Job Description
Location: Regina/Saskatoon/Winnipeg/Toronto/Calgary/Edmonton
Work hours: Full-time (Monday – Friday, 40 hours per week)
Work Location: This role is eligible for remote work (where our offices are located)
Division: Product Management & Corporate Underwriting
Out-of-Scope
Closes July 3, 2024
The successful candidate will be responsible for leading the Corporate Underwriting continuous improvement framework, the quality assurance program, and the underwriting training program for the applicable line of insurance (commercial). This position is the leading force to implement improvements that increase overall underwriting process efficiency and effectiveness in all regions. In this role you will oversee initiatives from concept through to the feasibility and business case review, on to the execution and then to measuring the overall effectiveness of the change to the organization. You will be responsible for monitoring, evaluating, and recommending changes for improvement to operational models, policies, standards, rules, processes, and reporting. As well you will lead in establishing and overseeing the underwriting review and audit processes for all regions in accordance with the audit framework and service targets.
Key Accountabilities
Note: This section is not intended to be an exhaustive list of duties and responsibilities – other duties and responsibilities may be assigned.
Corporate Underwriting Quality Assurance
Leads the establishment of a quality definition and quality objectives for underwriting handling.
Accountable for the development of a quality assurance (QA) strategy and framework for underwriting operations, including broker.
Oversees the establishment, monitoring, and review of the QA program effectiveness, including the establishment key quality indicators (KQI’s) and key performance indicators (KPI’s).
Provides strategic oversight to underwriting quality assurance by ensuring the QA strategy, framework, and programs are aligned with Corporate Underwriting and Corporate Insurance, and regional operations strategies and goals.
Leads a team responsible for assessing and monitoring relevancy of KQIs to ensure ability to deliver on corporate and divisional objectives, identifying areas of concern, potential process improvements and training needs.
Leads a team in conducting independent operational file audits, reporting audit results, providing remediation plans, and following up to ensure identified issues have been addressed in compliance with Corporate Underwriting audit requirements.
Provides objective, independent, risk based underwriting quality and control oversight to the evaluation of the personal lines or commercial lines portfolio to continually improve portfolio performance.
Collaborates with Corporate Claims to ensure quality assurance program is consistent and utilizes best practices.
Internal Controls and Regulatory Compliance
Accountable for the development of an underwriting focused internal control framework that is aligned with CEO/CFO certification.
Develops regulatory compliance frameworks for underwriting.
Oversees the establishment, monitoring, and review of internal control and regulatory compliance programs.
Provides strategic oversight to internal control and regulatory compliance frameworks and programs by ensuring they align to corporate risk tolerances and corporate strategies.
Oversees external audit inquiries, ensuring identified risks are mitigated and processes are in place to achieve control objectives.
Collaborates with other Corporate Underwriting directors, Risk Management, and Corporate Audit in the establishment and execution of the internal control and regulatory compliance frameworks.
Corporate Underwriting Training
Provides strategic oversight to and leads a team in the development and execution of underwriting training requirements.
Collaborates with Human Resources/Corporate Technical Training and other business areas on the technical learning framework and implementation of a training strategy for underwriting, including the creation and management of a governance committee for underwriting training.
Collaborates with Corporate Business Development to ensure broker training requirements are aligned with quality assurance program objectives.
Leads a team responsible for establishing underwriting training programs, monitoring and reviewing program effectiveness (establish measures, readiness of learners, delivery methods, etc.) and continuously improving the training program.
Continuous Process Improvement
Develops a continuous improvement framework for Corporate Underwriting and leads the ongoing maintenance of the framework.
Leads a team responsible for the management of process improvement initiatives, analysis of complex multi-faceted business problems, leveraging data to understand financial and technical impacts, ensuring identified solutions and recommendations address identified risks and expected business outcomes, and process change benefits are realized.
Leads a team that maps and analyses key processes and monitors the outputs of the continuous improvement framework to identify process improvement opportunities.
Ensures developed key performance and quality indicators meet divisional and corporate goals and will provide advice, guidance, and recommendations on the achievement of desired business outcomes.
Responsible for the management of process improvement initiatives, ensuring alignment to divisional and corporate goals, mitigation of identified risks, reporting on benefits realization, and efficient management of project timelines.
Consults with and advises leadership on process and performance improvement opportunities, both short-term and long-term.
Leads the development, implementation, modification, and assessment of progress on improvement plans.
Leads the management and coordination of a portfolio of projects impacting business processes on behalf of the business area.
Collaborates with the leadership team to develop strategies that are critical to improving identified processes and measure the impact.
Collaborates with Corporate Underwriting, Corporate Insurance and regional operations to envision and design strategies that will improve workflows and ensure cohesive cross-functionality within corporate underwriting and operations.
Collaborates with the leadership team and other internal and external partners to implement effective underwriting workflows in all regions, and influence broker workflows as applicable.
Establishes processes and standards for best practices to capture data/information for use in research, analysis, reporting and strategy development.
People Leadership
Builds a high performing workforce by actively leading human resource activities.
Ensures development of divisional succession plans.
Builds a culture of leadership and accountability to effectively deliver on strategic and corporate strategies, ensuring integration with employee performance development and career development plans.
Drives performance through team members and is committed to leadership development across the company, supporting employees and workforce readiness through mentoring, training, and developmental opportunities.
Corporate Management
Ensures programs and policies are in alignment with corporate, strategic, and divisional strategies.
Manages risk in area of authority.
Prepares, reviews, manages and/or approves departmental/divisional budgets.
Prepares decision requests, decision and/or information items and/or SGI board items.
Ensures that the Health, Safety and Emergency Management Policy is applied in area of responsibility, including development, implementation and managing of program components specific to departmental health and safety requirements.
Makes decisions for departmental operations that are efficient, effective and in alignment with strategic direction and priorities.
Ensures department and program policies, procedures and guidelines are in compliance with applicable federal and provincial legislation and regulations; implements and evaluates changes to legislation and regulations in area of authority.
Establishes and maintains an effective system of internal controls to support reliable financial reporting and compliance in accordance with applicable laws and regulations within the span of control and communicates the importance of internal controls to staff.
Education and Experience
Four-year degree from an accredited post-secondary education institution in a relevant field of study such as Business, Mathematics & Applied Science or Social Sciences.
Ten years of related experience comprised of six years progressively challenging leadership experience and four years’ experience in personal lines and/or commercial lines underwriting.
Knowledge, Skills and Abilities
Knowledge of quality and process improvement methodologies, tools, and techniques.
Knowledge of the insurance industry.
Knowledge of the applicable policy wordings, endorsements, products, philosophies, risk information sources along with underwriting guidelines, processes, and procedures, and how they interact to support the business.
Knowledge of the applicable regulatory environment and the ability to interpret and apply jurisdictional laws and regulations.
Knowledge of internal and external underwriting systems.
Knowledge of organizational units, and how they interact to support the corporation’s operations.
Knowledge of how financial information contributes to management understanding and decisions.
Knowledge of project management methodologies and techniques required to plan, manage, and execute projects.
Ability to write technical and high-quality reports that are clear, concise, and targeted to the audience.
Ability to understand business imperatives and drivers, find relevant data correlations, and recommend changes that help drive business value.
Ability to prepare and deliver effective presentations.
Analytical, critical thinking and problem-solving skills to resolve or propose solutions or new approaches to business problem or needs.
Posting Close Date:
July 3, 2024 As you prepare to submit your application, and cover letter if applicable, please highlight the achievements that demonstrate why you're a great candidate for this role.