Project Manager

The Opportunity
Developing a next generation platform to support enterprise class Underwriting and other capabilities requires elite project and program management. UPT is seeking a leader who can organize and drive teams to achieve results on time, on spec and to delight audiences with great quality.
The Team
The Underwriting Platform Technologies team is seeking an exceptional and highly experienced Mastery Level Project Manager to lead and drive our most critical projects. This role requires a seasoned professional with a proven track record of successfully managing complex and large-scale projects from inception to completion. The ideal candidate will possess advanced project management skills, exceptional leadership abilities, and a deep understanding of industry best practices.
UPT owns accountability to develop the next generation Underwriting Platform for MassMutual, based on modern technologies and development practices. To achieve this, UPT partners closely with teams across ETX and with business partners. The next generation platform focuses on ease of configurability, core platform capabilities, integration of various data sources and ease of integrating new data sources as well as observability into technology and business processes. The UPT team consists of skilled technical leaders, software engineers, business analysts and quality engineers and is focused on delivering our next generation technologies leveraging waterfall and agile methodologies.
The Impact

• Lead the comprehensive delivery of face-paced project initiatives while effectively managing a matrixed team comprised of various disciplines.
• Oversee complex, long-term projects that involve multiple disciplines or business units.
• Collaborate independently and with management on high-visibility projects that span divisions and require complex coordination.
• Recognized as a critical resource for addressing unique or intricate technical and business challenges.
• Champion continuous improvement and efficiency initiatives beyond assigned responsibilities.
• Develop both short- and long-term project plans, establishing targets for milestones and ensuring adherence to deadlines.
• Collaborate with stakeholders, partners, and cross-functional teams to provide project support, resolve inquiries, assess needs, and recommend necessary changes; recognized as a key resource for solving unique or complex business issues.
• Facilitate effective decision-making within the team by presenting multiple options for project progression, utilizing the RAPID decision-making model.
• Communicate with executives and Steering Committee members to ensure project alignment with organizational goals.
• Work closely with the teams to adjust project schedules and targets in response to evolving project needs.
• Manage the comprehensive planning and implementation of projects, encompassing budgeting, forecasting, supplier collaboration, and project release planning.
• Maintain the ability to engage with all levels and facets of the organization.
• Demonstrate strong negotiation skills and conflict resolution capabilities.
• Coordinate and facilitate extensive program planning sessions, ensuring successful delivery by aligning cross-functional technical teams.
• Collaborate with fellow Project Managers, business leaders, technical experts, architects, developers, and vendors to ensure program strategy and execution are aligned.
• Drive initiatives to maintain alignment with the program roadmap while adhering to project schedules and budgets.
• Ability to operate independently on multiple project tasks and navigate complexities effectively.
• Select, manage, develop, coach, and motivat team members to achieve optimal performance.
• Coordinate technical integration across various workstreams.
• Support and facilitate change management for existing and new processes.
• Assist in creating and providing high-level estimates for project planning purposes.
• Identify and escalate risks and issues, serving as the primary point of contact for project/program escalations.
• Remove obstacles to empower the project team in achieving objectives and influences decision-making as needed.
• Assist engineers in the overall delivery across systems, identifying gaps, problems, and dependencies among individual teams and systems.
• Identify opportunities for improvement across teams and addresses these proactively.
• Facilitate program retrospectives and utilizes program metrics to support team development and tackle challenges.

The Minimum Qualifications

• 8+ years of experience in an IT lead delivery, business analyst, technical project management, or similar role
• 5+ years of experience in a management, leadership, or similar leading role

The Ideal Qualifications

• Significant technical or insurance industry background
• Experience with managing supplier delivery and supplier relationships
• Knowledge or experience with Saas / cloud platforms delivery/implementation
• Ability to travel as needed to MassMutual office locations
• Outstanding written and verbal communication and interpersonal skills
• High organization, collaborative individual
• Comfortable working in ambiguity, capable of establishing and growing functions and teams from the ground up toward clarity
• An action-oriented, driven, entrepreneurial mindset
• Capable of leading technical teams to implement broad scope projects
• Skilled in problem solving and technical analysis
• Strong organizational skills and attention to detail
• Effective relationship building skills
• Ability to influence peers, leaders and business customers
• Collaborative team player focused on achieving personal accomplishments through making those around you successful
• Experience, or working knowledge, of Financial Service concepts and business data
• Experience working with Agile development processes and methodologies including Scrum and Kanban

What to Expect as Part of MassMutual and the Team

• Regular meetings with Steering Committees
• Focused one-on-one meetings with your manager and teammates via matrixed management
• Access to mentorship opportunities
• Networking opportunities including access to Asian, Hispanic/Latinx, African American, women, LGBTQ, veteran and disability-focused Business Resource Groups
• Access to learning content on Degreed and other informational platforms

• Collaborative and inclusive company culture with opportunities for growth and advancement.

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MassMutual is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer Minority/Female/Sexual Orientation/Gender Identity/Individual with Disability/Protected Veteran. We welcome all persons to apply. Note: Veterans are welcome to apply, regardless of their discharge status.
If you need an accommodation to complete the application process, please contact us and share the specifics of the assistance you need.
Salary Range: $121,800.00-$159,800.00