AVP BSI Agile Product Lead

020 Travelers Indemnity Co; Hartford Township (OH); Hybrid; USD 174,000 - 287,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health Insurance

401(k) match up to 5%

Pension Plan 100% funded

Paid Time Off 20 days + 9 holidays

Wellness program with mental health

Job summary

Travelers Companies, Inc. is seeking an AVP, Agile Product Lead for Bond & Specialty Insurance. You will guide software product management, align business strategy with technology delivery, and drive a multi-year product roadmap across BSI circles.

You will coach APOs, work with SP&E and enterprise leaders, and ensure AI-enabled practices are integrated into backlog development and acceptance criteria. A strong leadership track record is essential.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience.
• Seven years in software product management or a closely related discipline.
• Four years of people management or team leadership experience.

Responsibilities

• Infuse modern software product management principles to improve customer outcomes and measurable business results.
• Lead APOs across BSI and ensure vision, roadmap and measurement of their work against business outcomes.
• Collaborate with SP&E and tech leadership to align operating rhythm, ceremonies and governance with product delivery.
• Drive AI-assisted backlog development, user story generation, acceptance test creation and dependency analysis.
• Define OKRs and drive prioritization and funding to achieve measurable results across product circles.

Skills

Product management

Leadership

SAFe / LeSS

OKRs

Communication

Education

Bachelor's Degree or equivalent

MBA preferred

Tools

AI tooling

Agile toolchains

Job description

Who Are We? Taking care of our customers, our communities and each other. That’s the Travelers Promise. By honoring this commitment, we have maintained our reputation as one of the best property casualty insurers in the industry for over 170 years. Join us to discover a culture that is rooted in innovation and thrives on collaboration. Imagine loving what you do and where you do it.

Job Category Technology Compensation Overview

The annual base salary range provided for this position is a nationwide market range and represents a broad range of salaries for this role across the country. The actual salary for this position will be determined by a number of factors, including the scope, complexity and location of the role; the skills, education, training, credentials and experience of the candidate; and other conditions of employment. As part of our comprehensive compensation and benefits program, employees are also eligible for performance-based cash incentive awards.

Salary Range $173,700.00 - $286,600.00 Target Openings 1

What Is the Opportunity?

Bond & Specialty Insurance (BSI) at Travelers is a leading provider of surety, management liability, and specialty insurance products, delivering differentiated value to agents, brokers, and commercial customers. BSI's product and technology organization is at the center of driving the Agile and operational capabilities that power underwriting excellence and customer outcomes. As the AVP, Agile Product Lead, BSI, you will support the software product management discipline across the BSI business, working collaboratively to drive the product vision, multi-year roadmap, and operating model that connects business strategy to technology delivery. You will serve as the primary cross- BSI business-side interface to Technology and enterprise program leaders, driving outcome-oriented prioritization across BSI's product circles and ensuring that delivery investments generate measurable business results.

What Will You Do?

Infuse modern software product management principles and practices across BSI to improve customer outcomes and achieve measurable business results, establishing clear role expectations and performance standards for Agile Product Owners (APOs). Support and develop the product discipline by matrix and/or directly managing a team of APOs across BSI, working with value stream leads and circle leads to establish clear role expectations and performance standards, ensuring APOs own the vision, roadmap and measurement of their work against a business outcome. Work with SP&E and tech leadership to examine the operating rhythm, ceremonies and governance to ensure the software development process is designed to support a product operating model. Support the development of the product vision and multi-year roadmap across BSI’s business circles in partnership with business stakeholders, Value Stream Leaders, and the Senior Leadership Team, providing an integrated view of objectives and key results (OKRs) across all circles. Lead the evolution of requirements and discovery practices for the AI era — establishing structured, repeatable approaches to capturing business intent, acceptance criteria, and outcome hypotheses that AI tooling can act on. Drive adoption of AI-assisted techniques across backlog development, user story generation, acceptance test creation, and dependency analysis, while setting quality standards that ensure AI-generated artifacts are business-validated, traceable, and production-ready. Drive outcome-oriented prioritization and funding by working closely with SP&E colleagues and Value Stream and Circle Leaders to ensure measurable OKR results and leading budget preparation and management, including OKR definition, prioritization, and initiative scoping. Serve as the primary business leader that interfaces with Enterprise Tech & Ops on Product or business related initiatives working in close partnership with the tech PMO on broader SDLC+ work. Foster a performance-based culture through coaching, mentoring, and feedback for matrixed associates, while executing on the Software Product Management community of practice for BSI in partnership with the Enterprise SDLC+ leaders that defines roles, standards, and development resources across the organization. Build Agile product capability across BSI by identifying gaps, developing an upskilling plan and contributing to overall talent strategy and career pathing for the product function. Perform other duties as assigned.

What Will Our Ideal Candidate Have?

Bachelor’s Degree in Business, Computer Science, Information Systems, or a related field; Master’s Degree or MBA preferred. Eight or more years in software product management or product ownership, with at least five years in a leadership role in a large, matrixed organization. Experience in a commercial lines or specialty insurance environment, with familiarity with underwriting workflows, policy lifecycle, or distribution systems is a plus. Demonstrated experience in scaled Agile frameworks (SAFe, LeSS, or equivalent) with a track record of OKR-based prioritization and outcome-oriented delivery across multiple concurrent product teams. Exceptional communication, collaboration, and influencing skills with the ability to present complex information and interact with all levels of the organization. Knowledge of emerging AI tools and their application in the software product management lifecycle.

What is a Must Have?

Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent experience. Seven years of experience in software product management, product ownership, or a closely related discipline. Four years of people management or team leadership experience.

What Is in It for You?

• Health Insurance: Employees and their eligible family members – including spouses, domestic partners, and children – are eligible for coverage from the first day of employment.
• Retirement: Travelers matches your 401(k) contributions dollar-for-dollar up to your first 5% of eligible pay, subject to an annual maximum. If you have student loan debt, you can enroll in the Paying it Forward Savings Program. When you make a payment toward your student loan, Travelers will make an annual contribution into your 401(k) account.
• You are also eligible for a Pension Plan that is 100% funded by Travelers.
• Paid Time Off: Start your career at Travelers with a minimum of 20 days Paid Time Off annually, plus nine paid company Holidays.
• Wellness Program: The Travelers wellness program is comprised of tools, discounts and resources that empower you to achieve your wellness goals and caregiving needs.
• In addition, our mental health program provides access to free professional counseling services, health coaching and other resources to support your daily life needs.
• Volunteer Encouragement: We have a deep commitment to the communities we serve and encourage our employees to get involved. Travelers has a Matching Gift and Volunteer Rewards program that enables you to give back to the charity of your choice.

Employment Practices Travelers is an equal opportunity employer. We value the unique abilities and talents each individual brings to our organization and recognize that we benefit in numerous ways from our differences. In accordance with local law, candidates seeking employment in Colorado are not required to disclose dates of attendance at or graduation from educational institutions. If you are a candidate and have specific questions regarding the physical requirements of this role, please send us an email so we may assist you. Travelers reserves the right to fill this position at a level above or below the level included in this posting. To learn more about our comprehensive benefit programs please visit http://careers.travelers.com/life-at-travelers/benefits/. Travelers has more than 30,000 employees in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Ireland.

Explore life at Travelers. Open to all employees, our 10 Diversity Networks celebrate culture and communities and create spaces for all employees through powerful forums for dialogue and support. Discover diversity and inclusion. Employees and their eligible family members – including spouses, domestic partners and children – are eligible for coverage from the first day of employment. Explore benefits. Travelers has been recognized by organizations such as G.I. Jobs and Military Times. Read more about recognition. Our employees are valuable assets to their hometowns, volunteering for important causes each year. Learn about community involvement. Imagine other opportunities here.