Product Owner (Hybrid)

Selective Insurance; Short Hills (NJ); On-site; USD 116,000 - 151,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive base salary

Incentive plan eligibility

Comprehensive health care plans

Retirement savings with company match

Employee stock purchase program

Tuition assistance and reimbursement

20 days of paid time off

Job summary

Selective Insurance in New Jersey is seeking a Product Owner to champion our product strategy, translate vision into executable plans, and drive end-to-end value delivery across agile teams.

You will serve as a trusted partner to customers and stakeholders, balance strategic priorities with tactical delivery, and measure outcomes to demonstrate tangible business value. Strong collaboration and a passion for continuous improvement are essential.

Qualifications

• Understanding of the P&C insurance industry and product domain.
• Strong collaborative and stakeholder management aptitude.
• Proficiency in customer and user engagement.
• Proficiency in market and competitive research.
• Strong problem-solving capability, intellectual curiosity and development-focused mindset.
• Proficiency in data collection and analysis for informed decisions.
• Comfort navigating ambiguity and balancing priorities.
• Ability to operate at strategic and tactical levels.
• Knowledge of agile requirements and tooling.
• Knowledge of agile methodologies and processes.
• Familiarity with regulated products.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Translate product strategy into actionable delivery plans for agile teams.
• Own end-to-end value delivery and outcomes with stakeholders.
• Act as customer advocate to understand needs and feedback.
• Conduct market and competitive research to inform initiatives.
• Collect and analyze data for informed decision making.
• Foster a product mindset across teams and manage dependencies.
• Backlog management with Product Manager and Business Analyst.
• Lead demonstrations of business value and agile ceremonies.
• Communicate status and outcomes at the team level.

Skills

Stakeholder management

Agile methodologies

Customer engagement

Data analysis

Communication skills

Strategic thinking

Product lifecycle knowledge

Regulated products understanding

Ambiguity navigation

Education

College degree preferred

Job description

At Selective, we don't just insure uniquely, we employ uniqueness. Selective is a midsized U.S. domestic property and casualty insurance company with a history of strong, consistent financial performance for nearly 100 years. Selective's unique position as both a leading insurance group and an employer of choice is recognized in a wide variety of awards and honors, including listing in Forbes Best Midsize Employers in 2025 and certification as a Great Place to Work in 2025 for the sixth consecutive year. Employees are empowered and encouraged to Be Uniquely You by being their true, unique selves and contributing their diverse talents, experiences, and perspectives to our shared success. Together, we are a high-performing team working to serve our customers responsibly by helping to mitigate loss, keep them safe, and restore their lives and businesses after an insured loss occurs.

About Us

At Selective, we don't just insure uniquely, we employ uniqueness. Selective is a midsized U.S. domestic property and casualty insurance company with a history of strong, consistent financial performance for nearly 100 years. Selective's unique position as both a leading insurance group and an employer of choice is recognized in a wide variety of awards and honors, including listing in Forbes Best Midsize Employers in 2025 and certification as a Great Place to Work in 2025 for the sixth consecutive year. Employees are empowered and encouraged to Be Uniquely You by being their true, unique selves and contributing their diverse talents, experiences, and perspectives to our shared success. Together, we are a high-performing team working to serve our customers responsibly by helping to mitigate loss, keep them safe, and restore their lives and businesses after an insured loss occurs.

Overview

The Product Owner is a product champion and key leader accountable for business value and outcomes, building a product mindset, and driving end-to-end delivery of strategic imperatives across agile development teams. A strategic thinker with a knack for execution, this individual distills product vision and strategy into actionable plans and ensures ongoing delivery of measurable value. The Product Owner is a passionate user advocate and proxy, engaging with internal and external customers to understand needs and experiences and represent these in the shaping and evolution of products. As a true business partner, the Product Owner collaborates with team members, product and program leaders, end users, customers, and other stakeholders in prioritizing and refining content, managing dependencies, measuring team and product outcomes, demonstrating impactful business value, and enabling meaningful continuous improvement.

Responsibilities

• Effectively synthesizes and translates product and program strategies and vision into actionable delivery plans for their dedicated agile development team
• Responsible for end to end value delivery and outcomes at the team level, collaborating with product leaders, IT partners, business leaders, and stakeholders to ensure teams are building the right thing at the right time.
• Acts as a customer advocate and proxy, engaging with internal and external customers to understand needs, optimize feedback mechanisms, and incorporate outcomes in product scope and design.
• Conducts and participates in market and competitive research efforts, introducing applicable findings in development of product initiatives.
• Collects, refines, and analyzes relevant data for informed decision making. Employs an economic view, assessing cost, benefit, and business value in determination of team priorities.
• Cultivates a product mindset, ensuring team-level understanding and alignment with product strategy throughout development and innovation activities, navigating ambiguity, and embracing change.
• Owns, manages, and regularly prioritizes the user story backlog. Refines features and user stories in collaboration with the Product Manager and Business Analyst.
• Leads demonstration of business value and guides teams through agile ceremonies, program planning, defect remediation, and continuous improvement activities.
• Proactively manages team-level dependencies, adapting delivery plans and communicating impacts as appropriate.
• Collaboratively manages measurement and tracking of outcomes and status reporting at the team level.

Qualifications

Knowledge and Requirements

• Understanding of the P&C insurance industry, product line or domain and aptitude for continued learning
• Strong collaborative and stakeholder management aptitude; appreciation for diverse perspectives
• Proficiency in customer and user engagement
• Proficiency in market and competitive research
• Strong problem-solving capability, Intellectual curiosity, and development-focused mindset
• Proficiency in data collection and analysis and ability to apply in effective decision-making
• Comfort and aptitude in navigating ambiguity
• Strong ability to effectively operate at both strategic and tactical levels
• Strong understanding of and experience with product and software development lifecycles
• Knowledge of and practical experience writing and refining agile requirements
• Knowledge of and practical experience with agile methodologies and tooling
• Knowledge of and comfort working with regulated products
• Highly proficient written and verbal communication skills

Education and Experience

• College degree preferred
• 3+ years of business analysis experience
• 3+ years of experience in insurance line of business role
• Demonstrated success in leading projects from inception to delivery

Total Rewards

Selective Insurance offers a total rewards package that includes a competitive base salary, incentive plan eligibility at all levels, and a wide array of benefits designed to help you and your family stay healthy, achieve your financial goals, and balance the demands of your work and personal life. Additional details about our total rewards package can be found by visiting our benefits page.

• competitive base salary
• incentive plan eligibility at all levels
• comprehensive health care plans
• retirement savings plan with company match
• discounted Employee Stock Purchase Program
• tuition assistance and reimbursement programs
• 20 days of paid time off

Pay Range

USD $116,000.00 - USD $151,000.00 /Yr.

Additional Information

Selective is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer. That means we respect and value every individual's unique opinions, beliefs, abilities, and perspectives. We are committed to promoting a welcoming culture that celebrates diverse talent, individual identity, different points of view and experiences - and empowers employees to contribute new ideas that support our continued and growing success. Building a highly engaged team is one of our core strategic imperatives, which we believe is enhanced by diversity, equity, and inclusion. We expect and encourage all employees and all of our business partners to embrace, practice, and monitor the attitudes, values, and goals of acceptance; address biases; and foster diversity of viewpoints and opinions. For Massachusetts Applicants It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability.