The Manager, Product is a strategic business and technology leader responsible for defining and advancing the product vision, strategy, and roadmap for Application Fulfillment across Life, Health, and Annuity within Thrivent’s Insurance Operations portfolio. This role leads the evolution of the capabilities that enable applications to move efficiently and accurately from submission through processing and issuance, connecting advisor and client experiences with underwriting, operations, and policy administration.
The Manager, Product drives modernization of the applications, workflows, services, and integrations supporting the application fulfillment lifecycle. The role focuses on reducing friction and cycle time, increasing automation and operational productivity, and improving transparency and reliability for advisors, clients, and internal teams.
As a player-coach, the Manager, Product combines hands-on product leadership with responsibility for the performance, development, and growth of three direct reports. This leader establishes effective product management practices, coaches product practitioners, and helps business stakeholders work successfully within the product operating model.
The Manager, Product partners closely with business capability owners, adjacent product teams, engineering, design, analytics, operations, and external technology partners to align priorities, manage cross-domain dependencies, and deliver measurable business outcomes. Success requires connecting end-to-end business needs with product and technology strategy while balancing modernization, operational performance, and investment priorities.
DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES:
- Own product strategy and roadmaps. Define and advance the vision, strategy, and roadmaps for Application Fulfillment across Life, Health, and Annuity, aligning business capabilities and product investments with advisor, client, and operational outcomes.
- Lead and develop people. Directly manage three product practitioners, providing clear expectations, coaching, feedback, and development opportunities while fostering a high-performing, collaborative team culture.
- Strengthen product management practices. Coach product practitioners and business stakeholders in applying effective product management practices across discovery, prioritization, delivery, adoption, and measurement.
- Prioritize across a complex portfolio. Lead prioritization and investment trade-offs across multiple products and initiatives, balancing business value, operational needs, modernization priorities, technical dependencies, and available capacity.
- Advance application fulfillment capabilities. Lead the evolution of capabilities supporting application intake, case processing, requirements management, underwriting coordination, and policy issuance. Partner across product domains and with technology providers to simplify workflows, increase automation, and improve integration across the application lifecycle.
- Deliver measurable outcomes. Establish and monitor product health metrics and business KPIs, driving improvements in application cycle time, straight-through processing, operational productivity, and advisor and client experiences.
- Lead customer and user discovery. Engage advisors, clients, and internal users to understand needs, identify friction and opportunities, validate hypotheses, and inform product strategy and prioritization.
- Build cross-functional alignment. Partner with business capability owners, adjacent product teams, engineering, design, analytics, and operations to establish shared outcomes, clarify ownership and dependencies, and coordinate solutions across interconnected business capabilities.
- Manage product investment. Apply financial management principles to product planning, budget administration, business cases, and investment decisions, ensuring resources are directed toward the highest-value opportunities.
- Model Thrivent’s leadership competencies, Model the Way, Rally the Team, and Deliver Outcomes, and foster a culture that reflects Thrivent’s purpose, promise, and values.
QUALIFICATIONS & SKILLS:
Required:
- Bachelor’s degree or equivalent work experience.
- 10+ years of relevant business experience, including experience as a product manager, product owner, or in a similar role.
- Experience in life insurance, health insurance, including disability income or long-term care, or annuities, with an understanding of the related business processes and operational environment.
- Expertise in Agile product management, stakeholder management, customer and user research, technology management, and process design.
- Understanding of iterative development and software development processes, including how technical dependencies affect product planning and delivery.
- Ability to translate business strategy and customer needs into prioritized product roadmaps and measurable business outcomes.
- Ability to coach and guide product practitioners and build alignment across business and technical stakeholders.
- Excellent communication, collaboration, and influence skills across organizational levels, including strong facilitation and executive communication skills.
- Strong organizational skills, attention to detail, and the ability to navigate competing priorities across complex products.
- Understanding of emerging technology and its potential application to business and customer needs.
Preferred:
- Prior people-management or supervisory experience.
- Experience with insurance application processing, application fulfillment, back-office platforms, or operational workflow modernization.
- Experience establishing product management practices and helping product owners and business stakeholders adopt a product operating model.
- Experience developing business cases, product strategies, and roadmaps supported by clear value measures and business outcomes.
- Proven experience leading and influencing cross-functional teams within large, complex organizational initiatives.
- Experience partnering with third-party vendors and managing dependencies across interconnected products and platforms.
Pay Transparency
Thrivent’s long-term growth depends on attracting, rewarding, and retaining people who are committed to helping others thrive with purpose. We accomplish this by offering a wide variety of market competitive compensation programs to attract, reward, and retain top talent. The applicable salary or hourly wage range for this full-time role is $146,428.00 - $198,108.00 per year, which factors in various geographic regions. The base pay actually offered will be determined by a variety of factors including, but not limited to, location, relevant experience, skills, and knowledge, business needs, market demand, and other factors Thrivent deems important.
Thrivent is unique in our commitment to helping people to be wise with money and live balanced and generous lives. That extends to our benefits.
The following benefits may be offered: various bonuses (including, for example, annual or long-term incentives); medical, dental, and vision insurance; health savings account; flexible spending account; 401k; pension; life and accidental death and dismemberment insurance; disability insurance; supplemental protection insurance; 20 days of Paid Time Off each year; Sick and Safe Time; 10 paid company holidays; Volunteer Time Off; paid parental leave; EAP; well-being benefits, and other employee benefits. Eligibility for receipt of these benefits is subject to the applicable plan/policy documents. Thrivent’s plans/policies are subject to change at any time at Thrivent’s discretion.
Thrivent provides Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) without regard to race, religion, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, pregnancy, national origin, age, disability, marital status, citizenship status, military or veteran status, genetic information, or any other status protected by applicable local, state, or federal law. This policy applies to all employees and job applicants.
Thrivent is committed to providing reasonable accommodation to individuals with disabilities. If you need a reasonable accommodation, please let us know by sending an email to human.resources@thrivent.com or call 800-847-4836 and request Human Resources.
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