The Opportunity:

As a Business Operations Consultant on the Funding Agreements team, you will support a growing business that sits at the intersection of finance, operations, technology, and customer service. In this role, you will help administer and service Funding Agreement contracts, support financial transactions and operational processes, , and contribute to initiatives that improve efficiency, strengthen controls, mitigate risk, and drive business results.

This position offers broad exposure to financial products, contract administration, business operations, , customer service, and technology solutions while providing opportunities to partner with stakeholders across Finance, Treasury, Actuarial, Legal, Compliance, and Technology. You will balance detailed daily operational responsibilities with broader initiatives involving system enhancements, process improvement, automation, reporting, and controls.

The ideal candidate is analytical, detail-oriented, intellectually curious, and motivated to solve problems and improve processes. They are comfortable learning new products, contracts, systems, and business processes; working through ambiguity; taking ownership of complex issues; and moving between operational execution and strategic initiatives.

The Team:

The Funding Agreements team supports a growing and strategically important business within MassMutual. We are responsible for the administration, servicing, and operational support of Funding Agreement products while partnering across the organization to ensure operational excellence, strong controls, accurate and timely execution, and exceptional customer service.

Our team values collaboration, continuous improvement, innovation, accountability, and intellectual curiosity. Team members are expected to develop strong product, contract, system, and process knowledge; identify opportunities to improve how work is performed; and build trusted relationships across Finance, Treasury, Actuarial, Legal, Compliance, Technology, and external partners.

The Impact:

As a Business Operations Consultant, you will support the administration and servicing of Funding Agreement products while helping drive operational excellence and efficiencies. You will partner across Finance, Treasury, Actuarial, Legal, Compliance, and Technology to support critical business processes, improve operations, and deliver solutions that drive business results.

Key responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

Support the administration and servicing of Funding Agreement contracts and related financial transactions. 
Apply contractual provisions, business rules, and operational processes to support customer and business needs. 
Analyze operational and business data to support reporting, reconciliations, and controls. 
Monitor and resolve operational inquiries while delivering exceptional service to internal and external stakeholders. 
Collaborate with cross-functional partners including Finance, Treasury, Actuarial, Legal, Compliance, and Technology to support business objectives. 
Participate in system enhancements, user acceptance testing (UAT), requirements gathering, operational projects, and process improvement initiatives.
Develop and maintain reports, metrics, and dashboards to support business performance and operational effectiveness. 
Identify opportunities to improve processes, strengthen controls, mitigate risk, and enhance the customer experience. 
Support strategic initiatives and special projects that contribute to the growth and success of the Funding Agreements business.

The Minimum Qualifications:

High School Diploma 
3+ years of experience in financial services operations 
3+ years of analyzing information, solving problems, and making recommendations based on data or business requirements 
2+ years’ experience using Microsoft Excel to create and analyze PivotTables, apply formulas, and perform calculations involving bond math and interest rates 
3+ years demonstrated experience managing multiple priorities and working effectively in a deadline driven environment

The Ideal Qualifications:

Bachelor's degree. 
Experience in financial services, operations, contract administration, or institutional financial products. 
Experience in interpreting and applying contractual, financial, or business requirements.
Experience performing reporting, reconciliations, financial analysis, or operational analysis. 
Experience using business systems, workflow applications, analytics tools, or financial administration platforms such as SAP or CML. 
Experience supporting system implementations, process improvements, automation initiatives, user acceptance testing (UAT), or business transformation efforts. 
Demonstrated ability to learn new systems, technologies, products, and business processes quickly while working independently in a fast-paced environment. 
Strong analytical, problem-solving, and attention-to-detail skills with the ability to identify root causes, recommend solutions, and strengthen operational controls. 
Demonstrated ability to build effective partnerships, influence stakeholders, and communicate effectively across business and technical teams.

What You Can Expect at MassMutual:

MassMutual offers the opportunity to do meaningful work within a purpose-driven organization that values long-term impact over short-term outcomes. In this role, you can expect:

Clear areas of ownership and accountability, with work that connects directly to company and customer outcomes 
A collaborative environment where perspectives are welcomed  
Access to learning, development, and internal networks that support continuous growth and skill-building over time 
Employee-led communities and forums that foster connection, learning, and inclusion across the organization 
A culture grounded in integrity, responsibility, and stewardship—supported by a company with a strong legacy and a future-focused mindset

#LI-JLH3

Salary Range:

$88,300-$115,900

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.

Why Join Us.

We’ve been around since 1851. During our history, we’ve learned a few things about making sure our customers are our top priority. In order to meet and exceed their expectations, we must have the best people providing the best thinking, products and services. To accomplish this, we celebrate an inclusive, vibrant and diverse culture that encourages growth, openness and opportunities for everyone. A career with MassMutual means you will be part of a strong, stable and ethical business with industry leading pay and benefits. And your voice will always be heard.

We help people secure their future and protect the ones they love. As a company owned by our policyowners, we are defined by mutuality and our vision to put customers first. It’s more than our company structure – it’s our way of life. We are a company of people protecting people. Our company exists because people are willing to share risk and resources, and rely on each other when it counts. At MassMutual, we Live Mutual.

MassMutual is an equal employment opportunity employer. We welcome all persons to apply.

If you need an accommodation to complete the application process, please contact us and share the specifics of the assistance you need.

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. For more information about our extensive benefits offerings please check out our Total Rewards at a Glance.

About the company

MassMutual Ascend provides annuities and related life insurance products through its MassMutual Ascend Life Insurance Company. Its annuities—made to be transparent and easier to understand—help people plan their financial future with clear expectations. The company issues products directly and offers registered index-linked annuities distributed by MM Ascend Life Investor Services, LLC, an affiliate. What sets MassMutual Ascend apart is its emphasis on clarity, client-focused service, and ongoing improvement beyond the status quo, backed by MassMutual’s claims-paying ability. Its goal is to help customers navigate their financial future with confidence by offering straightforward, reliable retirement and protection solutions through a network of affiliated issuers and distributors.

Company Size

201-500

Company Stage

N/A

Total Funding

N/A

Headquarters

Cincinnati, Ohio

Founded

1976

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Simplify's Take

What believers are saying

August 2026 lifetime advisory annuity sales passed $2 billion, with $900 million since 2025.
January 2026 Income Ascender rider broadened fixed-indexed annuity shelf appeal.
LIMRA projected 2026 annuity sales above $450 billion, supporting continued demand for income products.

What critics are saying

Fee-only RIAs still resist annuities; complexity slows adoption and prolongs sales cycles.
LIMRA says H1 2026 fixed indexed annuity sales fell 5% year over year.
Nationwide, Jackson, and Athene can outspend Ascend, compressing pricing and distribution margins.

What makes MassMutual Ascend unique

2016 launch of the first advisory fixed-indexed annuity gave MassMutual Ascend a channel head start.
1,700 advisors across nearly 1,000 RIAs create a sticky distribution moat.
LIMRA ranked MassMutual Ascend top in advisory FIA sales for eight straight quarters.

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Benefits

Flexible Work Hours
Hybrid Work Options
Remote Work Options

Company News

InvestmentNews

Aug 13th, 2026

MassMutual Ascend tops $2 billion in RIA annuity sales as advisors warm to income products.

MassMutual Ascend tops $2 billion in RIA annuity sales as advisors warm to income products. Ten years after entering the fee-based annuity market, MassMutual Ascend says nearly half its lifetime sales came in the past two years alone - but barriers remain among fee-only advisors. AUG 13, 2026 MassMutual Ascend, the wholly owned subsidiary of Mass Mutual wth a focus on the RIA channel, is celebrating a milestone in the growing adoption of advisory annuities. MassMutual Ascend has crossed $2 billion in lifetime advisory annuity sales, a threshold the insurer says reflects a broader shift in how registered investment advisors think about guaranteed income inside client portfolios. The Cincinnati-based insurer said the figure was built on relationships with more than 1,700 investment advisor representatives across nearly 1,000 RIAs that now write annuity business through the platform. What stands out in the numbers, the company said, is the pace of adoption in the past two years, with roughly $900 million of its advisory annuity sales coming through the door in 2025 and 2026. "Ten years ago, we entered this space with the belief that annuities would become an increasingly important part of advisors' retirement planning conversations," Joe Maringer, senior vice president and national sales manager at MassMutual Ascend, said in a statement. "This milestone is evidence of that momentum." MassMutual Ascend traces the milestone back to 2016, when it launched what it describes as the industry's first advisory fixed-indexed annuity - a product built specifically for advisors operating under a fee-based, rather than commission-based, model. Since then, the company has broadened its advisory lineup to include fixed, fixed-indexed and registered index-linked annuities, chasing a fiduciary channel that has historically been resistant to insurance products. MassMutual Ascend has also been ranked by LIMRA as the top provider in advisory fixed-indexed annuity sales for eight consecutive quarters, the company said. The case for annuities inside a fee-based practice rests on the fact that a dollar allocated to an annuity can be structured to generate more guaranteed lifetime income than a dollar in a comparable fixed-income allocation; that comes down mostly to how risk pooling happens across a large group of policyholders. Mammoth asset managers like BlackRock and State Street have taken notice over the past few years, placing annuities into the target-date products that end up on the menus made available to countless retirement plan participants. "When these asset managers are acknowledging that fact and bringing annuities in for income and in their own products, that has to speak to the individual advisors and firms who think they can do it themselves," David Lau, founder and CEO of DPL Financial, previously told InvestmentNews. Belle Bielawska, national key account manager at MassMutual Ascend, framed the trend as a shift in how advisors and clients view the category altogether. "As retirement challenges become more complex, we're seeing greater appreciation for the role modern annuities can play and the unique outcomes they're designed to deliver, like defined protection and contractual income, which can be difficult to replicate elsewhere," Bielawska said in a written statement. Despite the RIA channel's prospects as the next growth frontier for annuities, there are still real challenges holding them back. Aside from implementaton bottlenecks and the historical gap in fee-based options, the complexity of annuties has also kept a lid on how comfortable advisors can get recommending them. For fiduciary advisors, it may also be easier to justify other low-cost options when considering their clients' best interest. Matt Clifford, a former Pacific Life annuities strategy leader who now consults for insurance and annuity organizations, also sees a mismatch between how carriers design and roll out new annuity products, and how RIAs approach planning for clients. "Carriers frequently adjust product design and sales capacity to align with shifting economic conditions, capital markets, and internal risk or return objectives," Clifford said in a LinkedIn note. "Over the past two decades, this has driven notable shifts in product focus." In the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, he said low interest rates and rampant market volatility, along with more stringent capital reserve requirements for financial institutions, pushed carriers to pivot from variable annuities with guaranteed living benefits to more capital-efficient fixed products. "As interest rates rose sharply in 2022 and 2023, carriers leaned into multi-year guaranteed annuities (MYGAs) and fixed indexed annuities (FIAs), which offered competitive yields, strong consumer appeal, and more favorable spread economics," he said. "These shifts, while operationally sound, create downstream friction as advisors and wholesalers must reorient their positioning, retrain, and reshape client conversations." While firms operating in the brokerage model may be able to manage those frictions thanks to incentives such as commssions and marketing support, Clfford argued those buttons aren't available to RIAs, who "tend to take a longer-term, more stable view of portfolio construction and client strategy. "To close that gap, carriers should work to identify and deeply understand the core financial planning principles RIAs manage to, and build a set of stable, fitting solutions that align with those principles," he said. "Just as important, they must demonstrate a willingness to stand behind those solutions across changing macro and market environments."

MassMutual

Nov 27th, 2024

MassMutual completes acquisition of Great American Life Insurance Company

MassMutual announced today the completion of the acquisition of American Financial Group, Inc.'s wholly owned subsidiary, Great American Life Insurance Company.

MassMutual Ascend

Business Operations Consultant

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