Primary ObjectivesDirector, Product Innovation acts as a strategic catalyst and internal innovation & strategy consultant-turning market signals, data, and emerging risks into new insurance products/coverages and tech-enabled risk solutions/services for Canada. This leadership position carries enterprise-wide responsibilities and direct visibility to the CEO and Executive Leadership Team, with work that significantly influences the organization's growth and innovation agenda.
This role reports to the VP, Strategy & Innovation and sits within the Senior Leadership Team, with high visibility to the CEO and Executive Leadership Team, and will have 1-2 direct reports (Product Innovation Strategists. This role will be integral in shaping our bold 2030 ambition by accelerating innovation outcomes, strengthening innovation governance, and launching 1-2 new products to market.
Job Responsibilities1. Enterprise product innovation strategy & pipeline - Build and maintain an enterprise innovation roadmap across multiple lines, translating strategy into a prioritized portfolio of product and service opportunities.
- Lead structured market and customer discovery-synthesizing broker/customer insights, competitor intelligence, market research, and emerging risk trends into clear product hypotheses and recommendations.
- Develop executive-ready business cases and investment recommendations, managing research and insights budget.
2. IoT Solution Strategy- Define the IoT solution strategy for Canada: priority use-cases, target segments, value proposition, required data/telemetry, and partner ecosystem.
- Shape bundled offerings that combine insurance with technology and value-add services (prevention, monitoring, response), in line with HSB's broader IoT and technology-enabled risk approach.
3. Incubation Operating Model- Run a hypothesis-driven "test & learn" approach-designing low-risk experiments to validate desirability, viability, and feasibility before scaling.
- Build and own a repeatable incubation playbook (problem framing 1 customer discovery 1 prototype/P&L 1 underwriting/claims/legal review 1 pilot 1 launch), reinforcing speed with discipline.
4. Innovation Governance & Decision Velocity- Steward and continuously improve the established innovation governance process-intake criteria, prioritization, stage gates, and transparent decision documentation-to drive throughput and quality.
- Establish meaningful metrics and dashboards for pipeline health, launch progress, and measurable outcomes.
5. End-to-End Product Launch- Lead cross-functional delivery of 1-2 new products per year from concept to launch: coverage design/wording, underwriting appetite, pricing approach, operational readiness, and go-to-market enablement. Define product KPIs and performance monitoring plans and translate insights into iteration post-launch.
6. Product Mechanics: Rigor & Credibility - Partner with Underwriting, Actuarial, Claims, Legal/Compliance, and Technology to ensure new and evolving products are implementable, governed, and aligned with underwriting intent and risk appetite.
- Bring structured thinking to profitability and sustainability-supporting segmentation, rate adequacy discussions, and portfolio insights as needed.
7. Executive Advisory & Stakeholder Influence- Serve as a trusted advisor to senior leaders-framing decisions, facilitating alignment, and telling a clear story from data to recommendation. Manage complex senior stakeholder dynamics across the business and with global partners, ensuring strong alignment and decision velocity.
- Leading, coaching, and developing team of Product Innovation Strategists
- Establishing team operating rhythms and removing delivery blockers
Qualifications - University-level education in finance, business administration, economics, risk management, or equivalent professional experience; MBA or equivalent graduate degree an asset
- 8-12 years demonstrated experience in strategy, innovation, or product roles; insurance or broader financial services
- Structured, hypothesis-driven problem solving: ability to frame ambiguity, develop options, assess trade-offs, and drive to clear decisions.
- Strong analytical capability: extracting insights from data and market research and translate them into strategy and action.
- Multi-workstream leadership: proven ability to manage multiple initiatives in parallel while maintaining quality, pace, and stakeholder alignment.
- People leadership experience (formal or informal): ability to coach talent, delegate effectively, and drive accountability in a small, high-performing team.
- Executive communication: ability to produce crisp, compelling materials and present complex topics simply and persuasively to senior audiences.
- Strong P&C insurance (or broader financial services) product knowledge-coverage/wordings, underwriting appetite, pricing fundamentals, and regulatory considerations is an asset
- Prior strategy consulting experience (e.g., strategy consulting Engagement Manager/Senior Manager level) or equivalent internal strategy/innovation consulting experience is an asset
- Experience building ecosystems/partnerships (vendors, data providers, technology partners) to enable product and service innovation is an asset
Company Benefits
Together, we engage with everything we have and are, to help humankind act braver and better. Go further with HSB.
We are pleased to offer our employees great benefits and resources to support their mental, physical and financial wellbeing. These Include:
- An engaging and collaborative environment that promotes continuous learning and development
- A hybrid work environment that combines weekly in-office and remote days
- A great compensation package including an annual company bonus
- Competitive company-paid flexible health and dental benefits, starting on your first day
- Flexible dollars provided by the company to put towards a Health Spending Account and/or Wellness Spending Account
- Wellness program with tools and resources supporting your mental, physical, and financial wellbeing - on and off the job
- Participation in the DC Pension Plan with a progressive employer contribution scale based on tenure starting at 4%, plus optional company match in the RRSP plan
- Generous time off including vacation, personal days, unplanned time, Statutory Holidays and company-wide early closure half-days
- Learning and development programs and resources, including unlimited access to LinkedIn Learning, Education Assistance Program, and reimbursement for professional fees
- Employee Referral Program and Recognition Program
This role is located in our Toronto office on 390 Bay St, and we operate in a hybrid work model. This job posting is for an existing vacancy.
We do not use AI in our recruitment process - applications are reviewed by our team to ensure a fair and personalized experience.
