What are the responsibilities and job description for the Product Owner position at Continental General?
Looking to join a growing company dedicated to helping others? We offer that, plus competitive salaries, a culture of learning, and a fast-paced environment. This is a hybrid position with 3 days in-office. Join our team to help make a difference in the lives of others!
About Continental General:
The Continental General family of companies has provided insurance, including life and long-term care policies, to individuals and groups for over 30 years, and currently supports over 100,000 policyholders. Both our insurance company, Continental General Insurance Company, and our third-party administrator, Continental General Services, are committed to the continuous development of our infrastructure, processes, and people. The group is actively growing through expansion of both its insurance portfolio and its administrative services. With each opportunity, we take a collaborative approach to address challenges and provide unique solutions.
We are looking for a highly skilled and dynamic Agile Product Owner to join our fast-growing insurance and TPA organization. The Product Owner is responsible for maximizing the business value delivered by value stream teams. You will lead the team in managing and prioritizing the backlog, fostering collaboration, and delivering high-value solutions. The Product Owner will leverage deep expertise in insurance products and Agile methodologies to effectively manage the product lifecycle. As the owner of a value stream, you will translate complex business needs into actionable, development-ready outcomes, driving the successful delivery of key business priorities. You will work collaboratively with cross-functional teams to manage dependencies, address risks, and ensure seamless business continuity throughout the value stream.
Role and Key Responsibilities:
1. Prioritizing and Managing backlog
Clearly articulate and communicate the vision for the product and its features to the Agile team, ensuring alignment with the organization's strategic objectives.
Own and lead the prioritization of the value stream backlog. Facilitate backlog refinement sessions to ensure clarity and readiness of work items.
Lead discussions to break down the work in collaboration with key stakeholders to prepare stories and establish clear acceptance criteria.
Act as the primary point of contact for the value streams and development team regarding product requirements and priorities. Accept or reject completed work and validate deliverables against expectations.
Be readily available to the team, actively participating in stand-ups and addressing questions to remove roadblocks. Participate in Agile events, including sprint planning, standups, reviews, and retrospective.
2. Stakeholder Collaboration:
Collaborate with stakeholders (business, marketing, tech, project management etc.) to align priorities against a value stream and a set of initiatives.
Communicate product progress, updates, and challenges effectively to stakeholders at all levels.
Facilitate discussions around dependency and vendor management needs and resolve conflicts between competing demands. This will also include the coordination between other value stream Product Owners.
Continuously iterate on the product based on feedback from stakeholders, customers, and data analytics.
3. Compliance & Risk Management:
Ensure that development adheres to regulatory requirements, industry standards, and company policies, including compliance with state and federal insurance regulations.
4. Continuous Improvement:
Monitor product performance through key metrics (e.g., policy uptake, claims efficiency, customer satisfaction) and provide data-driven decisions for enhancements.
Work closely with Tech Leads to improve processes to increase team efficiency and quality of deliverables.
Stay up to date with Agile practices, life insurance trends, regulatory updates, and technological advancements to enhance the team's workflow.
Skills Required:
Leadership: Ability to lead a development team indirectly
Communications: Excellent communication, interpersonal, and organizational skills.
Project Management: Ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced, dynamic environment.
Problem Solving: Management: Analytical mindset with a focus on delivering value through customer-driven features and improvements in the insurance space. Ability to translate complex insurance concepts and regulatory requirements into actionable tasks for development teams.
Agile Certifications: Experience with Agile methodologies (Scrum, Kanban, etc.) and working with cross-functional teams in an Agile environment. Agile Product Owner Certification preferred but not required.
Experience:
Education: Bachelor's degree in Business, Marketing, Actuarial Science, Computer Science, or related field (or equivalent work experience).
Agile Experience: Proven experience (3 years) as a Product Owner in an Agile environment, ideally within the insurance or financial services industry.
Industry Experience: Comprehensive understanding of life insurance products (e.g., term, whole, universal life, annuities) and the regulatory landscape. Experience working with digital transformation initiatives or InsurTech solutions is a plus.
Tools: Proficiency with product management tools (Jira, Confluence, etc.).
What We Offer:
Opportunity to shape and drive the future of a new business in a fast-growing company.
A collaborative and innovative team culture.
Professional growth opportunities.
Benefits:
Competitive Salary & Target Bonus Program
Retirement Savings 401(k) with a company match
Comprehensive Healthcare Medical (BlueCross BlueShield), company-paid dental, vision, short-term & long-term disability, and life insurance.
Work-Life Balance 20 days of PTO, 10 paid holidays, and paid volunteer time off.
Flexible Work Options & Perks Hybrid and remote opportunities, wellness programs, and weekly paid lunch for onsite staff.
Health Savings & Flexible Spending Accounts Includes a company match for HSAs.
