External Innovation Manager Jobs (NOW HIRING)

At Selective, we don't just insure uniquely, we employ uniqueness.
Selective is a midsized U.S. domestic property and casualty insurance company with a history of strong, consistent financial performance for nearly 100 years. Selective's unique position as both a leading insurance group and an employer of choice is recognized in a wide variety of awards and honors, including listing in Forbes Best Midsize Employers in 2025 and certification as a Great Place to Work in 2025 for the sixth consecutive year.
Employees are empowered and encouraged to Be Uniquely You by being their true, unique selves and contributing their diverse talents, experiences, and perspectives to our shared success. Together, we are a high-performing team working to serve our customers responsibly by helping to mitigate loss, keep them safe, and restore their lives and businesses after an insured loss occurs.

Lead innovation initiatives throughout the innovation lifecycle. Consume, leverage, and communicate innovation research and insights in close collaboration with the innovation team members, and the Strategy team. Lead strategic efforts related to InsurTech-focused Venture Capital (VC) partners and other VC firms, directing all innovation activities within a transparent innovation pipeline, and consistently communicating program status and outcomes. Continuously source opportunities, partner with external parties in co-creation efforts, and drive innovation through all levels of the organization through an active role as a leader in relevant community efforts. Lead proof-of-concept solutions with a focus on client validation to ensure the proposed solutions meet customer/agent/employee requirements. All job duties and responsibilities must be carried out in compliance with applicable legal and regulatory requirements.

Note: (For NJ candidates) This role will be located at our future headquarters in Short Hills, N.J. Until the new headquarters is operational, the successful candidate will be offered the ability to work in our Branchville, N.J. location during this interim period.

• Closely align with the strategic research and insights function. Provide continuous feedback to the research function and actively leverage and communicate insights to continuously source new concepts into the innovation lifecycle. Collaborate with Corporate Strategy to identify priority domains of innovation and maintain ongoing dialog around insights coming from internal innovation efforts.
• Lead strategic efforts related to InsurTech-focused VC partners by engaging with potential vendor partnerships in areas of key strategic priority, evaluating and presenting to business partners of VC partner recommended relationships, and others on an ad hoc basis.
• Direct organic and inorganic innovation activities, ensuring a transparent innovation pipeline, aligned with key strategic priority areas, and direct initiatives through the plan, explore, deploy, and scale phases of the innovation lifecycle.
• Lead ongoing collaboration with business partners to identify innovative use cases based on key business priorities. Ensure the pipeline is visible and available for anyone in the organization to view and understand on what basis solutions are being rank ordered. Engage in concept design and iteration activities. Run pilots/Proof of Concept's (POC's) to evaluate innovation concepts for viability. Develop and implement plans for deployment and scaling of multiple simultaneous viable concepts. Evaluate innovation success and quickly alters course, where necessary.
• Consistently communicate innovation program status and outcomes. Work within established company frameworks (e.g. Enterprise Project Management Office (EPMO), Product Model), to ensure adequate exposure for and progress within each innovation program.
• Partner with external parties, where appropriate, to engage in co-creation innovation efforts.
• Drive innovation to all parts of the organization. Oversee the leadership of the dedicated group of individuals, training the group on methodologies for innovation, and holding the group accountable for generating and advancing innovative concepts. Lead the group and the broader organization with tools to effectively engage in innovation.
• Contribute to the overall innovation communication strategy that informs, engages, and motivates the employee base to embrace and pursue innovative ideas.
• Mentor and train junior colleagues in innovation methodologies and development.

Knowledge and Requirements

• Anticipate and respond to customer expectations and needs.
• Advanced analytical skills, including ability to identify structure and assess key issues involved in validating specific strategic opportunities.
• Business consulting, corporate development, branding, or innovation required including experience developing new products, services, and solutions to business problems.
• Leading proof-of-concept solutions with a focus on client validation to ensure the proposed solutions meet customer requirements.
• Teamwork and cross-functional leadership skills.
• Excellent communication skills, including ability to synthesize clear insights and recommendations, and in developing clear, logical business cases and presentations to internal and external stakeholders.
• Ability to onboard and manage innovation-related partnerships.
• Ability to think strategically with supporting analytical and critical thinking skills, including the ability to deal with ambiguity.
• Ability to grow and scale the business across strategy, operations, business development, partnerships and/or product.
• Strong problem definition and solving skills.
• Proficient in category assessment, competitive analysis and projections of future growth and financial modeling and revenue forecasting for potential initiatives
• Leading and cultivating a customer-centric approach to problem solving, utilizing design thinking principles (ideation, prototyping, testing, and feedback) and tools (journey maps, prototyping tools, etc.) to facilitate problem-solving sessions.

Education and Experience

• College degree in business, technology, or a related field is preferred.
• Strong critical thinking, project management and planning skills.
• 8+ years related work experience in innovation.
• Related work experience in a property/casualty insurance environment preferred.
• 2+ years experience in a "tech heavy" digital consumer product/platform company preferred.

Selective Insurance offers a total rewards package that includes a competitive base salary, incentive plan eligibility at all levels, and a wide array of benefits designed to help you and your family stay healthy, achieve your financial goals, and balance the demands of your work and personal life. These benefits include comprehensive health care plans, retirement savings plan with company match, discounted Employee Stock Purchase Program, tuition assistance and reimbursement programs, and 20 days of paid time off. Additional details about our total rewards package can be found by visiting our benefits page.
The actual base salary is based on geographic location, and the range is representative of salaries for this role throughout Selective's footprint. Additional considerations include relevant education, qualifications, experience, skills, performance, and business needs.

Selective is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer. That means we respect and value every individual's unique opinions, beliefs, abilities, and perspectives. We are committed to promoting a welcoming culture that celebrates diverse talent, individual identity, different points of view and experiences - and empowers employees to contribute new ideas that support our continued and growing success. Building a highly engaged team is one of our core strategic imperatives, which we believe is enhanced by diversity, equity, and inclusion. We expect and encourage all employees and all of our business partners to embrace, practice, and monitor the attitudes, values, and goals of acceptance; address biases; and foster diversity of viewpoints and opinions.
For Massachusetts Applicants
It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability.