Manager, Product Portfolio Lead (Hybrid)

Selective Insurance Group, Inc.•Hartford, CT

56d•Hybrid

About The Position

At Selective, we don't just insure uniquely, we employ uniqueness. Selective is a midsized U.S. domestic property and casualty insurance company with a history of strong, consistent financial performance for nearly 100 years. Selective's unique position as both a leading insurance group and an employer of choice is recognized in a wide variety of awards and honors, including listing in Forbes Best Midsize Employers in 2025 and certification as a Great Place to Work in 2025 for the sixth consecutive year. Employees are empowered and encouraged to Be Uniquely You by being their true, unique selves and contributing their diverse talents, experiences, and perspectives to our shared success. Together, we are a high-performing team working to serve our customers responsibly by helping to mitigate loss, keep them safe, and restore their lives and businesses after an insured loss occurs. Overview A Manager, Product Portfolio Lead will have accountability to drive all three dimensions of a Lean Portfolio Management function for one portfolio, which includes Strategy & Investment Funding, Agile Portfolio Operations, and Governance. This role reports into the Product Transformation Office which has accountability for accelerating the adoption of a Product Model throughout the organization. Success for this transformation requires partnership with key leaders to ensure the portfolio investments are aligned with business objectives and the strategic plan. The position is a key influencer to the operational and strategic direction of the Company and helps systemically ensure strategies are effectively implemented in alignment with business goals.

Requirements

Previous leadership/managerial experience and in leading distributed teams.
Understanding of business functions and ability to expand business knowledge as required.
Enthusiasm for delivering quality solutions.
Ability to work well with others and be respected as a leader.
Demonstrates success in staff management, hiring, mentoring, coaching, performance management, professional development, and workflow design.
Ability to think strategically and innovatively.
BS or higher degree preferred
6-8 years of progressively responsible professional experience in multiple areas including Agile program leadership, business strategy, process improvement, IT, Agile/lean finance, and consulting for large strategic efforts.
2+ years of people leadership experience in building, managing and/or developing high-performing teams.
Strong understanding and experience with strategic change management.
Experience translating complex business strategy and vision into an executable business process and technology plan resulting in business success.
Prior experience leading across complex organizational lines in a matrix structure.
Experience delivering agency or customer facing capabilities in a complex multi-channel, multi-product, integrated system environment.
Full life cycle experience managing strategic and operational programs.
Experience with systems design and development from business requirements analysis through to day-to-day management.

Nice To Haves

Knowledge of insurance or related industries is preferred.
Prior experience presenting information and building relationships with executive leadership is a plus
Experience operating in companies supporting Commercial Lines, Personal Lines, or Excess and Surplus lines of business preferred

Responsibilities

Will be aligned to single large/complex portfolio or collection of smaller portfolios
Actively coaches and supports the portfolio in adoption of Product Model and Agile concepts. Partners closely with a variety of roles (i.e. product leaders, program managers, IT delivery leaders, release train engineers).
Supports portfolio leaders in all necessary aspects of governance including financial, benefit realization measures, and general reporting.
Provide strategic leadership and management of direct and matrixed resources responsible for executing on the product and Agile transformations.
Facilitates creation of objectives and key results, product roadmaps, and solution roadmaps all aligned to the strategy.
Designs and conducts tailored workshops to advance maturity. Examples may include epic writing, feature writing, kanban board management.
Facilitates monthly portfolio governance reviews to ensure alignment across business and IT, surface impediments, removes blockers.
Participates in and may drive aspects related to transforming our financial reporting practices as we shift from project accounting to product model funding and budgeting concepts.
Drives adoption and contributes to agile work management tools (i.e. AzureDevOps, TargetProcess, ApptioOne, SharePoint, templates)

Benefits

Selective Insurance offers a total rewards package that includes a competitive base salary, incentive plan eligibility at all levels, and a wide array of benefits designed to help you and your family stay healthy, achieve your financial goals, and balance the demands of your work and personal life.
These benefits include comprehensive health care plans, retirement savings plan with company match, discounted Employee Stock Purchase Program, tuition assistance and reimbursement programs, and 20 days of paid time off.
Additional details about our total rewards package can be found by visiting our benefits page.

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