Investment Product Owner (Quantitative Research and Development)

Summary
We are seeking a highly motivated and experienced Quantitative Research & Development (QRD) Product Owner to drive the vision, strategy, and roadmap of our QRD in service of supplying front office decision-making and analytics capabilities within the Investment Management ecosystem. The ideal candidate will have a deep understanding of both investments and technology to support analytics and performance capabilities which drive portfolio management across a variety of public and private asset classes, including derivatives, and the data required to support these activities. This includes the understanding of associated business processes and internal/vended technology capabilities, with a focus on designing, testing, and choosing optimal workflows. The Product Owner is not a Portfolio Manager or Portfolio Analyst but instead works closely with teams across Investment Management to improve processes, technology, and data which supports analytics and decision-making. In close partnership with the Head of QRD, the Product Owner will play a key role in ensuring the seamless integration of new tools and enhancements tied to enabling capabilities such as portfolio analytics, performance measurement, investment modeling and decision support, and reporting. This newly created role is responsible for strategic change, liaising with both day-to-day business teams (i.e. QRD) as well as technology teams (i.e. Enterprise Technology), and ensuring priorities and interests of the group are represented across functional areas. The Product Owner will be accountable for not only assessing trade-offs, but making and owning decisions intended to improve portfolio management and supporting capabilities at MassMutual.
The Team
The QRD Product Owner will join the Investment Operations Transformation team as part of a new, centralized Product Owner group. The Product Owner's responsibility extends across supporting direct portfolio management and analysis capabilities through to understanding how operational and accounting workflows contribute to those activities. The Product Owner team is expected to work in close partnership with Front Office stakeholders, the Investment Operations Centers of Excellence, Investment Controllership, and Technology teams. The goal of this group is to build comprehensive expertise in MassMutual process and investment management across asset classes and investment functions. As a critical point of distinction, the Investment Operations Transformation team and the Product Owner will remain segregated from day to day "Business As Usual" (BAU) work.
Impact
The Product Owner will have impact in the following 5 areas:
Strategy & Vision

• Drive product vision, strategy, and roadmap for business architecture and process flows needed to service front office decision-making, as well as investment operations and accounting analytics in coordination with QRD, Investment Operations, Controllership and Technology teams.
• Responsible for ensuring vision, strategy and roadmap are communicated to relevant stakeholders
• Develop deep domain expertise in MassMutual business processes and internal/vended technology capabilities, tying this with their knowledge of investment strategies, and ensuring that this knowledge is not only conveyed appropriately but also factored into the strategy and roadmap

Process

• Own business requirements definitions for QRD focused projects and initiatives, incorporating input from business users
• Serve as the first line of defense in business UAT testing to free up capacity for business users
• Maintain and sign off on documentation for key business processes and the operating model. Related initiatives can range from small- to large-scale and can have far-reaching impact to processing workflows across the entire ecosystem for the entire lifecycle of an asset
• Ensure key business processes are understood and considered by technology counterparts as a part of change initiatives

Roadmap

• Drive project planning, sizing, and delivery timelines for the project queue and backlog based on capability gaps, in close collaboration with the Corporate Functions PMO and Enterprise Technology project management resources
• Represent the interests of QRD and analytics and performance processes and activities in the investment ecosystem transformation program by liaising with business end users to gather requirements, by performing testing, and by incorporating user input in recommendations
• Assess, own, and be accountable for recommending go-forward prioritization decisions in partnership with QRD, Portfolio Managers, and Technology colleagues
• Collaborate with other Product Owners to determine resourcing needs and project dependencies within and across products, articulating trade-offs to business users and senior/executive leadership
• Rationalize requests for new tools, enhancements, or issue resolutions from operational teams, considering existing solutions and current projects, and escalate and monitor with appropriate vendor/external oversight teams as needed

Communication

• Maximize the value of tech investments by driving change management, socialization, and adoption of tech strategies and tools
• Manage interactions between business, operational and technology teams, communicating business needs into technical requirements, and negotiating priorities with tech/data based on business needs
• Advocate for QRD team requirements, escalate emerging trade-offs, and support decision-making by senior/executive leadership
• Communicate with all levels of the QRD team, partnering closely with the Head of QRD as a primary point of contact

Metrics

• Establish KPIs and track application/platform adoption using tools and reports.
• Track issues raised and their time to resolution.
• Monitor the business impact of programs and initiatives to ensure targeted outcomes of strategic change are being realized.

Min Qualifications

• Proven experience 5+ years as a Product Owner or similar role
• Strong understanding of investments, investment technology, data and processes, with particular expertise in analytics
• 10+ years' related experience in financial services, insurance, or related industry
• Bachelor's degree in Finance, Engineering or related field

Ideal Qualifications

• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, highly collaborative
• Ability to manage multiple projects and prioritize tasks effectively
• Experience in project planning and resource allocation
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills
• CFA or similar certification encouraged

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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: $152,100.00-$199,600.00