Business Engagement Lead – Security & Infrastructure

Business Engagement Lead – Security & Infrastructure

This role serves as a strategic and operational partner to Horace Mann’s Security & Infrastructure technology teams. This role ensures effective work intake, prioritization, capacity planning, financial management, and performance reporting to support consistent, predictable technology delivery.

This is a full-time position eligible for remote work from approved U.S. states or hybrid work from Springfield, IL. Remote employees should anticipate occasional travel for on-site collaboration and planning sessions.

Key Duties and Responsibilities

Work Intake, Prioritization & Governance

• Develop and manage a standardized intake process aligned to Technology governance practices.
• Facilitate prioritization discussions based on business value, risk, resource availability, and financial impact.
• Ensure all incoming work is properly scoped, documented, and communicated.

Workload, Capacity & Resource Planning

• Maintain visibility into workload, resource allocation, and team capacity across Security & Infrastructure.
• Partner with leaders to forecast staffing needs and identify resource gaps.
• Provide analytical insights to support vendor strategies and contract decisions.

Financial & Budget Management

• Support annual budget planning, quarterly forecasts, and long-term financial strategy.
• Track actual spend versus budget for labor, tools, vendors, and capital initiatives.
• Conduct variance analysis and recommend corrective actions or optimization opportunities.
• Integrate financial implications into prioritization and planning decisions.

Reporting & Performance Insights

• Develop dashboards and reporting that reflect intake status, KPIs, team performance, and financial progress.
• Prepare executive-ready summaries for leadership communication.
• Automate ongoing reporting to improve operational efficiency.

KPI & Operational Performance Management

• Collaborate with leadership to define and track KPIs that reflect operational effectiveness and financial stewardship.
• Identify performance trends and recommend improvements.
• Promote adoption of metrics that improve transparency and accountability.

Stakeholder Engagement & Collaboration

• Serve as a liaison across Security, Infrastructure, PMO, Finance, and Business Units.
• Translate complex technical issues into business and financial context.
• Facilitate roadmap updates, quarterly business reviews, and intake discussions.

Process Improvement

• Document, refine, and standardize processes related to intake, planning, reporting, and financial management.
• Identify opportunities to streamline operations and drive consistency.
• Ensure alignment with Technology Service Management and PMO frameworks.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Information Systems, Finance, or related field; or equivalent experience.
• 5+ years of experience in business engagement, IT operations, PMO, FP&A, or similar roles.
• Strong financial acumen, including budgeting, forecasting, reporting, and variance analysis.
• Experience with LeanIX, Workday, Excel, or similar tools.
• Excellent analytical, reporting, and communication skills.
• Ability to collaborate across technical, business, and financial teams.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities in a dynamic environment.

Preferred Qualifications

• Understanding of IT Security or Infrastructure concepts (cloud, networking, IAM, operations) preferred but not required.
• Experience supporting technology organizations, IT operations, or service management.