AVP Information Technology

horacemannservicecorporation • Remote

No Relocation

Posted: June 25, 2026

Job Description

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

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.

Additional Content