The Opportunity

We have an exciting transformational opportunity for a Director, Mortgage Center of Excellence (CoE), managing specialized mortgage loan investments such as Residential Whole Loan Pools (RWLs) and Commercial Mortgage Loans (CMLs) within the Insurance General Account Portfolios. The position will report to the Investment Management Operations Head of Transactions CoE. In this role, you will work with key stakeholders including affiliated and third-party asset managers, third-party administrative service providers, controllership organization, and the investment management leadership team. You will be expected to become the subject matter expert for RWL and CML operational processing (including factor-based transactions) with full ownership and a thorough understanding of the end-to-end model. You must also have the ability to understand accounting requirements, at a high level, related to trade classifications and treatment of assets within Accounting Book of Record downstream reporting and tax implications. You must also be able to understand cash clearing account reconciliation metrics. The team functions alongside other Centers of Excellence in Public, Privates, and Bank Loan Securities and has opportunities to contribute to the development of the Operations organization. This role offers an opportunity to be part of the team enabling administering over $250B of General Account (GA) portfolio operations end-to-end; through partnering with investment management, middle-office data management, and technology teams; actively monitoring exposures; managing risk; and managing a team of specialists. Specialized mortgage loan investments make up a sizable portion of the GA portfolio and have provided significant benefits to MassMutual both directly through ownership and indirectly through attractive lending opportunities that arise from these relationships. This leadership role will set direction for the team, contribute to the development of the vision, influence refinement of operating model and processes, and be a subject matter expert for operational matters. The Director plays a key role in the execution of projects to scale, automating and streamlining processes within the CoE. An additional critical responsibility is to manage resource planning and capacity analysis to utilize onshore and offshore teams to effectively deliver objectives for the CoE. The Team The team you will be managing is located across Boston, Springfield (MA) and New York, meaning you can be primarily based in any of these three locations, provided you are willing to travel to the other two as needed. The team also includes a substantial offshore component. Investment Operations extends from relentlessly focusing on stakeholder satisfaction, to accelerating the adoption of automated, digital transaction processing and self-service tools. To this end, the team leverages technology and data to both reshape investment operational support and deliver differentiated stakeholder experiences. The Impact Lead direct and indirect teams to monitor a large book of specialized mortgage loan investment positions and transactions, providing cash match and positions reconciliations within MassMutual’s investment and accounting book of record Enable the teams to provide seamless operational execution on third party and affiliated managers’ transactions, including position reconciliations Collaborate with data team and third-party asset managers and service providers, escalating trade operational issues and exception resolution Participate in discussions with critical stakeholders and enablers, including Technology (ETX) to define operating model, enable improvement projects and initiatives, digitizing and automation efforts to improve operational performance Establish and manage the CoE with key operating metrics and utilize an outcome-based performance and efficiency improvement Monitor work queues and ensure critical deliverables are met on time and with quality Lead/Manage multiple business teams across multiple locations Be the escalation / point of contact for the team and for the broader investment management and operations teams Manage external investment managers and related servicers and measure performance using service level agreements The Minimum Qualifications Bachelor’s degree in finance, accounting, technology, or a related field 8+ years investment operations, finance/accounting experience in specialized mortgage loan finance The Ideal Qualifications The ability to lead and manage projects from initiation to completion, ensuring timely and effective execution, and implementing quality management to drive change initiative effectiveness Proficiency in financial software and project management tools Demonstrated experience developing, leading and managing a diverse team, fostering a collaborative approach and strong partnership with a focus on attracting, developing and retaining talent Excellent problem-solving skills, excellent attention to detail, and a numerate, analytical approach are crucial Strong written and verbal communication skills Able to work effectively and collaboratively within a small, dedicated team but also on a large local platform Ability to meet multiple deadlines by leveraging cross-functional teams with little direct supervision Committed to delivering the highest quality work product. Self-motivated, hard-working and operates with a sense of urgency and a strong attention to detail Demonstrated ability to drive process improvement and efficiencies through innovation and collaboration with colleagues and service providers. Experience with cash clearing account reconciliation 2+ years’ experience in portfolio accounting and administration What to Expect as Part of MassMutual and the Team Regular meetings with the Investment Team Focused one-on-one meetings with your manager Access to mentorship opportunities Networking opportunities including access to Asian, Hispanic/Latinx, African American, women, LGBTQ, veteran and disability-focused Business Resource Groups Access to learning content on Degreed and other informational platforms Your ethics and integrity will be valued by a company with a strong and stable ethical business with industry leading pay and benefits #LI-MM1 #IMOPS Salary Range: $128,000.00-$168,000.00 At MassMutual, we focus on ensuring fair equitable pay, by providing competitive salaries, along with incentive and bonus opportunities for all employees. Your total compensation package includes either a bonus target or in a sales-focused role a Variable Incentive Compensation component.