Manager, Underwriting Operations

Co-operators; Calgary; Hybrid; CAD 60,000 - 95,000; Full time

Job summary

An established industry player is seeking a Manager for New Business Underwriting to lead a dedicated team in optimizing underwriting operations. This role is pivotal in fostering relationships across various distribution channels and ensuring a high level of service delivery. With a focus on continuous improvement and employee development, you will play a key role in shaping the future of underwriting practices. Join a company that values its people and offers a supportive environment where your contributions can make a significant impact on clients and communities alike. If you're passionate about driving change and enhancing client experiences, this is an exciting opportunity for you.

Benefits

Training and development opportunities

Flexible work options

Paid volunteer days

Comprehensive total rewards package

Health and wellness programs

Employee assistance program

Qualifications

• Proven results in coaching and mentoring staff for development.
• Functional knowledge of Life, Living Benefit, and Group products.

Responsibilities

• Oversee underwriting operations and optimize delivery to partners.
• Recruit, train, and develop staff while ensuring compliance.

Skills

Coaching

Mentoring

Critical Thinking

Relationship Building

Risk Assessment

Continuous Improvement

Education

Bachelor's Degree in a relevant field

Tools

Underwriting Software

Job description

Company: CLIC
Department: Underwriting
Employment Type: Regular Full-Time
Work Model: Hybrid
Language: Bilingualism in English and French is an asset.

The Opportunity:

We are a leading Canadian financial services co-operative committed to being a catalyst for a sustainable and resilient society and our team is essential to deliver on this strategy. That’s why we prioritize our people, to ensure we provide a strong culture and development opportunities which enables our team to thrive and to live our purpose. The best part is that you will work with people that care passionately about you, our clients, and our communities.

Our Individual Insurance, Individual Wealth Management, and Group Retirement & Savings teams deliver products and services that provide financial security to Canadians. Along with our distribution partners, we help our clients with some of their most important needs: protecting their families’ lifestyle in the event of a death, disability or illness; reaching their saving goals; and building a secure and comfortable retirement. We operate with a high level of trust, integrity, and inclusivity to produce positive impacts for all our stakeholders.

The Manager, New Business Underwriting oversees the underwriting operations for CUMIS & Co-operators Individual Life and Living Benefits, EDGE and Group Medical Underwriting new business and plays a key role in establishing and maintaining critical relationships across various distribution channels to a wide variety of clients. The primary focus is on optimizing the underwriting delivery to distribution partners by consistently meeting service standards. This role encompasses responsibilities for underwriting training/education along with associated audit & quality control measures.

How you will create impact:

• Recruits and selects staff members by conducting workforce and succession planning, developing role descriptions, and posting and interviewing potential candidates
• Facilitates employee development through onboarding of new employees, assessing and addressing training needs, enhancing development to build bench strength for the unit, and coaching on career management
• Participates in planning activities such as providing input into strategic plans, developing unit plans, identifying priorities and scope of activities for unit operations, designing/modifying work structures to meet business needs, and researching and planning high-level operational efficiencies
• Ensures appropriate policies, procedures, standards, and guidelines are in place for area of responsibility, and monitors compliance with corporate policies
• Establishes and maintains critical relationships within multiple distribution channels such as advisors, TPAs, MGAs, Plan Sponsors and Edge Benefits supporting a wide variety of clients & members
• Provides expertise and advice on underwriting (practices and processes) for CLIC Individual, CUMIS Individual, Edge benefits
• Monitors workflow, allocating resources and auditing completion and quality, identifying and implementing opportunities for process efficiencies (i.e. continuous improvement) and filling in for staff on unit tasks, when necessary
• Resolves escalated issues and makes informed decisions, providing guidance to others to enable them to handle in future

How you will succeed:

• You build trusting relationships and provide feedback to enable the successful development of your team and colleagues.
• You foster innovation and continuous improvement with a focus on client experience.
• You facilitate the adoption of change and create a high-performance culture through alignment of your team’s work with organizational goals.
• You successfully convey messages and demonstrate openness to exploring alternative points of view.
• You use critical thinking to guide decision making.

To join our team:

• You have the ability and proven results in coaching, mentoring and developing
• You have demonstrated the ability to develop, build and maintain strong working relationships
• You have leverage critical thinking skills to identify problems and proactively implement solutions
• You have the functional knowledge of Life, Living Benefit and Group products, underwriting principles and processes
• You have the effectiveness of appropriate risk assessment
• You have the effectiveness in assigning and managing resources to meet deliverables within defined timeframes
• You have a good understanding of organizational and strategic goals and a strong sense of commitment to their success
• You have the ability to influence change, with strong commitment to continuous improvement

What you need to know:

• You will travel regularly.
• You will be subject to a Background check as a condition of employment, in the event you are the successful candidate.
• As a leader, strict confidentiality is required with respect to sensitive matters and employees’ personal information.

What’s in it for you?

• Training and development opportunities to grow your career.
• Flexible work options and paid time off to support your personal and family needs.
• A holistic approach to your well-being, with physical and mental health programs and a supportive workplace culture.
• Paid volunteer days to give back to your community.
• In addition to our competitive salary and incentive programs, eligible employees also benefit from a comprehensive total rewards package including group retirement savings plans, pension and benefits (e.g., health and wellness, dental, disability and life coverage), mental health support and an employee assistance program.