Sr. Product Owner - Digital Applications

Job Description:

Join a forward-thinking organization at the forefront of digital transformation in the life insurance industry. We are seeking a visionary Sr. Product Owner with deep subject matter expertise in life insurance and a passion for leveraging technology—including AI—to enhance user experience, operational efficiency, and strategic outcomes.

As the Sr. Product Owner for Digital Applications, you will lead the evolution of our flagship platforms used by financial professionals, clients, field offices, and internal teams. You will drive product strategy, champion user-centric design, and guide cross-functional teams to deliver impactful digital solutions. Successful candidates will be adept at working with deeply technical partners and senior-level stakeholders, seamlessly bridging the gap across all levels and technical aptitudes of the organization. You will serve as a translator between business needs and technical execution, ensuring alignment, driving results, and managing projects with precision and agility.

Essential Functions 

Stakeholder Engagement & Communication:

• Build and maintain strong relationships with business leaders, technical teams, and end users to gather insights and align priorities.
• Provide transparent visibility into product development progress, challenges, and successes across all organizational levels.
• Facilitate consensus and inspire collaboration through compelling storytelling, visualizations, and strategic dialogue.

Product Leadership & Strategy:

• Define and communicate a compelling product vision and roadmap aligned with enterprise goals.
• Determine and articulate Minimum Viable Product (MVP) to deliver maximum value with optimal investment.
• Collaborate with other Product Owners and stakeholders to manage interdependencies and ensure cohesive delivery.
• Demonstrate passion as both an advocate and hands-on contributor who drives a vision to completion by executing when needed, advising where appropriate, and maintaining constant awareness of implementation progress.
• Construct and communicate release plan to stakeholders. 
• Proactively gather and analyze feedback from customers and stakeholders to assess the quality, accuracy, and impact of delivered product features, ensuring continuous alignment with user needs and business goals.

AI & Digital Enablement:

• Lead the responsible integration of AI-powered tools to enhance decision-making, automate processes, and improve user experience.
• Champion digital fluency by coaching staff and advisors on effective use of collaboration platforms (e.g., Zoom AI, Copilot, SharePoint).
• Partner with enterprise technology teams to align on digital strategies, monitor tool effectiveness, and drive continuous improvement.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities 

• Strategic thinker with a proven ability to inspire execution, drive innovation, and solve complex problems with creativity and clarity.
• Strong facilitation, negotiation, and influence skills across technical and business domains.
• Exceptional communication and presentation abilities, including the creation of impactful visual aids (e.g., PowerPoint, Visio, Prezi, Zoom Whiteboards) to guide discussions and foster shared understanding.
• Comfortable navigating and encouraging change, ambiguity, debate, conflict, experimentation, and informed risk-taking.
• Proven ability in the area of creative facilitation and encouragement of innovation. 
• Skilled in public speaking and stakeholder engagement across all organizational levels.
• Proven ability to make or facilitate effective decisions as they relate to an Agile team’s product delivery.
• Committed to continuous improvement, learning new skills, and contributing to process enhancements. Experience with AI tools and platforms, with a strong understanding of their practical applications in business operations.

Education

• Bachelor’s degree
• Advanced education or professional certifications preferred, such as an MBA or Agile Product Owner certification (e.g., CSPO, SAFe PO/PM)
• Ongoing commitment to professional development and staying current with emerging technologies, including AI and digital transformation trends

Experience

• 10+ years of experience in life insurance with deep expertise in digital product development and user-centric design.
• 5+ years of leadership experience driving cross-functional initiatives and managing stakeholder relationships.
• Proven track record of delivering enterprise-grade digital solutions in Agile environments.

Base Salary Range: $130,000 - $145,000

For over 175 years, Penn Mutual has empowered individuals, families and businesses on the journey to achieve their financial goals. Through our partnership with Financial Professionals across the U.S., we help instill the confidence and reliability that comes from a stronger financial future. Penn Mutual and its affiliates offer a comprehensive suite of competitive products and services to meet the unique needs of Financial Professionals and their clients, including life insurance, annuities, wealth management and institutional asset management. To learn more, including current financial strength ratings, visit www.pennmutual.com.

Penn Mutual is committed to Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO). We provide employment and advancement opportunities to all qualified applicants and associates, according to applicable laws. This is reflected in our practices for hiring, placement, promotion, transfer, demotion, layoff, termination, recruitment, compensation, selection or training, and all other terms and conditions of employment. All employment-related decisions and practices are free from unlawful discrimination. This includes: race, creed, color, national origin, ancestry, citizenship age, gender (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, domestic partnership or civil union status, marital status, genetic information, disability, religious observance or practice, liability, veteran status or any other classification protected under applicable law.