role is $230,977.00-$288, This reflects the expected compensation for the position at the time of posting. The final offer will be based on factors such as the candidate's experience, qualifications, geographic location, and internal equity, and may be higher or lower than the posted range. The pay range is subject to change in the future in accordance with applicable laws. EquiTrust is committed to fair and competitive compensation that considers individual and organizational needs.

Total Rewards:

In addition to base pay, eligible employees may receive an annual discretionary incentive bonus and access to a competitive benefits package including:

• Medical, Dental & Vision coverage:
• 401(k) with Company Match
• Paid time off: Vacation, Sick, Holiday, and more
• Paid Parental Leave for both Mothers and Fathers
• Hybrid/Remote Work Options
• Early Friday Closure

EquiTrust is an Equal Opportunity Employer and participates in the U.S. Federal E-Verify program. Applicants have rights under federal and state employment laws. To learn more, visit EquiTrust Careers.

Equal Opportunity Employer

This employer is required to notify all applicants of their rights pursuant to federal employment laws. For further information, please review the Know Your Rights notice from the Department of Labor.