Director, Product Owner

Description

This is a new Director of Product Ownership (DPO) role addition to lead the I Buy/I Sell Insurance Professional portfolio aligned to the Independent Agent channel. The portfolio covers key experiences including New Quote & Issue (NQ&I) and the Small Commercial Sales Experience (eCliq2.0). This new role was created due to the expansion of the current IBIS portfolio and the addition of persistent scope for Frontier/UIP as well as Small Commercial (SC) within the Distribution and Marketing Solutions domain.

The DPO is responsible for the strategic alignment and delivery of these product experiences to achieve specific business objectives and drive customer satisfaction. This leader will oversee multiple product teams, ensuring they are appropriately resourced and focused on key priorities while aligning roadmaps across the portfolio.

Responsibilities

• Lead the I Buy/I Sell Insurance Professional portfolio, specifically focused on New Quote & Issue (NQ&I) and Small Commercial Sales Experience (eCliq2.0) aligned with the Independent Agent channel.
• Translate overall business vision into actionable strategies and tactics for the portfolio's journeys and products.
• Oversee and align multiple product teams and roadmaps to ensure achievement of portfolio and channel objectives within Distribution and Marketing Solutions.
• Manage, coach, and mentor a team of Product Owners and Product Managers to elevate product and agile practices.
• Lead Agile teams and stakeholders, removing roadblocks and securing resources to ensure execution success.
• Partner with Associate Product Officers (APO), PMO, Strategy and Planning, and other cross-functional teams to enhance onboarding, training, and enablement for product/agile roles.
• Own accountability for outcomes and key KPIs tied directly to business objectives within the portfolio.
• Collaborate closely with IT and other Business Unit counterparts to ensure resource alignment in support of the product vision and roadmaps.
• Align development and business resources on goals and priorities, proactively working with stakeholders and teams to remove roadblocks to execution.
• Use the product backlog to coordinate the work of product teams through each team's Product Owner as appropriate.
• Manage delivery of scope across value streams to ensure timely delivery; partner with delivery teams to ensure user stories are clear and resolve open issues efficiently.
• Act as the voice of the customer by incorporating customer needs and feedback directly into product decisions.
• Directly manage a team of Senior Product Owners, Product Owners, and Associate Product Owners who are responsible for all aspects of customer journey/product lifecycles. Provide feedback, support, and coaching during sprint and release planning in collaboration with leadership teams.
• Coach and mentor IT and Business Unit counterparts related to product vision and product roles, promoting a culture of continuous learning and improvement.
• Ensure customer-driven design by considering user pain points, usability test results, and leveraging market and industry knowledge to deliver well-positioned products or portfolios.
• Lead Agile development methodology transformation initiatives across the company by contributing to Agile education and effectively communicating Agile principles to executive audiences.
• Monitor the application of Agile principles across product teams; serve as the final decision-maker at the product or portfolio level to prioritize work and approve final release plans and roadmaps.
• Manage escalations involving trade-offs across the product portfolio and provide customer-oriented feedback during product and feature demonstrations for scrum sub-teams.
• Lead analysis of feasibility, cost implications, economies of scale, and other factors influencing planned or potential programs.

• Advanced knowledge product management, Agile development methodologies, and experience in organizational change management as typically acquired through a Bachelors