AVP, Partner Connections Product Management – Employee Benefits

The Hartford•Hartford, CT

19h

About The Position

We’re determined to make a difference and are proud to be an insurance company that goes well beyond coverages and policies. Working here means having every opportunity to achieve your goals – and to help others accomplish theirs, too. Join our team as we help shape the future. Overview The Employee Benefits organization continues to invest in a modern, digitally enabled partner ecosystem that accelerates growth, improves operational efficiency, and enhances end‑to-end customer experience. As the AVP, Partner Connections Product Management, you will play a critical leadership role in defining the enterprise strategy for API, data exchange, and integration capabilities with strategic HR technology partners, and translating that strategy into disciplined, value‑driven delivery across the Employee Benefits portfolio. Reporting to the VP, Strategic Data and Partner Connections within the EB Transformation Office, this leader serves as the senior product execution voice for Partner Connections—bridging business strategy, strategic partnerships, and technology delivery. You will lead the product vision and roadmap for connectivity across HRIS, benefits administration, payroll, and broader BenTech ecosystems, enabling seamless enrollment, eligibility, billing, claims, and data synchronization experiences for Employer and Employee customers. The AVP will provide portfolio‑level oversight across multiple Agile teams within the Strategic Data Value Stream, leading Agile Product Managers and Agile Product Owners to ensure integrations and platforms are delivered with clear product strategy, strong backlog health, alignment to enterprise priorities, and measurable business outcomes. Success in this role requires a strong balance of strategic thinking, agile delivery leadership, industry expertise, and matrixed influence—driving alignment from partner and data strategy through day‑to‑day execution while enabling scalable, repeatable, and consumable capabilities across the Employee Benefits ecosystem.

Requirements

10+ years of current or recent experience in digital platform strategy, API and data exchange products; Employee Benefits and/or HR Tech experience required.
Strong understanding of HR technology partner ecosystems, digital integrations, and data‑enabled platforms.
Demonstrated ability to lead complex, cross‑functional initiatives in a highly matrixed environment.
Exceptional communication, influence, executive storytelling, and relationship‑building skills with senior-level stakeholders, technical audiences and external strategic partners.
Deep experience in Agile Product management and proven experience leading Agile delivery teams at the portfolio or ART level (SAFe experience preferred).
Bachelor’s degree required; advanced degree preferred.

Responsibilities

Partner Connections Product Strategy & Roadmap Define and execute multi‑year, strategy and roadmap for Partner Connections, including API and EDI integrations that support EB’s priorities.
Translate partner growth strategies, distribution objectives, and operational needs into actionable product roadmaps and delivery commitments.
Shape and influence IT investment decisions by articulating clear value cases tied to growth, efficiency, risk reduction, and customer experience.
Identify and prioritize Epics and Features that deliver measurable business impact; ensure roadmaps reflect enterprise opportunities, risks, and dependencies.
Develop product KPIs, value metrics, and reporting mechanisms to measure adoption, quality, and business outcomes.
Strategic Leadership & Alignment Partner with Partner Connections Strategy, Sales, Relationship Management, Operations, and Technology leaders to influence priorities, solution decisions, and IT investments.
Lead and influence at the executive level with strong executive presence, storytelling and strategic framing.
Partner with HR tech partners and external vendors to align roadmaps, delivery sequencing, and integration priorities.
Identify market opportunities and competitive differentiation through connectivity and customer journey.
Ensure stakeholder satisfaction through proactive communication, disciplined execution routines, and measurable progress toward outcomes.
Prioritize integrations based on growth, efficiency, and customer experience.
Define and implement product KPIs and value metrics to measure adoption, growth enabled by connectivity, partner impact, operational efficiency, and business outcomes.
Drive adoption of new partner‑facing capabilities through coordinated change management, readiness, and communication plans.
Provide strategic leadership across the full data exchange lifecycle—including solution design, integration build, and operational routines—to ensure the value of capabilities is maximized.
Agile Leadership & People Management Lead, develop, and coach a team of Agile Product Managers and Agile Product Owners, and matrixed team members supporting enterprise programs.
Own the portfolio‑level product backlog, prioritize based on value, and serve as final escalation point for trade‑offs.
Create a culture of innovation, accountability, continuous learning, and outcome‑oriented delivery.
Model strong executive presence, collaboration, and results‑driven behaviors across matrixed teams.
Manage risks, dependencies, and cross‑portfolio alignment across the EB and enterprise ecosystem.
Ensure strong backlog health, prioritization discipline, and roadmap alignment across all product teams.
Balance near‑term delivery commitments with long‑term platform modernization, scalability, integration reuse, and architectural alignment.