AVP Information Technology

AVP of Application Development 

Role Context  

Senior leadership role within a multi-line insurance company, reporting directly to me  

Directly manages the Guidewire and P&C legacy application development team  

Additionally leads through managers who support the following business lines and functions:   

Life and Retirement  

BCG  

Supplemental and Group  

Distribution and Corporate Back Office  

Responsible for a large, complex development organization (30+ developers) consisting of both individual contributors and development managers across all of these areas  

Expected to operate as a bold change agent who is unafraid to challenge the status quo and drive meaningful transformation across a diverse, multi-line portfolio  

Technical & Architecture Skills  

Deep expertise in modern application architecture, cloud platforms, and software engineering best practices  

Proven track record of leading large-scale legacy modernization initiatives and reducing technical debt in complex, regulated environments  

Hands-on experience with Guidewire or comparable P&C insurance platforms is strongly preferred  

Hands-on experience designing and delivering AI-powered applications — not just AI awareness, but actual build experience  

Familiarity with insurance systems and data (policy, claims, billing) across both P&C and Life lines is a strong plus  

Experience with finance and commissions systems and processes is a nice-to-have, given the breadth of business lines supported  

Team Leadership & People Management  

Demonstrated experience leading 30+ person development organizations with a mix of ICs and engineering managers  

Skilled at developing managers — coaching, holding accountable, and elevating leadership capability across the team  

Able to attract, retain, and grow top technical talent in a competitive market  

Comfortable navigating organizational complexity and managing through ambiguity across multiple business lines with distinct priorities  

Strategic Thinking & Roadmap Ownership  

Ability to translate business goals into a clear, prioritized application development roadmap across a multi-line portfolio  

Experience leading multi-year modernization programs with measurable outcomes  

Balances long-term platform thinking with near-term delivery commitments  

Has a point of view on where AI fits into the development strategy and can build a credible path to adoption  

Stakeholder & Executive Communication  

Credible and confident communicator with senior business and technology stakeholders across multiple business units  

Able to make the case for investment in modernization and AI in business value terms, not just technical terms  

Builds trust across the organization by delivering on commitments and communicating transparently when things change  

Skilled at managing competing priorities and expectations across diverse business line partners  

AI, Modern Tooling & Low-Code Platforms  

Has hands-on experience building and shipping AI-powered applications — not just theoretical knowledge  

Understands AI tooling, frameworks, and integration patterns relevant to enterprise development, including generative AI, large language models, and AI-assisted development tools  

Familiar with and able to evaluate modern low-code/no-code platforms (such as Microsoft Power Platform, OutSystems, Mendix, or similar) and knows when they are the right fit vs. custom development  

Actively leverages modern developer productivity tools — including AI coding assistants, CI/CD automation, and cloud-native development platforms — to accelerate delivery and reduce toil  

Can lead a team toward responsible, practical AI and low-code adoption that delivers real business outcomes without creating new technical debt  

Able to assess vendor solutions and build vs. buy vs. configure tradeoffs across traditional, AI, and low-code options  

 

Pay Range:

$146,500.00 - $208,750.00  

Salary is commensurate to experience, location, etc. Horace Mann was founded in 1945 by two Springfield, Illinois, teachers who saw a need for quality, affordable auto insurance for teachers. Since then, we’ve broadened our mission to helping all educators protect what they have today and prepare for a successful tomorrow.  And with our broadened mission has come corporate growth:  We serve more than 4,100 school districts nationwide, we’re publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange (symbol: HMN) and we have more than $12 billion in assets.

We’re motivated by the fact that educators take care of our children’s future, and we believe they deserve someone to look after theirs.  We help educators identify their financial goals and develop plans to achieve them.  This includes insurance to protect what they have today and financial products to help them prepare for their future. Our tailored offerings include special rates and benefits for educators.

EOE/Minorities/Females/Veterans/Disabled. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or protected veteran status

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