This job has expired, please see additional jobs below
Director Underwriting Operations
The Travelers Companies
Spokane, WA, United States
Job Details - this job has expired, please see similar jobs below
Primary Job Duties & Responsibilities
Oversees multiple underwriting teams in a Business Center with responsibility for a large and/or diverse multi-state territory. Executes and participates in long and short term business initiatives to continually enhance operational effectiveness and achieve service objectives. Sets team goals for quality, productivity, and customer experience. Ensures Business Center and UW Teams within Center are meeting/exceeding goals. When goals are not met, works with Managers and Team Leads to develop action plans to quickly bring performance back in line. Maintains operations that are compliance with governmental requirements. Promote an employee focused coaching culture that hold employees accountable to achieve high standards. Evaluates staff to identify skills and training needs; create opportunities to expand roles to match employee strengths or address weaknesses. Recommends underwriter authority increases. Provide both formal and informal feedback on a regular basis. Ensures managers are proactively coaching and engaging underwriters. Mentor and coach for managers -within and outside of Underwriting Oversees hiring, training, and compensation decisions for Underwriters and managers. Recommends and approves underwriter & manager compensation decisions within budget. Effectively manages team expenses for overtime, travel, and recognition. Develops and sustains effective and mutually beneficial relationships between agents, marketing regions, customers and the business center. Addresses agency issues and develops relationships with Agency. Reviews underwriting exception activities and provides timely approval as needed. Reviews and approves risks outside of Underwriting Manager authority. Assesses and approves or disapproves reformation, ex-gractia, and recission requests. Participates in key underwriting decisions and interprets department policies and procedures. Identifies and analyzes opportunities for increased quality, productivity, and customer experience strategies. In a team environment, identify operational opportunities, develop cost benefit analysis, pilot and assess new methods, and engage underwriters in change management to accept new methods. Influences Travelers Leaders (Functional VPs, BCVPs, OE partners) and National UW Leaders to adopt new practices. Facilitates, champions and leads operational initiatives that align with Customer Service & Sales priorities and plan objectives. Drives and participates in the planning, approval and execution of new or existing projects and initiatives within established timeframe. Works with other departments to overcome obstacles and expedite project process. Manages the effective implementation of new technologies and the utilization of existing systems. Leads and oversees project management & collaboration skills to bring initiatives from ideation to implementation. As a leader of Business Center Team across Sales, Service & Underwriting, supports senior management to lead initiatives, embrace change and engage employees across all job families within site. Ability to work with accounts that represent multiple industries and lines of business. Perform other duties as assigned.
Company Information
Solid reputation, passionate people and endless opportunities. That's Travelers. Our superior financial strength and consistent record of strong operating returns mean security for our customers - and opportunities for our employees. You will find Travelers to be full of energy and a workplace in which you truly can make a difference.
Job Summary
Responsible for staff related decisions, managing a team in a call center environment. For the right candidate, this can also be a relocation opportunity. Ensure underwriters properly develop & analyze risks, make sound underwriting decisions, execute those decisions, work efficiently, and provide excellent agent/customer experience. Support leadership team by handling day to day operations as well as the strategic management of the business team to ensure the achievement of the team's customer service and financial objectives. Under general direction, the Director of Underwriting leads underwriting and operations for a large multi-state Business Center responsible for a broad array of products and coverage. Director ensures Underwriting Team is meeting quality, productivity, and customer experience goals. Directors ensure balance between critical thinking & analysis vs efficiency vs customer experience and employee engagement. Directors provide leadership, guidance, training, and direction to Underwriting Managers. Underwriting Directors also serve as stakeholders in determining Underwriting Operations strategy & direction across all the centers. Directors in a team environment identify operational opportunities, develop cost benefit analysis, pilot and assess new methods, and engage underwriters in change management to accept new methods. This organization supports a business with significant variation of complex businesses. The Underwriters have authority levels similar to Account Executives and the ability to negotiate premium. This role has responsibility for SOX compliance. This job is a Manager of managers: Senior level manager that is responsible for managing the objectives, performance, and compensation of lower levels of management. This job works under General Direction: Establishes procedures for attaining specific goals and objectives in a broad area of work. Generally final results are reviewed. (Typically applies to a manager or expert/top level professional.)
Minimum Qualifications
4 years experience underwriting, service, sales, claims and/or related operational experience required.
Education, Work Experience & Knowledge
College Degree preferred. 6 or more years related underwriting experience preferred. Business Insurance experience is preferred with exposure to multiple lines of business and a variety of industries. 4 or more years of management experience preferred. Advanced knowledge of insurance lines business, products and services, and systems. Demonstrated communication, advanced problem solving, decision making and customer focus skills. Solid leading employees, coaching, and training skills. Advanced operational skills balancing phones, inventory, turnaround time, customer experience, and critical thinking. Advanced knowledge and ability to explain Travelers underwriting philosophy. Advanced understanding of regulatory and compliance laws.
Job Specific & Technical Skills & Competencies
Extensive knowledge of product, operations and agency/field distribution. Demonstrates performances management experience and skills including setting clear goals and priorities; coaching and developing others; providing timely and consistent performance feedback. Ability to manage own work and effectively delegate and direct the work of others. Advanced organizational, quantitative reasoning, critical thinking, interpersonal, time management, verbal and written communication skills. Demonstrated ability to effectively lead self and others through change. Executes on strategy, goals, objectives, expectations and communicates results and progress to team managers. Provides direction and effectively leads by example to ensure that all services are meeting the stated business objectives on a timely basis, with excellent quality. Demonstrated leadership skills including rapport building and conflict management skills. Excellent interpersonal skills.
Physical Requirements
Operates standard office equipment - Continuously Sitting (Can stand at will) - Continuously Use of Keyboards, Sporadic 10-Key - Continuously
Equal Employment Opportunity Statement
Travelers is an equal opportunity employer.