Job Description

• The Claims Product Owner collaborates with cross-functional teams to deliver key capabilities aligned with Old Mutual’s claims transformation strategy. This role is responsible for defining and prioritizing the product backlog to drive value within the Claims Journey. Working closely with Agile teams, stakeholders, and the Claims Journey Owner, the Product Owner translates strategic goals into actionable deliverables, prioritizing the product backlog and delivering iterative improvements to claims processes, customer experience, and business outcomes.
• Strategic Execution: Align product objectives with strategic goals, define the roadmap, and translate vision into deliverables that enhance claims efficiency and outcomes.
• Backlog Management and Agile Delivery: Own and prioritize the product backlog, manage change requests, and ensure Agile teams deliver enhancements through sprints and Product Increments.
• Stakeholder Collaboration: Coordinate with Customer Service, IT, Compliance, and other Product Owners to ensure smooth execution and alignment of claims changes.
• Customer Focus: Use customer insights and analytics to prioritize improvements that enhance the claims experience and meet customer needs.
• Regulatory Compliance: Ensure all claims processes and improvements comply with regulations and company policies.
• Data Analysis: Analyze claims data to assess the impact of changes on product performance and customer satisfaction.
• Documentation: Maintain detailed and transparent records of all change requests and outcomes.
• Feature Sizing and Business Value: Size features, assign business value, and prioritize backlog items based on measurable outcomes.
• Product Lifecycle Management: Manage the entire lifecycle of claims products, from ideation to optimization and market readiness.
• Innovation and Market Competitiveness: Leverage emerging technologies and foster a culture of experimentation to ensure claims processes remain competitive.
• Product Roadmap Communication: Define and communicate the product roadmap, progress, and priorities to stakeholders and cross-functional teams.
• Product Metrics and Performance: Track key metrics to evaluate product performance and prioritize enhancements based on data-driven insights.
• Customer Advocacy: Partner with customer service to improve communication and proactively address recurring pain points in claims handling.
• Operational Risk Management: Identify and mitigate risks in claims processes, including fraud prevention and operational inefficiencies.
• Team Enablement: Ensure Agile teams have the capacity and skills to deliver backlog priorities effectively.
• Technology Enablement: Collaborate with IT to integrate claims systems, automate processes, and implement AI-driven solutions.
• Cost Efficiency and Budgeting: Monitor claims handling costs and assess ROI for new enhancements and process changes.
• Dispute and Escalation Management: Establish frameworks for resolving escalations and tracking complaints to drive systemic improvements.
• Regulatory Reporting and Audits: Partner with Compliance to ensure claims processes are audit-ready and meet reporting requirements.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS/EXPERIENCE (REQUIRED FOR THE JOB)

• Education: Bachelor’s degree in Commerce, Computer Science, Information Systems,  Business, Finance, MBA or a related field.
• Minimum of 5 years in roles such as Product Owner, Business Analyst, or Project Manager within an Agile environment.
• Minimum of 3 – 5 years demonstrated, relevant experience in a large, complex organization preferably in the financial services industry.
• Proven experience in financial services, insurance, or fintech industries.
• Demonstrated ability to deliver customer-focused solutions iteratively.
• A postgraduate qualification is advantageous.
• Proven experience with several agile development methodologies, frameworks and concepts, including Kanban, Scrum, continuous delivery.
• Knowledge in Systems thinking is advantageous.
• Experience with customer journeys, demonstrated ability to synthesize data, and strong program/project management skills.
• Experience in defining and delivering successful products in the digital space is required.
• Good understanding of User Experience best practices.
• Experience working in a collaborative multi-disciplinary team within an interactive process and/or an Agile development methodology.
• Self-starter with outstanding organizational skills and ability to track multiple dependencies (3-5) going on all at once.
• Ability to thrive in a fast-paced environment, comfort in a dynamic and fast-moving work environment.
• Excellent communication skills; ability to communicate messages in simple language for better buy-in and tell a compelling story.
• Ability to build relationships and engage with various stakeholders to drive value proposition.

ADDITIONAL QUALIFICATIONS/EXPERIENCE (PREFERRED, NOT A REQUIREMENT)

• Project Management Tools: Proficiency in tools such as JIRA, Trello, or Asana for managing and tracking change requests.
• Data Analysis Tools: Experience with data analysis and visualization tools like Excel, Tableau, or Power BI.
• CRM Systems: Familiarity with Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems such as Salesforce.
• Financial Software: Knowledge of financial software and systems used in the insurance industry.
• Agile Methodologies: Understanding and experience with Agile methodologies and frameworks like Scrum or Kanban.
• Technical Documentation: Ability to create and manage technical documentation related to product changes and requirements.