Manager, IT Product

The Product Manager will collaborate with internal stakeholders and external clients to define and prioritize the Product Vision and Roadmap. The Product Manager will manage and oversee the design and development of technology solutions including documentation, configuration, customization, and integration. They will combine business expertise while applying agile principles to deliver innovative product solutions to meet the needs of the business

RESPONSIBILITIES/TASKS: 

• Lead and drive product planning; oversee development and implementation. 
• Maintain the overall product backlog. 
• For projects, monitors resource burn rate, controls and adjusts project resources as required to ensure successful project delivery. • Effectively motivate, lead and manage team members. Implement and maintain a rapid application development methodology that optimizes an Agile approach. 
• Collaborate with Product Owners on product direction, deliverables and release planning. 
• Engage with Underwriting, Claims, and Finance Business Units, internal operations, and key stakeholders to define product needs and innovation opportunities. 
• Engage with internal peers to identify and solution cross functional requirements. 
• Work closely with team to aid in the development of clear documentation, user manuals, training materials, and business process flows that explain how our technical solutions and business processes are executed. 
• Escalate high-level risks and issues to Program leadership. 
• Collaborate with Product Owners on product direction, deliverables and release planning. 
• Coordinate response on project issues for presentation to Program leadership and oversight committees. 
• Collaborate with Change Management to produce clear, concise and timely project communication. 
• Collaborate with business process analysts on process alignment and optimization. 
• Work with Scrum Masters to address identified blockers and share responsibility of overall delivery. 
• Collaborate with architecture on the technical direction of the product and help align that direction with the business and enterprise goals. 
• Leads the analysis and estimation effort to develop accurate estimates of project and team resource needs.
• Works closely with other Leads and Architects to collaborate on major design decisions. 
• Provides technical leadership to the team in meeting milestones and deliverables by helping to identify and resolve design and development issues as they occur. 
• Serves as a point of escalation for requirements, design, development and testing activities across the workstreams and facilitates design and development working sessions. 
• Provides leadership to the team jointly with the Scrum Master to meet expectations for scope and schedule by identifying and resolving technical barriers. 
• Ensures adoption and application of technical best practices. 
• Provides subject matter expertise with regard to how legacy systems function and what business rules are used.
• Participates in sponsor meetings and executive update meetings as needed. 
• Participates in the architecture meetings to ensure understanding of the linkage between the architecture and configuration, integration, ETL and other designs. Prior experience with major information technology processes (particularly application development, database administration and data warehousing) is required

DIRECTION EXERCISED: 

Directly supervises exempt and non-exempt staff in accordance with company policies and applicable Federal and State Laws. Responsibilities include but are not limited to effectively interviewing, hiring, terminating, and training employees; planning, assigning and directing work; appraising performance; rewarding and counseling employees; addressing complaints and resolving problems; supporting and encouraging the engagement process. 

This position description identifies the responsibilities and tasks typically associated with the performance of the position. Other relevant essential functions may be required. 

EDUCATION: 

Bachelor’s degree in computer science or related field. Combinations of relevant education, certifications, and experience may be considered in lieu of a degree.

EXPERIENCE: 

Five years of progressive responsibility in an IT environment with demonstrated technical knowledge which provides the necessary skills, knowledge and abilities. Three years leadership experience in IT required. Experience within the insurance industry and highly preferred. 

• Experience leading technical teams in a highly collaborative environment to deliver solutions for insurance business applications. 
• Experience with major information te