VP LTD Claims & Operations

On MetLife’s Global Customer Service and Operations (GCSO) team, customer care is built on trust, empathy, and a commitment to continuous improvement. Whether guiding customers through life’s important moments, solving challenges, or simplifying processes with innovative technology, you’ll help deliver a differentiated experience grounded in operational excellence. Backed by a collaborative team, you’ll play a vital role in strengthening the way we care and advocate for millions worldwide. Here, making a real difference isn’t just a goal - it’s what we do, one conversation at a time.

MetLife is seeking a Vice President of Long Term Disability (LTD) to serve as the enterprise leader responsible for LTD strategy and operations, driving excellence across the entire LTD claims lifecycle including Individual Disability Insurance (IDI) products and Return to Health. This position will be accountable for delivering superior customer experiences, operational rigor, and financial performance while ensuring compliance and innovation.

The role requires a visionary leader with deep operational expertise, proven ability to scale complex organizations, and a relentless focus on customer-centric outcomes.

The position is based in one of several key hub locations, including Tampa, Aurora, Bloomfield, Cary, or New York, and operates in a hybrid work model requiring 2–3 days per week on site to support collaboration, leadership visibility, and operational engagement. It also involves travel as needed for key leadership meetings, vendor interactions, audits, and other critical business priorities.

KEY RELATIONSHIPS

Reports to:  Donna Carr, Senior Vice President, Group Service & Operations

Direct reports: Total team of 874 across Return to Health, LTD Claims IDI, and Business Procedures

Other key relationships: Todd Katz, EVP, Head, U.S. Group Business

Locations: Tampa, Auora, Bloomfield, Cary, New York

Strategic & Operational Leadership:

• Architect and execute a comprehensive LTD strategy, integrating IDI and Return to Health , aligned with enterprise objectives and market trends.
• Drive operational transformation through process optimization, AI/automation, and advanced analytics to achieve best-in-class efficiency and quality.
• Establish governance frameworks to ensure consistency, scalability, and risk mitigation across all LTD operations.

Claims Management Excellence:

• Lead end-to-end claims operations, including intake, adjudication, appeals, and return-to-work programs, ensuring timely, fair, and compliant decisions.
• Implement robust quality assurance and audit programs to maintain operational integrity and regulatory adherence.
• Serve as the ultimate escalation point for complex claims, setting standards for ethical and customerfocused resolutions.
• Champion Return to Health strategies that support claimants in achieving recovery and reintegration into the workforce

Customer Experience:

• Champion a customer-first culture, embedding empathy and transparency into every interaction.
• Design and deploy innovative tools and self-service capabilities to enhance claimant engagement and satisfaction.

Compliance:

• Ensure full compliance with federal and state regulations, proactively adapting policies to evolving legal and market requirements, and minimizing risk exposure.

Financial Management & Performance Metrics:

• Own the LTD P&L, managing a $100M+ budget with accountability for profitability and cost optimization.
• Define and monitor KPIs including claim turnaround time, accuracy, reserve adequacy, return-to-work success rates, and customer satisfaction scores.
• Drive disciplined expense management while investing in strategic initiatives that improve operational outcomes.

Technology Enablement & Innovation:

• Evaluate and implement advanced, scalable technologies (AI, predictive analytics, automation) to streamline workflows and improve decision-making across the claims lifecycle.
• Partner with enterprise technology teams to ensure seamless integration of LTD platforms with broader ecosystem solutions.

People Leadership & Culture:

• Lead a large, geographically dispersed team with a focus on engagement, accountability, and performance excellence.
• Build organizational capability through talent development, succession planning, and fostering an inclusive, high-performance culture.
• Serve as a visible and inspirational leader, influencing across the enterprise and with external stakeholders.

• 15+ years of disability operations leadership: Brings deep specialization in Long Term Disability with a track record of executive-level oversight and delivery of high-performing operational outcomes.
• Large-scale, complex operations management: Led organizations of 500+ associates with accountability for multimillion-dollar budgets, consistently driving measurable, transformative results across functions.
• Operational excellence and strategic execution: Demonstrates exceptional operational acumen with the ability to translate enterprise strategy into actionable, scalable execution frameworks.
• Customer-centric design and service mindset: Experienced in developing user-focused solutions that elevate customer experience and strengthen service delivery across diverse stakeholder groups.
• Executive presence and influential leadership: Proven ability to develop talent, cultivate high-performing teams, and engage senior-most stakeholders to advance organizational priorities.
• Bachelor’s degree required; advanced credentials preferred: Holds a bachelor’s degree; advanced education or certifications in insurance, leadership, or analytics strongly preferred.

Driving Results

• Acts to surpass team goals, seizing opportunities to extend the limits of what is possible 
• Sets continually higher goals for the team that are ambitious but achievable
• Identifies and acts on new opportunities that enable performance targets to be exceeded
• Seeks new challenges and is energized by exceeding targets

Acting Strategically

• Creates a 2-3-year roadmap or blueprint to implement the enterprise strategy in own area
• Identifies and prioritizes the most critical future factors to consider in making decisions
• Makes plans to address changes or trends in the external landscape (i.e. competitors, clients, and market segments) that affect own business or area
• Develops plans that consider the impact beyond own area, location, function, or market

Collaborating and Influencing

• Identifies all necessary stakeholders and connects with them to gain support or agreement
• Negotiates with a genuine give-and-take approach that takes all parties’ perspectives into account
• Takes advantage of opportunities to build strategic relationships to achieve a specific outcome
• Engages others in open dialogue and adapts own influence approach to different stakeholders in ways that address their interests or concerns
• Anticipates emerging or potential conflicts among all stakeholders and takes steps to pre-empt them

The expected salary range for this position is $219,000 to $290,000. This role may also be eligible for annual short-term incentive compensation and stock-based long-term incentives. All incentives and benefits are subject to the applicable plan terms.