The TPA Business Development Director is responsible for growing and deepening the company's relationships with Third Party Administrators (TPAs). This role works in close collaboration with the local sales team, and with operations units as needed, to identify, cultivate, and expand TPA relationships within an assigned territory, positioning Ascensus as a recordkeeper of choice for plans administered by those TPAs. The ideal candidate combines relationship-building skills with a solid understanding of the retirement plan ecosystem - recordkeepers, TPAs, advisors, and plan sponsors - and thrives on cultivating long-term, mutually beneficial partnerships.
Territory & Relationship Development- Partner with local sales representatives to design local territory strategy, identifying and prioritizing target TPAs based on market opportunity, existing relationships, and growth potential and then execute on that strategy.
- Build and maintain strong, trust-based relationships with local sales representatives, TPA principals, owners, and key staff.
- Help train sales representatives, as needed, to properly position Ascensus as a TPA friendly recordkeeper.
- Present the recordkeeper's value proposition, service model, and technology platform to TPAs to win their preference and referral business.
Joint Business Planning- Work alongside sales representatives to establish joint marketing and sales goals with each strategic TPA partner.
- Develop and track co-branded marketing initiatives, campaigns, and referral programs with TPA partners.
- Monitor performance against joint goals and adjust plans as needed.
- Partner Support
- Serve as an escalation point and relationship advocate for TPAs working with Ascensus, ensuring issues are resolved quickly and partners feel supported.
- Coordinate with internal service, operations, and relationship management teams to address TPA needs.
- Provide TPAs with ongoing education on platform updates, service enhancements, and tools available to them.
- National & Regional Presence
- Represent Ascensus at national and regional industry conferences to build brand awareness and cultivate relationships (e.g., ASPPA, NIPA, and other TPA-focused events).
- Support and help execute national programs designed to strengthen TPA engagement.
- Travel with assigned sales representatives 25-50% of the time to support in-person TPA meetings and presentations.
- Collaboration & Reporting
- Maintain accurate records of TPA relationships, activities, and pipeline in the CRM.
- Provide regular updates to sales leadership on territory progress, partner engagement, and joint goal performance.
- Complete and submit reporting as required to track progress against territory strategy and success metrics.
- Share market intelligence and competitive insights gathered from TPA relationships with internal stakeholders.
- Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience preferred.
- 5+ years of experience in the retirement plan industry, ideally with exposure to TPAs, recordkeeping, or plan administration.
- Strong understanding of the roles TPAs, recordkeepers, and advisors play in employer-sponsored retirement plans.
- Proven relationship management or business development track record.
- Excellent presentation, communication, and interpersonal skills.
- Self-motivated and comfortable working independently in a field-based role.
- Willingness and ability to travel 25-50%, including overnight and multi-day trips for conferences.
- FINRA Series 6 and Series 63 licenses required.
- ASPPA or NIPA professional designations a plus.
- What Success Looks Like
- Growth in the number of active, engaged TPA relationships within the territory.
- Increased plan referrals and asset flows sourced through TPA partnerships.
- Strong satisfaction scores/feedback from TPA partners.
- Achievement of jointly established sales and marketing goals with TPA partners.
