VP Product Manager, Dental

Description and Requirements
Title: VP Product Manager - Dental
Location: Bridgwater, NJAlternate Location(s): New York, NY, Oriskany, NYSetting: HybridReports to title: SVP Group ProductsTravel: Occasional (<25%)
The Team You Will Join The Dental Products team is part of the Group Insurance business within the US Region. The Dental Products team is comprised of leaders who oversee Clinical Oversight and Network, Product Development, and Product Execution. This role leads product execution, utilizing SAFe Agile principles, through two Agile Release Trains (ARTs). There are currently eight direct reports, leading 20 direct resources, with 200 total resources as part of the agile matrix organization.
The Opportunity Re-invigorating our Dental product with focus on both above market growth and margin expansion is critical to the success of the Group business. Over the last two years the team has developed and is executing on a roadmap to support our evolving market proposition. Core to achieving our vision is maintaining a high-quality network with the flexibility support value-focused product innovation, while delivering effortless and efficient experiences for both members and provider offices.
The VP, Dental Product Manager (PM) is accountable for creating market differentiation and improving unit costs. The Product Manager must work across the Group business partner organizations, and external stakeholders with the end-to-end responsibility for dental customer experience The Product Manager will create appropriate incentives to drive behavioral changes across stakeholders to realize results.
The PM is a leadership role accountable for maximizing the value of the Dental product within our portfolio through the capabilities delivered by the Agile Release Trains (ARTs). As the Product Manager, you will work with the product leaders to help set vision and drive strategy by understanding the customer needs, the product portfolio, the provider community, and the market and distribution segments for which we play.
You will build and manage relationships with operations, sales and market leadership, provider groups (large and small), and the pertinent technology partners to identify areas of opportunity for customer experience enhancements. You will work closely with your supporting PMs, assigned Release Train Engineers (RTE), Customers, Business Process Owners, team members and other stakeholders. You are ultimately responsible for the delivery across all teams within the ART, ensuring completeness and timely execution, adoption, and benefit realization.
How You'll Help Us Build a Confident Future (Key Responsibilities)

• Partner with Business Owners to identify pain points throughout the customer journey, creating epics and features as a result
• Ensure each Program Increment focuses on features with a maximum value, aligned with product strategy, roadmap, and key milestones
• Help refine, prioritize, and accept the work delivered across the ARTs within the solution train to ensure the outcomes meet the defined customer and business needs
• Ensure all work released to customers is a product to be proud of
• Develop Objectives and Key Results that align business goals with prioritized epics and features, tracking progress throughout
• Make decisions to solve product related problems, trade-off discussions, to stay on track to committed outcomes. (Acceptance, prioritizing, making trade-offs, etc.)

Key Partnerships & Interactions:

• Partner with Solution Architects, and ARTs to create viable and sustainable plans that align to business expectations
• Set and manage stakeholders' expectations through regular discussions about future needs and iterative demonstrations of completed work
• Identify methods for gathering and incorporating feedback from multiple sources to better define solutions
• Active interaction with Business Owners and other partners to protect the integrity of the deliverables
• Work with Product Managers to ensure alignment of solution intent and backlog
• Work with RTEs to coordinate and facilitate key meetings
• Work with system architect and solution architects to understand what is possible and maintain the solution roadmap

What You Need to Succeed (Required Qualifications)

• 10+ years of experience in Group Insurance; must have a deep understanding of the Group Insurance business
• Experience with and understanding of Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) approach and practices required
• Strong understanding of the business to interpret data needs and proven experience with technology as well as deep understanding of how marketing operates to enable success
• Must demonstrate specific experience developing the strategic vision for an organization and prioritizing its most critical needs; ability to develop a strong business case, drive interest and agreement to secure funding to deliver against the vision and manage large transformational programs
• Ability to develop strategic trusted partnerships with their internal partners, customers, industry stakeholders (e.g. provider offices) and brokers
• Ability to direct multiple teams' activities; ability to direct, motivate and develop project staff in an evolving environment.
• Strong interpersonal, conflict resolution, and negotiation skills
• Excellent written and oral communication skills
• Undergraduate degree required, MBA or other advanced degree preferred

What Can Give You an Edge (Key Behaviors)

• Driven and motivated by our customers and the business to focus on the right outcomes - Deliver Results
• Able to identify, access and connect among key stakeholders and experts - Seek Diverse Perspectives
• Able to make decisions on information that is available at that time. Be comfortable with progressive elaboration and discovery (Progress over perfection) - Manages Ambiguity
• Take ownership, influence at all levels, access all stakeholders equally (don't ask for permission) - Seize Opportunity
• Able to take all forms of input and synthesize (not influenced by "hierarchy") - Seek Diverse Perspectives
• Willing to observe, analyze, and make recommendations - Seek Diverse Perspectives
• Communicate factually. Navigate conversations to align on a set of data inputs that drive identification and prioritization of work and provide the clarity needed to accomplish it - Deliver what Matters
• Maintain stability throughout the iterations and add appropriate feedback as needed - Enable Solutions
• While Solution Managers (SM) may have some direct reports, they are leaders not managers. SMs themselves as a member of the team and are able to adapt their leadership approach to enable and empower the team to solve problems and deliver outcomes - Empowerment & Collaboration

The salary range for applicants for this position is $213,200 to $284,300 - This role is also eligible for annual short-term incentive compensation and stock-based long-term incentives..
Benefits We Offer
Our U.S. benefits address holistic well-being with programs for physical and mental health, financial wellness, and support for families. We offer a comprehensive health plan that includes medical/prescription drug and vision, dental insurance, and no-cost short- and long-term disability. We also provide company-paid life insurance and legal services, a retirement pension funded entirely by MetLife and 401(k) with employer matching, group discounts on voluntary insurance products including auto and home, pet, critical illness, hospital indemnity, and accident insurance, as well as Employee Assistance Program (EAP) and digital mental health programs, parental leave, volunteer time off, tuition assistance and much more!
About MetLife
Recognized on Fortune magazine's list of the 2024 "World's Most Admired Companies", Fortune World's 25 Best Workplaces™ for 2024, as well as the 2025 Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For ®, MetLife , through its subsidiaries and affiliates, is one of the world's leading financial services companies; providing insurance, annuities, employee benefits and asset management to individual and institutional customers. With operations in more than 40 markets, we hold leading positions in the United States, Latin America, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East.
Our purpose is simple - to help our colleagues, customers, communities, and the world at large create a more confident future. United by purpose and guided by empathy, we're inspired to transform the next century in financial services. At MetLife, it's #AllTogetherPossible . Join us!
MetLife is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All employment decisions are made without regards to race, color, national origin, religion, creed, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, disability, marital or domestic/civil partnership status, genetic information, citizenship status (although applicants and employees must be legally authorized to work in the United States), uniformed service member or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local law ("protected characteristics").
If you need an accommodation due to a disability, please email us at [email protected]. This information will be held in confidence and used only to determine an appropriate accommodation for the application process.
MetLife maintains a drug-free workplace.
$213,200 to $284,300 - This role is also eligible for annual short-term incentive compensation and stock-based long-term incentives.
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