Lean Portfolio Manager

ICW Group • San Diego, CA

6d • $121,625 - $217,711 • Hybrid

About The Position

Are you looking to make an impactful difference in your work, yourself, and your community? Why settle for just a job when you can land a career? At ICW Group, we are hiring team members who are ready to use their skills, curiosity, and drive to be part of our journey as we strive to transform the insurance carrier space. We're proud to be in business for over 50 years, and its change agents like yourself that will help us continue to deliver our mission to create the best insurance experience possible. Headquartered in San Diego with regional offices located throughout the United States, ICW Group has been named for ten consecutive years as a Top 50 performing P&C organization offering the stability of a large, profitable and growing company combined with a focus on all things people. It's our team members who make us an employer of choice and the vibrant company we are today. We strive to make both our internal and external communities better everyday! Learn more about why you want to be here! PURPOSE OF THE JOB The Lean Portfolio Manager (LPM) is responsible for aligning technology and business portfolios with strategic objectives, maximizing value delivery, and driving continuous improvement. This role operates within the Strategy, Innovation, Value management and Architecture (SIVA) and works closely with the Value Management Office (VMO), facilitating Quarterly Business Reviews (QBRs), and serving as a strategic partner to business and IT stakeholders.

Requirements

• Bachelor's Degree required in Business, Technology, or related field.
• Minimum 7 years of experience in portfolio management, program or project management, or strategic planning roles.
• Demonstrated experience managing technology or business portfolios within the insurance sector (Property & Casualty, Life, Health, or Specialty lines).
• Strong communication, collaboration, and leadership skills with the ability to influence stakeholders and build trust across diverse teams.
• High adaptability, emotional intelligence, and strategic thinking to navigate ambiguity, resolve conflicts, and drive value-focused decisions.
• Demonstrated confidence and clarity in the decision-making process, to ensure stakeholders understand the rationale behind decisions and the expected business outcomes.
• Proficiency in portfolio management tools (e.g., Jira, Smartsheet).
• Familiarity with business intelligence and reporting platforms (e.g., Power BI).
• Experience with collaboration and agile tools (e.g., Microsoft Teams, SharePoint).

Nice To Haves

• Experience in IT-business partnership and customer success functions.
• Familiarity with insurance-specific platforms (e.g., Guidewire, Duck Creek, Majesco, Insurity) and data analytics tools used in the industry.
• SAFe LPM, PfMP certification, or equivalent experience strongly preferred.

Responsibilities

• Lead portfolio strategy and execution, ensuring alignment with organizational goals and customer outcomes.
• Facilitate Quarterly Business Reviews (QBRs) to assess performance, validate priorities, and ensure value realization.
• Work proactively to prepare for QBRs by collaborating with Agile teams to gather accurate, timely information and compile progress updates and value metrics for executive reporting.
• Implement Lean Portfolio Management principles, including portfolio budgeting, initiative lifecycle management, and portfolio Kanban.
• Collaborate with business leaders, IT partners, and customer success teams to define and communicate portfolio vision and investment themes.
• Champion a value-oriented, customer-centric mindset across all initiatives.
• Lead value analysis efforts to ensure portfolio decisions deliver maximum business value.
• Oversee portfolio governance, prioritization, and financial stewardship.
• Coordinate with cross-functional teams to compile progress updates and value metrics for QBR presentations.
• Drive value-based evaluations to align investments with organizational objectives.
• Actively participate in Value Management Office (VMO) activities to drive value-based decision-making, integrate value metrics into governance, and ensure transparency in investment outcomes.
• Contribute to VMO-led reviews and forums to ensure transparency and accountability in investment decisions.
• Conduct value analysis to evaluate initiatives, ensuring alignment with strategic objectives and maximizing business outcomes.
• Facilitate value analysis sessions to identify high-impact opportunities and eliminate low-value work.
• Track and report on key metrics (business value, predictability, throughput) to inform decision-making.
• Leads prioritization and approval decisions for portfolio initiatives, applying strategic alignment, value, and capacity considerations.
• Drive innovation management by operating an idea-to-value pipeline, validating hypotheses through rapid experimentation, partnering with Agile teams to scale proven concepts, and embedding innovation metrics into QBRs and VMO governance.
• Facilitate Portfolio Sync sessions and represent LPM in Systems Demonstration.
• Facilitate development of portfolio canvas, lean business case, hypothesis development, and business level roadmaps.
• Work with business partners, shaping initiatives and providing submission support.
• Coach stakeholders on Lean-Agile principles and portfolio management best practices.
• Support the Lean-Agile Center of Excellence (LACE) in promoting agile ways of working.
• Communicate Resource Management guidelines to delivery partners.
• Foster strong relationships with business units, understanding strategic needs and driving technology solutions that deliver measurable value.
• Ensure compliance with governance standards while enabling flexibility and innovation.

Benefits

• Challenging work and the ability to make a difference
• You will have a voice and feel a sense of belonging
• We offer a competitive benefits package, with generous medical, dental, and vision plans as well as 401K retirement plans and company match
• Bonus potential for all positions
• Paid Time Off
• Paid holidays throughout the calendar year
• Want to continue learning? We’ll support you 100%

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Number of Employees: 251-500 employees