From day one, our mission has been to create an independent business with a unique culture – one that is controlled by the people who work for it. Finding the most talented and entrepreneurial people has always been key to our success.
People come to Howden Group Holdings for lots of different reasons, but they stay for the same one: our culture. That’s what sets us apart, and why we nurture and retain the best talent in the market. Whatever your priorities – work/life balance, career progression, sustainability, volunteering - you’ll find like-minded people driving change at Howden Group.
ROLE PROFILE:*
Product Owner - Digital Initiatives
- Your Job Title may differ from the Role Profile description above and is stated in your Contract of Employment.
ROLE PURPOSE:
Building on the success of various digital projects across the group, this role will sit in the Group Enterprise Architecture function and present a unique opportunity to build towards a digital-led portfolio of products. As the face of an innovative function, you will be responsible for prospecting, discovering, and building business cases for transformation work that represents a commercial opportunity to add value through technology. This role will play a key role in initially overseeing and managing the development of an in-flight digital project in the binder space, but with success, be relied upon to look further afield into finding other specialty and wholesale opportunities both in the UK and abroad where digital platforms have the potential to deliver significant ROI.
This is a real opportunity to build a unique practice from scratch and you will have to be a go-getter, be able to work independently, and wear multiple hats to succeed. Existing wholesale/specialty product knowledge is key here to hit the ground running. Over time, this role should have insight into multiple stakeholders across the business and develop the function's reputation to deliver innovative and beneficial solutions.
The job holder will perform the daily duties that most closely resemble a Product Owner, but also require some business analysis when conducting discovery work. Ultimately, this role will work closely with established technical delivery and engineering functions and utilise their product expertise to help guide the work of others to see through to the successful delivery and adoption of new and updated products. As scope grows over time, you may be required to hire/supervise/manage more junior members of the team either on a project or permanent basis, dependent upon the requirements of the business.
KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES:
Stakeholder Management:
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Facilitates communication between various parties within and external to Howden Group
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Key point of contact for requirements, project issues and queries on Product
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Responsibility for resolving project issues and escalating to senior managers as needed
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Resolves conflict between stakeholders and bring differing parties to agreement
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Develops strong relationships with business units and external vendors
Strategic Planning
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Supports wider business strategy by contributing expertise to other members of the team
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Supports the overall growth of the Product through executing appropriate strategies; developing and maintaining relationships.
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A key contributor to Product strategy development and the prioritisation of operational deliverables.
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Provides support to others to achieve positive results in line with strategy.
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Participates on ad-hoc project groups, ensuring expertise contributes to the achievement of project goals and business success. Manages assigned projects and contributes to other project as required
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Provides relevant management information senior management, as required
Environment, Contacts & Relationship
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Builds and maintains strong relationships with internal stakeholders and external contacts to ensure delivery meets expectations and is compliant
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Maintains close links across the Group, working with other teams to share information, and to identify risks and business opportunities
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Remains aware of the market e.g. competitors, potential changes/risks to ensure practices and outputs are of a sufficiently high standard and contribute to the identification of opportunities and business growth
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Develops an innovative approach to business, through being aware of new insurance products or new ways of insuring in order to spot potential opportunities and generate business growth
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Attends external seminars, forums and events where necessary, to positively represent the company and increase own knowledge and understanding of changing needs and market trends
Budget Management
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Manages budgetary constraints for the Product day to day alongside Engineering teams and External vendors
Product Management
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Manages the Product Backlog day-to-day
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Follows the Product Roadmap
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Makes prioritisation decisions based on the client needs and the Product integrity
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Manages stakeholders throughout the Product lifecycle were required
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Provides and implements Product best practices
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Acts as the escalation point for queries raised
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Ensures customer-focused product development
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Actively seeks new business by identifying opportunities in relevant markets/countries
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Act as the authority on the Product features and functions
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Co-operates with project managers and other delivery teams in the Centre of Excellence
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Keeps informed of legal and regulatory developments relevant to Product
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Occasional input into the configuration of systems, User Acceptance Testing and other client touch points if requested
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Assessment of training materials and production of reference documentation
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Measure and where needed escalate for corrective action on the performance of the Product
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Assists in pitches, lead generation and sales pipeline for Product where requested
Policy, Process and Procedures:
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Keep informed of all legal and regulatory developments relevant to the Company/Group
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Interprets instructions and issues arising, and then implement actions according to policies and procedures
People Management/Personal Development:
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When applicable, will manage the performance of direct reports and any people management issues connected with teams within their area of responsibility
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Acts as a role model for positive management and leadership behaviours
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Identifies and hires talent, ensuring that recruitment plans are in place to attract new member of staff and managing recruitment processes where required
Regulatory and Compliance:
The Board of each Operating Entity requires the highest standards of corporate governance, operational excellence and financial reporting throughout the Group from all its employees. Specific responsibilities are listed below. Reference to team (below) is only applicable where the job holder has direct line management responsibilities:
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Ensures compliance of self and team (as appropriate if the job holder has line management responsibilities) with all applicable legal, fiscal and regulatory obligations in the form of policies and procedures
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Ensures correct authorisation is obtained and processes followed when required by the Operating Entity and/or Group
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Ensures performance, HR and T&C records are up to date and meet the Operating Entity and/or Group’s requirements (which will include those of direct reports if the job holder has line management responsibilities)
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Maintains accurate records and deal with correspondence appropriately
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Operates in an honest, professional and ethical manner
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Strictly adheres to the Group Employee Code of Conduct
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Completes all relevant regulatory training
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Ensures remain competent to carry out role (this will include team members where job holder has direct reports)
PERSON SPECIFICATION:
Knowledge/Experience
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Demonstrable experience of contributing to successful Products
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It would be an advantage if the job holder has previous line management experience
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Understanding general principles of insurance - specifically specialty and wholesale product lines
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It would be an advantage if the job holder has an understanding of the legal principles of insurance (e.g. Law of Agency).
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It would be an advantage if the job holder has an understanding of London market operations (Lloyds, IUA, LPSO, LPC etc).
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Awareness of the regulatory environment and requirements including e.g. FCA rules, data protection, money laundering, specific standards of insureds’ professional bodies
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Specific Product area knowledge and in depth understanding of related wordings.
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Good understanding of company objectives and how own role contributes to these.
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Knowledge and experience of delivery in Agile projects.
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Understanding of the Account Manager function in relation to the Agile delivery process and Product development.
Skills/Behaviours
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Driven and comfortable with public speaking and presenting
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Able to work effectively independently and in a team
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Able to spot opportunities – enterprising.
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Broad vision – sees connections & big picture.
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Customer focussed approach.
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Strong inter-personal skills
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Consultative and collaborative.
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Highly organised, with good planning/prioritisation/time management skills.
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Is proactive.
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Negotiation and influencing skills, able to contribute to selling.
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Analytical and able to solve problems.
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Able to work flexibly to achieve tight deadlines/targets
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Able to positively react to change.
Qualifications
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Bachelors Degree at 2:1 (equivalent) or above
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GCSEs or equivalent including English and Maths essential
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Technically relevant qualifications
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CII Certification preferred
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Proven experience of working as a product owner throughout the whole lifecycle of projects from start-up to benefits realization.
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Proven experience of working in a product owner or product manager role during the entire lifecycle of a technology-related product.
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Approx. 3-5 years product management experience in an insurance-related organization
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Experienced in the implementation of complex corporate & transactional trading solutions for large insurance organisations. For example CRM, broking, underwriting and document management systems
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Experience of being solely responsible for the running of workshops and managing discussions with confidence and leadership.
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Domain knowledge of general insurance processes.
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London market insurance background.
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A fair level of IT knowledge – e.g. enterprise architecture and technology trends
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Good knowledge of current insurance and trends and market challenges.
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Proven ability to deliver high quality business analysis and meet strict deadlines
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Competent user of Microsoft products (or like-for-like alternatives)
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Knowledge of workflow design & Implementation of new workflows.
What do we offer in return?
A career that you define.
Yes, we offer all the usual rewards and benefits - including great healthcare provision, a wide variety of wellbeing offers, competitive salary, generous pensions and more - but we know you expect all that.
What you might not expect is a job where everyone has a voice, where volunteering in the community is part of the day job, and where everyone is encouraged to play a part towards our sustainability goals. We want people who want to make a difference - not just in the workplace, but in the industry and in the wider community.
Our Culture: People First
We are proud to be at the global table, but we are most proud of our culture. It has been built on a single and constant set of principles over more than 25 years, and it has helped us become:
The focus on being a People First business has always been at the very heart of the Group. David’s vision was to create an independent business with a unique culture; one that would survive and thrive as a business controlled by the people working for it. Finding the most talented and entrepreneurial people to join the Group has been and will continue to be key.
Diversity & Inclusion
At Howden Group Holdings we consider our people our chief competitive advantage and as such we treat colleagues, candidates, clients, and business partners with equality, fairness and respect, regardless of their age, disability, race, religion or belief, gender, sexual orientation, marital status or family circumstances.
Additional Job Details
Worker Type:
Permanent