CVP, Institutional Life Product Development Lead

New York Life•New York, NY

23h•$135,000 - $170,000•Hybrid

About The Position

The IL Product Development Lead is responsible for leading COLI/BOLI product development initiatives, including ideation, design, implementation, governance, and launch. This role serves as the product owner and central point of design, coordination, and execution across all aspects of the development lifecycle, including market strategy, actuarial, investments, legal, compliance, operations, forms, and distribution. The role requires advanced judgment in navigating complex design trade-offs, regulatory considerations, operational constraints, financial implications, and governance expectations. The individual must synthesize diverse stakeholder perspectives into clear recommendations, proactively manage risk, and drive alignment to maintain forward progress. This role requires strong understanding of COLI and BOLI financial drivers and profitability considerations to appropriately balance market competitiveness, risk, and operational feasibility. The position may also support select inforce-related initiatives as needed.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree required.
7+ years of experience in life insurance product management, actuarial, or related discipline.
Demonstrated experience leading complex, cross-functional product development initiatives through launch.
Demonstrated track record of leveraging AI solutions to improve operational efficiency and accelerate achievement of business objectives.
Advanced understanding of life insurance product design and mechanics.
Strong working knowledge of profitability drivers, pricing dynamics, capital considerations, and spread-based products.
Demonstrated ability to formulate and execute a product development roadmap.
Familiarity with regulatory and compliance considerations applicable to institutional life insurance.
Flexibility to juggle and prioritize multiple high priority projects with complex interdependencies; must be very organized and have excellent follow-through.
High standard of accuracy and attention to detail.
Strong analytical skills and sound judgment in ambiguous situations.
Ability to influence without authority and drive alignment across senior stakeholders.
Ability to communicate effectively and professionally in writing and verbally across all levels of the organization and with external stakeholders.
High energy and a strong internal drive.

Nice To Haves

Advanced degree (MBA, or related discipline) preferred.
Experience with COLI/BOLI products strongly preferred.

Responsibilities

Organize and drive development of Institutional Life’s product development roadmap.
Lead COLI/BOLI product development initiatives from concept refinement through implementation and launch.
Translate strategic intent into structured execution plans with defined milestones, deliverables, and decision points.
Ensure initiative objectives are clearly articulated and consistently reflected across all stakeholder workstreams.
Lead initiatives through Institutional Life and New York Life governance processes, ensuring all required documentation, analysis, and approvals are secured.
Prepare materials for governance forums that clearly articulate product design, financial implications, risks, and mitigation strategies.
Anticipate governance concerns and proactively address questions related to profitability, compliance, operational readiness, and market positioning.
Develop and actively manage detailed project timelines, ensuring cross-functional dependencies are clearly identified and coordinated.
Proactively identify execution risks, including regulatory, operational, financial, or market-related challenges.
Partner with stakeholders to develop practical risk mitigation strategies and contingency plans.
Serve as the central integration point across actuarial, investments, tax, legal, compliance, policy form development, operations, and distribution.
Facilitate resolution of complex trade-offs between speed-to-market, market competitiveness, profitability, compliance, and administrative feasibility.
Evaluate product feature alternatives and assess associated financial, operational, and regulatory implications.
Monitor external environment to ensure market competitiveness and identify opportunities for disciplined differentiation.
Coordinate launch readiness activities including documentation, communications, and operational implementation.
Contribute to the evaluation and execution of inforce enhancements, advise on resolution of inforce operational matters, and provide product subject matter expertise to business partners as needed.