Product Owner - Commercial Lines

Department: Information Technology 
Reports to: VP-IT Core and Digital, Chief Technology Officer  
Location:  Hybrid Virginia with Remote Option

Position Overview

The Product Owner for Commercial Lines is involved in the day-to-day processes, working with their scrum teams to determine product features and manage product backlog items, as well as communicating with internal stakeholders to ensure customer satisfaction. The product owner is responsible for communicating the product vision to the scrum team and leading the development and enhancement of our commercial insurance products, including the updated Business Owner Policy (BOP) and Commercial Umbrella offerings from start to finish. This role will serve as the strategic liaison between business stakeholders and technology teams, ensuring that product vision aligns with organizational goals and market demands. 
 
The ideal candidate will have deep expertise in Commercial Lines insurance, including Business Owner Policy, Commercial Auto, and Commercial Package Policy (CPP), combined with senior-level Business Analyst experience. This is a newly created position offering the opportunity to shape the future of our commercial product portfolio.

Product Owner – Commercial Lines – Responsibilities

• Serve as the primary point of contact for Commercial Lines product initiatives. 
• Understands and communicates the product vision, roadmap, and priorities for Commercial Lines products in alignment with the Product Manager and business stakeholders. 
• Collaborate with underwriting, actuarial, operations, and IT teams to ensure alignment with business objectives. 
• Lead discovery sessions with stakeholders to elicit and document business requirements. 
• Translate business needs into clear, actionable user stories and acceptance criteria for development teams. 
• Ensure compliance with regulatory requirements and internal risk management standards. 
• Participate in UAT to validate that delivered solutions meet business expectations. 
• Communicate progress, risks, and dependencies to executive leadership and cross-functional teams. 
• Partner with Scrum Master and development teams to ensure timely delivery of product increments. 
• Understands and communicates the scrum values to the scrum team. 
• Helps the scrum team execute on the shared vision for the product. 
• Owns scrum team backlog and fulfillment work. 
• Outlines a plan for achieving success. 
• Reports exceptions to the plan to the Product Manager and the CTO on a timely basis. 
• Oversee and leads business analyst and development activities. 
• Assures appropriate user stories are written, ready, and shared with developers for each sprint. 
• Acts as a main point of contact between scrum teams and internal stakeholders. 
• Assures proper management and prioritization of product backlog items in the sprints. 
• Assists the scrum team to meet the objectives of each sprint and improves each iteration. 
• Identifies areas of improvement in the product, the scrum team, and the process. 
• Keeps stakeholders informed of the status of the product. 
• Assures scrum team updates to Jira are accurate and current and writes appropriate Jira reports to monitor progress of sprints and releases through performance indicators. 
• Manages teams of up to 3 FTEs. 
• Other duties as assigned. 

Product Owner Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in computer science, information systems, related field or equivalent work experience.
• Previous work experience as a Senior Business Analyst and Product Owner.
• Minimum 5+ years of experience in Commercial Lines insurance, with strong knowledge of BOP, Commercial Auto, and CPP products.
• 5+ years of senior-level Business Analyst experience in insurance product development or transformation projects.
• Proven track record as a Product Owner or similar role in an Agile environment.
• In-depth knowledge of Agile methodologies.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills.
• Familiarity with policy administration systems and digital platforms.
• Working knowledge of Jira.
• Previous supervisory experience of Business Analysts.

Work Environment

We work in a hybrid environment, with up to three days available to work from home. A 100% remote work plan is a possibility, under certain circumstances.

Physical Demands and Work Environment

• This is an on-site position with hybrid arrangements available in the future.
• While performing this job, the employee is required to see, sit, stand, walk, be flexible enough to access tight spaces such as under desks and behind office furniture, talk, listen, type, and lift heavy objects related to computer equipment, such as monitors weighing as much as 50 lbs.
• Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable those with physical disabilities to perform essential functions.
• Office environment usually has a low noise level and comfortable temperature.  Computer room environment usually has a moderate noise level and cooler than normal temperatures.

Why Join Us?

• Opportunity to shape a newly created role and influence strategic product direction.
• Work on innovative commercial insurance solutions that meet evolving customer needs.
• Collaborative culture with a focus on professional growth and development.