Product Manager - Customer Solutions Value Stream

Product Manager - Customer Solutions Value Stream

Continental General - Austin, Texas

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! 

Applicants must be authorized to work for ANY employer in the U.S. We do not sponsor employment visas or other immigration processes to attain or maintain employment eligibility. Remote positions are open to applicants based anywhere in the continental U.S. Hybrid positions are open to applicants based in the Austin, Texas area.  

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 200,000 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.

Position Overview:

Continental General is seeking an experienced Product Manager ready to lead a value stream. You will be accountable for driving the value stream strategy, prioritizing work and delivering business value. As a strong influencer you will work directly with the business and collaborate cross-functionally with other value streams. You will lead with agile methodologies to ensure iterative progress, stakeholder collaboration, and customer-centric innovation. As a leader of Product Owners, your ability to coach, lead and inspire are critical to this role.

Role Domain: Customer Solutions Value Stream:

This Product Manager will oversee the Customer Solutions Value Stream, leading three Product Owner-led Sub-Domain teams that support Client Services, Claims and Customer Experience:

• Policy Administration: Responsible for inforce processing within the policy administration system, including billing, correspondence, reinstatements, policy changes and taxable event reporting.
• Claims: Responsible for all policy claims and all outbound monetary transactions.
• Customer Experience: Responsible for all customer interactions with the company, including phone, email and the customer user portal.

A core accountability of this role is to create and adhere to a standard operating model that supports Continental General Services TPA clients. The Product Manager ensures that core operations are scalable and configurable based on current client needs, enabling the value stream to grow and adapt without duplicating processes or solutions across business lines.

Key Responsibilities:

• Define Value Stream Strategy: Lead the creation and communication of a value stream strategy, work with business and domain leadership to align on goals and clearly understanding customer needs.
• Manage and Prioritize the Value Stream Feature Backlog: Work closely with business and domain leadership to define and prioritize the Value Stream Feature backlog, ensuring that the most valuable features are prioritized and delivered incrementally.
• Constructing Epics and Features: Work with internal stakeholders and external partners, vendors, and customers to define business value deliverables, create and communicate epics and features for your value stream. Support Value Steam Teams to break Features into stories. This includes the high-level discovery and requirements.
• Collaborate with Cross-Functional Teams: Facilitate collaboration between solution delivery/scrum teams, design/UX, Project Management, and other stakeholders to ensure alignment and delivery with excellence in an agile environment.
• Agile Event Participation: Partner with Value Stream Scrum Master and Delivery Manager to lead and run Program Increment planning, Program Retrospectives, and be the point of escalation to remove obstacles for the teams. Participate and ensure key stakeholder participation in Sprint Reviews to review and approve work.
• Ensure Quality and Value: Collaborate and partner with IT Delivery Manager and QA leads to ensure delivery of expected value to customers. Serve as the business value stream subject matter expert, providing actionable advice to technology teams.
• Monitor Value Stream Performance: Define and track key performance indicators (KPIs) and user feedback to evaluate product performance and inform future Value Stream decisions, planning iterations and enhancements in coordination with other members of the team.
• Continuous Improvement: Embrace and promote a mindset of continuous improvement within the team and across processes, refining value stream management techniques and agile practices.

Requirements

Qualifications:

• Industry Experience: Proven expertise in the life insurance industry with understanding of product, the new business journey including underwriting, and operations, claims management, and regulatory compliance disciplines. Strong track record of navigating the complexities and regulatory needs of the insurance landscape.
• Proven Product Management Experience: At least 5-8 years of experience as a Product Manager or Product Owner representing business needs, priorities and implementation of technical solutions, with a track record of successfully launching and iterating on products.
• Agile Experience: Hands-on experience working with agile teams, ideally within a Scrum or Kanban framework, and an understanding of the agile lifecycle from planning through to delivery.
• Tools: proficient user of Jira and familiarity with insurance-based platforms and systems (policy admin, payment platforms).
• Education: A bachelor’s degree in business, engineering, computer science, or a related field is preferred. Agile certifications (e.g., Certified Scrum Product Owner) are a plus.

Skills Required:

• Agile Methodologies: In-depth knowledge of agile methodologies, including Scrum, Kanban, or Lean, and experience applying them in real-world product management scenarios (0-1 product development).
• Product Management: Strong product management skills, including roadmap development, backlog prioritization, epic and feature writing and requirements gathering. In-depth knowledge of industry and technology trends as well as regulatory developments.
• Stakeholder Management: Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to influence, manage up and align diverse stakeholders. Collaborate with cross-functional teams, facilitating discussions and resolving conflicts when necessary
• Analytical Thinking and Problem Solving: Strong problem-solving and data analytical skills with the ability to foresee dependencies and mitigate risks efficiently.
• Adaptability: Ability to navigate and thrive in a changing, fast-paced environment, adjusting priorities and having a natural curiosity with a global mindset.

Why Join Us?

• Opportunity to directly drive to growth and scale efforts at a dynamic and innovative company.
• Competitive salary and benefits
• Collaborative and fast-paced work environment.
• Professional development and growth opportunities within the insurance space.

Benefits:

• Competitive Salary & Target Bonus Program
• Retirement Savings – 401(k) with a company match
• Comprehensive Medical insurance through BlueCross BlueShield of Texas. Company-paid dental, vision, short-term & long-term disability, and life insurance.
• Work-Life Balance – This role offers 25 days of PTO, 10 paid holidays, and paid volunteer time off.
• Flexible Work Options & Perks – Hybrid opportunity, wellness programs, and weekly paid lunch for onsite staff.
• Health Savings Accounts (HSA) & Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs) – Includes a company match for HSAs.