Assistant Vice President Product Strategy

Introduction

We’re motivated by the fact that educators take care of our children’s future, and we believe they deserve someone to look after theirs. We help educators identify their financial goals and develop plans to achieve them. This includes insurance to protect what they have today and financial products to help them prepare for their future.

Horace Mann is seeking an experienced and strategic Assistant Vice President (AVP), Product Strategy to lead competitive intelligence, product evaluation, and strategic design initiatives for our Life and Retirement product portfolio. This senior leadership role is responsible for ensuring our products remain competitive, customer-focused, and aligned with market dynamics and long-term growth objectives.

The AVP will serve as a key subject matter expert, partnering across actuarial, marketing, distribution, operations, and technology teams to guide product evolution, enhance illustration capabilities, and strengthen overall product positioning.

Competitive Intelligence & Market Strategy

• Develop, oversee, and manage comprehensive product competitive intelligence, including in-depth analysis of peer products, features, benefits, pricing, and positioning.
• Utilize industry data and market insights to inform product design, rate setting, and product enhancement strategies.
• Monitor market trends and competitive shifts to proactively identify opportunities and risks.

Product Design & Development

• Oversee preliminary product design activities for new products and updates to existing products, including:
  • Industry research and benchmarking
  • Agent and customer feedback collection
  • Development of high-level product specifications
• Guide strategic product recommendations to ensure alignment with business objectives and customer needs.

Product Health & Portfolio Management

• Identify opportunities for product refinement, repositioning, or retirement as needed.

Illustration Strategy & Platform Expertise

• Identify and direct illustration modifications and enhancements for Life and Retirement products.
• Serve as the subject matter expert for illustration platform updates and changes, ensuring alignment between product strategy and system capabilities.
• Partner with technology and actuarial teams to ensure illustration accuracy, compliance, and competitive differentiation.

Required Competencies

• Strategic Leadership: Ability to translate enterprise strategy into operational execution while leading change and inspiring teams.
• Operational & Technical Expertise: Deep experience in product operations, program/project leadership, and implementation of technology solutions that support product performance and innovation.
• Analytical Acumen: Skilled at interpreting data, identifying trends, evaluating competitive positioning, and using insights to improve product performance.
• Collaboration & Influence: Ability to build trusted relationships and influence stakeholders at all organizational levels, including executive leadership.
• Execution & Accountability: Strong prioritization skills with consistent follow-through and results orientation in a fast-paced, evolving environment.
• Communication Effectiveness: Clear, compelling communicator who adapts messaging for executives, cross-functional partners, and external stakeholders.
• Continuous Improvement Mindset: Proactively identifies opportunities to enhance product processes, controls, systems, and customer experience.

Qualifications & Experience

• Bachelor’s degree required; MBA preferred.
• 10+ years of industry experience required.
• 5+ years of Life and/or Retirement product experience (experience in both strongly preferred).
• Deep understanding of product design and competitive positioning within Life and Retirement markets.
• Demonstrated ability to lead strategic product initiatives across cross-functional teams.
• Strong analytical, research, and market evaluation skills.
• Executive-level communication and presentation capabilities.
• Experience working with illustration platforms and system-driven product enhancements preferred.
• Normal office environment or remote work arrangement.
• Periodic travel may be required.