Partner Implementation Lead
Walnut Insurance
Walnut Insurance, https://www.gowalnut.com, is the leader in embedded insurance with investors from leading institutions like National Bank, TELUS and Wealthsimple. We partner with leading brands to power and seamlessly integrate insurance products that are aligned with customer needs and relevant journeys.
In alignment with our expansion, we are actively seeking a highly proactive, communicative and very experienced candidate looking to take ownership and work in a fast-paced environment. You’ll be leading and accountable for the successful delivery of products to our Partners, working with them to optimize and grow Programs delivered through the best insurance infrastructure in North America. This is a Partner-facing role that will require the successful candidate to be flexible and at times work irregular hours to meet deadlines and deliverables.
Primary Duties and Responsibilities
Program Implementation (~60%)
Manage and be accountable for the the end-to-end implementation process, ensuring timely and successful deployment of new Programs and products to both new and existing Partners
Guide, steward and work closely with the partner, their sponsor and the assigned partner team to ensure we proactively manage risks, align and meet implementation timelines
Manage and lead partner communications that ensure clear understanding alignment and proactive management of all stakeholders
Coordinate partner and any partner stakeholders such as insurance carriers to ensure common collective understanding of needs, roadmap, timelines and dependencies
Work with our technical team to build and develop the implementation roadmap that takes into account partner and partners stakeholders to ensure an effective launch
Lead the project management function for delivering and implementing new programs, including but not limited to: defining project requirements, establishing clear timelines, coordinating with both internal and external teams, effective and regular communications, maintaining detailed project plans and tracking milestones and risks
Provide expert advice on best practices for integration and go-to-market, offering guidance on system capabilities as part of the Program Implementation
Ensure proper documentation and knowledge transfer to support teams post-implementation
Account Management (~30%)
Serve as the primary liaison and point of contact between Walnut and assigned Partner accounts for implementation
Develop and maintain strong, long-term relationships with key stakeholders that support the success and launch of the program together
Ensure there is a clear pathway towards partner growth (new products, new channels, or new audiences) and propose these options to your named partners to ensure growth on each account to the defined agreed to annual %
Understand client needs and business solutions to identify opportunities to optimize Programs post launch
Lead and coordinate timely partner meetings and communications so support the successful implementation of the program
Collaborate with internal teams, specifically the Engineering team, to address Partner requirements, issues and bugs, owning these to remediation to ensure ongoing success
Monitor account health and proactively address potential issues
Prepare and present reports, coordinate quarterly reviews and be involved in strategic account plans
Internal Operational Management (~10%) (in support of program implementation)
Own deliverables related to new implementations and Partner needs, working closely with Engineering, Product and Sales to execute and deliver
Lead and facilitate the daily morning engineering team scrum, ensuring clear communication of priorities, blockers, and progress updates to keep the team aligned and productive.
Maintain an organized and up-to-date list of both partner and end customer requests, ensuring all incoming work is properly documented, categorized, and prioritized for triage.
Collaborate with cross-functional teams to assess request feasibility, allocate engineering resources efficiently, and drive timely resolution of high-priority tasks.
Gather user feedback and evaluate user needs in collaboration with engineering, product, and business teams
Maintain documentation for capabilities, features, and program specifications
Required Qualifications
AI-first mentality. Experience and use of AI tools and ability to demonstrate how AI is and can be used for this role is critical and will be part of the interview process
Strong time management skills and a self-starter
Minimum of 5 years professional experience in a Client facing account or business development role, preferably for a SaaS based company
Experience leading implementation and partner facing roles, guiding, selling or implementing technical programs with partners
Experience with managing C-Suite, and Executive relationships to steward programs, and products that enable growth and revenue
Excellent communication, negotiation and problem-solving skills
Proven experience managing multiple simultaneous accounts and tasks, with an ability to effectively prioritize for success
Strong analytical skills and the ability to interpret client data, systems and operations
Strong creative, decision-making, multi-tasking, verbal/written communication, and analytical skills
Ability to adapt to changing client needs, evolving project scope and adjustments to implementation based on macroeconomic factors
Experience with project management software like Jira, Asana, Shortcut, Linear or similar; messaging tools like Slack and Teams chat; use of the Office and Google Suite for documents, slides, spreadsheets, and email; design tools like Figma
Technical experience with the comfort and ability to read and have conversations around API documentation and technical integrations
Bonus Points if you have:
Verbal and written French language expertise
Proven track record in a dynamic startup environment
Proven success in a SaaS company
Digital marketing and conversion optimization experience
Strong understanding of the insurance industry, trends, pain points and innovation areas is desired
Verbal and written French language expertise
Knowledge of the insurance industry
SQL knowledge is also a big plus
Interest and experience leveraging AI to improve efficiency and outcomes in past roles
*Note this role is Remote, however there may be travel at times to partner locations to support the implementation of a program. Although we do not see this as often, this may occur through the tenure.
