Director of Product Innovation

  • Full-time

Company Description

You and Northwestern Mutual. We believe relationships are built on trust. That our lives and our work matter. And we’re much stronger together than we are apart. These beliefs launched our company nearly 160 years ago. Today, they’re just a few of the reasons why people choose to build careers at Northwestern Mutual.

Our business is about helping people secure their financial futures, and that starts with putting people first – our clients, our employees and our field representatives. Northwestern Mutual is known for financial strength. We’re strong, innovative and growing. Come grow with us.

Job Description

At Northwestern Mutual, we believe relationships are built on trust. That our lives and our work matter. These beliefs launched our company nearly 160 years ago. Today, they're just a few of the reasons why people choose to build careers at Northwestern Mutual.

We're strong and growing. In a company with such a long and storied history, this may be the most exciting and important time to be a part of Northwestern Mutual. We're strong, innovative and growing.

We invest in our people. We provide opportunities for employees to grow themselves, their career and in turn, our business.

We care.  We make a positive difference in our communities. Nationally, thousands have benefitted from our support of research and programs to fight childhood cancer. Each year, our Foundation, employees and financial representatives donate time, talent and financial support to causes they're passionate about.

 

We are an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, age or status as a protected veteran, or any other characteristic protected by law.

 

What's the role?

Reporting to the Senior Vice President, Life, Annuity, and Product Solutions, the Director, Product Innovation is responsible for leading, defining, developing, prioritizing, and executing the risk-product innovation strategy to align with new ways the company pursues (or could pursue) for connecting with consumers or existing clients. You will be responsible and accountable for ensuring continuous innovation of the product strategy in order to find, bring together, and deliver new business value that still aligns with our four foundational pillars of mutuality, financial strength, long term product value and exclusive distribution. You have experience building solutions from clients’ needs and desires. You will decipher a multitude of data inputs to realize what is most important to clients while iteratively building solutions that are validated with customer input and align to company differentiators.

 

Bring Your Best! What this role needs:
  • 10+ years of product marketing experience identifying what’s relevant to the consumer for new products and/ or modifications to existing products
  • Bachelor’s Degree or (preferably advanced degree) in a business discipline.
  • Visionary leader with a consistent background of delivering results by creating competitive and breakthrough strategies and plans
  • Startup Mentality with demonstrated success as an entrepreneur with a proven track record of driving growth (5+ years)
  • Deep understanding of how to build empathy with customers; experience working with customers in field and in forming and leading customer co-development exercises
  • Expert knowledge in product management leading multi-functional teams using agile and/or Lean Startup methodologies.
  • Calculated risk-taker who is curious, willing to take action and influences others
  • Strategic -thinker anticipating future consequences and trends accurately
  • Research Savvy-Demonstrated ability through applying expertise in “outside-in” thinking, client journey mapping, and design thinking to produce actionable insights
  • Strong communicator who works well with cross-functional teams and leads multiple stakeholders – even when they don’t report to you.
  • Deep analytical skills for influencing others and the ability to utilize data to make good decisions when confronted by ambiguity.
  • Industry knowledge – Demonstrated understanding of insurance and/or financial products desirable.


 

 

Req ID: 15001
Position Type: Regular Full Time
Education Experience: Bachelor's Required
Employment Experience: 9+ years
Licenses/Certifications:
FLSA Status: Exempt
Posting Date: 06/22/2017