Farm Mutual Consulting Services - Product Manager

Responsible for the development and implementation of product strategies (pricing, product development, customer satisfaction) related to home and farm with an emphasis on the property lines, in order to grow the

farm mutuals business profitability. Serves as an expert resource for products that the farm mutual system offers.

Grinnell Mutual has been recognized 14 years in a row for being one of Iowa's Top Workplaces, four years running as a national Top Workplace USA winner, and three years as an international Gallup Exceptional Workplace. Since 1976 Grinnell Mutual has been rated A (Excellent) or higher by AM Best. This position qualifies for our flexible workplace options. Work at our Grinnell, Iowa, headquarters or from a home office in any of the following states: Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. Please note that candidates must be eligible to work in the U.S. without Grinnell Mutual sponsorship.

• Responsible for understanding the farm mutual system, reinsurance, and the symbiotic relationship with Grinnell Mutual regarding products and services offered and the reinsurance relationship.

• Analyzes mutual’s products performance metrics to provide recommendations, guidance, and oversight to underwriting leadership and other stakeholders with the goal to gain a competitive advantage in the marketplace and anticipate customer needs.

• Recommends innovative solutions to enable improved ease of use, take advantage of emerging technologies, improve pricing sophistication, and anticipate emerging market trends across products.

• Develops a strategy that aligns product offerings and overall design to target client needs through conducting regular industry, market, and competitor analyses, including detailed segmentation of customers.

• Reviews pricing, design, and coverage features for assigned products, along with associated processes such as underwriting, distribution, and claims.

• Anticipates product needs and market conditions.

• Provides leadership to all related functional areas to make strategy and product recommendations.

• Advises relevant product offerings considering rate changes, policyholder retention, evaluating rating components, and understanding customers’ needs.

• Recommends the development of new products, modification of existing products and maintains current products based upon financial results and customer acceptance with responsibility to enhance the customers experience and grow the company’s and the farm mutual’s business profitably.

• May analyze competition and identify market opportunities. Research and maintain awareness of latestmarket innovations in pricing, underwriting, claims, and customer experience.

• Review and analyze financial results, product profitability, business mix and competitive information and design forecasting models for products.

• Guide the process of sponsoring and evaluating new tools and technology to enhance product performance.

• Designs project work plans for new business or new implementation. Leads the coordination and implementation of new products and product changes.

• Develop and deliver new product training as appropriate.

• Advises applicable updates to clients’ underwriting guidelines and procedures to ensure they align with underwriting best practices, marketing and retention of personal and farm products while understanding the client’s reinsurance treaties as well as the impact the treaty exceptions have on the underwriting process.

• Facilitates collaboration across business units, leadership, marketing, sales, and information technology to ensure successful project execution.

• Assist leadership in building and maintaining relationships with vendors, including new and renewal underwriting processes, tools and concepts for personal and farm risks.

• Coordinates and delivers results through people and resources without direct authority.

• Functions as a technical resource to leadership and as an expert on product issues.

• Serves as a representative of Grinnell Mutual at professional meetings and conferences to promote corporate programs and organizational direction.

• Responsible for recommendations related to product design and pricing taken by the company to maintain long-term profitability.

• Responsible for reporting business expenses in a timely manner through an expense account for any work-related travel.

• Performs other duties as assigned.

• Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university in insurance, actuarial science, mathematics, risk management, economics, finance, accounting, business administration or related field; or equivalent combination of education, training and experience. Post graduate degree preferred.

• Five years of experience in personal lines property insurance, underwriting, financial services, marketing, or communications, including a minimum of one year of product management experience.

• Insurance licenses or designations such as CPCU, ARM, CIC, CRM, ARe, PFMM, or AIDA preferred.

• Demonstrated success in managing a product or book of business.

• In-depth knowledge of analytical tools, core insurance business functions, underwriting policies and best practices, insurance policy language and contracts, performance measurement techniques, and systems required.

• Knowledge of related pricing, marketing, insurance models/contracts, and financial analysis necessary. Familiarity with Department of Insurance (DOI) filings and compliance.

• Possesses sound analytical problem solving and critical thinking skills to recognize and proactively develop solutions to project challenges. Applies logical and personal judgement to make decisions and draw conclusions; researches and collects data to substantiate conclusions or resolve questions.

• Comfortable with directly engaging clients via electronic communication (email and video conferencing), phone calls, and in person.

• Excellent verbal and written communications necessary to effectively gain support, influence, train others, present information, communicate with management, mutual managers, agents, policy holders and vendors.

• Excellent project management skills and superior business acumen to drive a project to a successful closure.

• Excellent problem solving, decision making and organizational skills and be detail oriented.

• Ability to work independently in an environment with limited supervision. Ability to work in a harmonious manner with co-workers, supervisors, customers, and general public.

• Regularly and consistently demonstrates the Grinnell Mutual values.

• Ability to maintain confidentiality of proprietary company, customer and/or client information.

• Ability to keep a regular work schedule and maintain predictable attendance to meet the business needs of the position.

• Limited travel, including an occasional overnight, may be required to attend company sponsored industry meetings including Mutual Summit and/or state level advisory meetings, training, or to visit Mutuals.

• Ability to adhere to the Fleet Safety Policy.

• Must be able to maintain confidentiality and propriety information.

• Demonstrated ability to adhere to all Grinnell Mutual policies.

• Demonstrated ability to incorporate Grinnell Mutual core values in all areas work.

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each job duty and responsibility satisfactorily. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform job duties and responsibilities.

• The position is physically located in an agreed upon location per the Grinnell Mutual Work from Anywhere policy. All work arrangements must put the business needs of the organization first and ensure the coverage of all job duties.

• Works with many types of people, including internal and external customers, which can be stimulating, yet demanding.

• Frequently works under externally imposed deadlines with expected interruptions to the workflow making it difficult to anticipate the nature and volume of work to perform.

• The position is physically located in a remote home office or the Grinnell campus with a work environment of a typical office setting. Noise level is relatively quiet.

• The position requires an individual to sit for long periods of time at a computer monitor. Requires visual acuity and potential eye strain. Repetitive movement is involved.

• Frequently work with all levels of employees in the home office including management and staff in assigned business units.

• Regularly works with external customers, vendors, mutual managers and agents either through in-person contact or telephone calls.