Assistant Vice President , Contractors, Trades & Construction Services

Markel; Remote; CAD 100,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

A prominent insurance firm is seeking a Head of Line to lead the development and execution of its Contractors, Trades & Construction Services (CTCS) portfolio across Canada. The role involves strategic leadership, team management, and driving profitable growth by engaging with brokers and clients. Candidates should have extensive experience in the Canadian construction insurance market and the ability to foster collaboration across teams. This position offers a competitive salary, annual bonus potential, and a robust benefits package.

Benefits

Competitive salary

Annual bonus potential

Strong benefits package

20 vacation days plus additional floater days

Extended health and dental coverage

Wellness initiatives

Qualifications

• Minimum of 7+ years of construction insurance underwriting or leadership experience in Canada.
• Proven ability to work with and influence key stakeholders.
• Experience in managing people.

Responsibilities

• Lead the development and execution of the CTCS underwriting strategy.
• Monitor CTCS portfolio performance and improve profitability.
• Manage and inspire an underwriting team.

Skills

Extensive experience in underwriting

Strong technical expertise in CTCS-related product lines

Excellent communication and relationship-building skills

Collaborative mentality

Strategic mindset

Proven ability to leverage data and analytics

Education

Undergraduate degree preferred

Industry designations (CIP, CRM, FCIP) are an asset

Job description

The role of the Head of Line is to lead the product for their territory and underwrite/market the product to brokers and clients to ensure profitable growth.

Are you an experienced insurance leader who would love to drive profitable growth and manage our national Contractors, Trades & Construction Services (CTCS) portfolio in Canada?

Come and help us shape and expand a key growth area for Markel Canada, developing a compelling market proposition and strengthening our presence in the construction sector.

What part will you play? If you’re looking for a place where you can make a meaningful difference, you’ve found it. The work we do at Markel gives people the confidence to move forward and seize opportunities, and you’ll find your fit among our global community of optimists and problem-solvers. We’re always pushing each other to go further because we believe that when we realize our potential, we can help others reach theirs.

Join us and play your part in something special!

The opportunity:

You will be responsible for the overall health of the CTCS portfolio, including underwriting, portfolio management, business development and team leadership. If you thrive in building businesses, leading teams, and creating market impact, this is your opportunity to make a difference.

This is an opportunity to join a growing and ambitious business in a high-impact, visible role at a pivotal time in our journey. In this national role, you will play a crucial part in the development and delivery of Markel Canada’s CTCS strategy, while driving greater growth, cohesion, and optimization across the book. You will work with Product Leadership to develop underwriting plans and lead portfolio management activities for the CTCS Sector, which includes multiple lines of business and additional value-added features. As part of the Field Leadership team, you will work with Business Development to develop distribution plans, engage with current and future trading partners to foster and expand our trading relationships.

Working closely with the Markel Canada leadership team, you will join a values-driven culture with integrity and accountability at its core with significant onward career opportunities. The role will also interact frequently with Delegated Underwriting, Digital Underwriting, Claims, Data and Analytics, Operations, and occasionally other UK-based colleagues.

What you’ll be doing:

• Leading the development and execution of the CTCS underwriting strategy.
• Monitoring the performance of the CTCS portfolio and take actions to improve profitability and optimize growth opportunities.
• Building, managing, and inspiring a dedicated underwriting team, providing leadership, coaching, and mentorship.
• Providing technical and market insights towards the development of technical wordings, product development, and underwriting guidelines for the CTCS portfolio, ensuring best practices and compliance.
• Working with Business Development to develop and implement a strong distribution strategy for CTCS, including tracking of key performance indicators.
• Driving premium growth by coordinating product expert underwriters from various lines (e.g., General Liability, Property, E&O, Cyber, D&O) to offer a comprehensive market proposition.
• Strengthening and maintaining key broker and client relationships, positioning Markel as a leader in the construction insurance space.
• Working collaboratively with internal stakeholders, including underwriting, claims, actuarial, data & analytics, and marketing teams, to enhance product offerings and improve customer experience.
• Ensuring strong market visibility and reputation by actively engaging with industry bodies and thought leadership initiatives.
• Fostering collaboration with Markel colleagues in Canada and internationally (e.g., UK) to align strategies and share best practices.
• Championing a positive and collaborative team culture, driving high performance and innovation.
• Working with underwriting leadership to monitor authority levels, update guidelines, and conduct periodic audits to ensure underwriting excellence.
• Proactively identifying new market opportunities and product offerings, supporting cross-sell opportunities by identifying client needs.

Our must-haves:

• Extensive experience in underwriting, broking, or leadership roles within the Canadian construction insurance market.
• Strong technical expertise in CTCS-related product lines and a proven track record of developing and executing profitable growth strategies.
• Established relationships with brokers and clients in the construction sector.
• Ability to lead, inspire, and develop a high-performing underwriting team.
• Strategic mindset with a proactive and entrepreneurial approach to problem-solving.
• Excellent communication and relationship-building skills.
• Collaborative mentality and the ability to work effectively with cross-functional teams.
• Strong understanding of and exposure to claims, actuarial, and loss control functions.
• Proven ability to leverage data and analytics in underwriting strategy to improve results.
• Undergraduate degree preferred; industry designations (e.g., CIP, CRM, FCIP) are an asset.
• Minimum of 7+ years of construction insurance underwriting and/or leadership experience in Canada.
• Experience in managing people.
• Superior verbal and written communication skills.
• Strong relationship-building and collaboration skills.
• Excellent strategic skills with proven ability to think long-term and lead transformational change.
• Demonstrated experience working with and influencing key stakeholders and leaders.
• High energy, proactive self‑starter with a strong sense of urgency.
• Demonstrated ability in setting and meeting objectives and getting buy‑in through superior influencing skills.
• Flexible and adaptable, with strong interpersonal skills and executive presence.
• Ability to travel as required.

Who we are:

Markel Group (NYSE – MKL) a Fortune 500 company with over 60 offices in 20+ countries, is a holding company for insurance, reinsurance, specialist advisory, and investment operations around the world.

We’re all about people | We win together | We strive for better | We enjoy the everyday | We think further

What’s in it for you?

If you’re ready to make an impact, we’d love to hear from you!

Are you ready to play your part?

• A great starting salary plus annual bonus potential & strong benefits package
• 20 vacation days plus additional floater days per year
• Fantastic company RRSP, extended health and dental coverage, life insurance, travel insurance, vision care and wellness initiatives
• There are countless opportunities to learn new skills and develop in your career and we can provide the support needed to do just that!

Choose ‘Apply Now’ to fill out our short application, so that we can find out more about you.

Markel celebrates the value of a diverse workforce that brings experience and expertise from a wide variety of backgrounds and life circumstances. Whatever your background, if you feel you meet the requirements of this role then we want to hear from you.

We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, colour, national origin, sex, gender, gender expression, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.

We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided with all reasonable accommodations to be able to participate in the job application or interview process and to perform essential job functions if successful. Please contact us to request any accommodations that may be needed. This includes any alternative formats of any documents or information on how to apply offline.

Our recruitment process utilizes artificial intelligence tools to assist with tasks such as initial resume screening, interview scheduling and candidate matching. While AI enhances our efficiency, human oversight remains integral to the final decision-making process to ensure fairness and mitigate potential biases.

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