Senior Product Manager

Overview

Provides support for product development, enhancement and maintenance for annuity product lines distributed by Enterprise business units (BUs) and life products distributed by W&S Financial Group Distributors. Manages a variety of projects, serving as the single point of contact. Leads/coordinates all aspects of projects, including planning and scheduling, scope, communication, issue, risk, resource, change and quality management. Utilizes expertise to direct associates and to ensure project goals and requirements are met.

The position also involves a significant amount of coordination for the on-boarding of group pension transactions, involving work with Law for contracting, Treasury for the receipt of funds, Accounting for payment of commissions and Insurance Operations and Information Technology for the acceptance of data and the completion of the onboarding process. Individual is expected to be a  student of the industry  and maintain/acquire detailed knowledge from multiple disciplines.

Industry designations preferred. Responsible for multiple components of business development and support, including initiating business cases and training activities. Expected to build and maintain productive working relationships both internally and externally, and may represent W&S in industry groups and forums. Works with minimal supervision and is responsible to independently make a broad range of critical decisions, escalating to senior management when appropriate.

What you will do:

• Product Development Initiates research, development and enhancements for annuity products distributed through Enterprise. Prepares business cases and product specifications for the enterprise committees as appropriate (e.g., ERMC). Represents BUs on Product Assessment and Execution teams in connection with Enterprise annuity and W&SFGD life product development and enhancement projects. Responsible for competitive intelligence analysis and management summaries, coordinating with the Enterprise Senior Competitive Intelligence & Retention Specialist, as needed.
  
  Jointly coordinates new product launches and product enhancements with shared services areas including Marketing to ensure effective and timely implementation. Leads efforts to develop and/or enhance processes and procedures to improve operating efficiencies and customer experience. Leads efforts to develop and enhance product illustrations, including identification and documentation of product specs and associated business rules, UAT testing of design and functionality, and production support (maintenance and error identification/resolution).
  
  Assists Marketing with idea generation and planning for product-specific sales ideas and marketing materials. Manages new partner implementation of solutions. Provides operational and technical expertise to partners. Interacts with internal and external sales staff, communicating product information, providing technical sales support and capturing product feedback.
• Product Maintenance Expected to communicate regularly and develop effective working relationships with shared services to support product enhancements and maintenance. Acts as primary liaison between Marketing and Sales in the development of product materials that support and promote annuity products distributed by Enterprise BUs. Accountable for the review and update of product rates throughout all communication medium (including oversight for the rate and product content updates for third-party illustration and product vendors).
  
  Provides information necessary in the development of contracts, endorsements, riders and prospectuses, as applicable. Coordinates and/or facilitates meetings at the direction of the VP or AVP of Product Management. Coordinates sales reporting efforts and communicates results to internal and external customers. Responsible for the update and distribution of underlying fund prospectuses, reports, supplements and company financials for variable annuity products.
  
  Oversees subaccount monitoring and proxy activities. Responsible for revisions to product-related correspondence (e.g., statements and confirmations) resulting from product development, pricing changes, legislative updates, systems and operational changes (including errors). Responsible for rate change communications, renewal rate updates and variable annuity performance. Manages the forms maintenance process, seeking feedback from subject matter experts (AOD, Actuarial, Law, Compliance), incorporating sales feedback, driving execution through Document Management, coordinating paperwork kit, website and third-party updates, and communicating to affected areas (e.g., Bus.
  
  Technology - platforms and illustrations, ECM). Accountable for providing and maintaining proprietary product information displayed by all third-party services.
• Pension Risk Transfer (PRT) Manages the Request for Quote (RFQ) process including bid solicitation, metrics tracking, rate updates, and status…