Lead Construction Trading Underwriter

AXA Group; Birmingham; Hybrid; GBP 90,000 - 125,000; Full time

Job summary

AXA Group in Birmingham seeks a Lead Construction Underwriter to drive profitable growth in mid‑market and corporate construction. You will underwrite risks, build proactive broker relationships, and shape underwriting strategy with data-supported decisions.

You’ll lead meetings, train underwriters, and promote AXA’s product range while achieving KPIs and collaborating across teams. This role requires UK work eligibility and a flexible office/home balance.

Qualifications

• Strong trading capability with brokers and construction stakeholders.
• High-level technical product knowledge for construction classes and regulatory insurance requirements.
• Ability to identify, convert and manage business opportunities with KPI-driven results.
• Excellent communication, negotiation, and relationship-building skills at all levels.
• Time management and prioritisation in a target-driven environment.

Responsibilities

• Lead the development of broker trading relationships and generate profitable business.
• Build a robust pipeline of new opportunities and engage brokers/clients.
• Lead meetings, presentations and tender responses with brokers and end-clients.
• Coach and develop underwriters to improve technical and trading capability.
• Provide technical and trading input to underwriters to improve decision quality.
• Promote AXA’s strategy and propositions to leverage opportunities.

Skills

Broker relationships

Negotiation

Underwriting

Trading capability

Data-driven decisions

Tools

MI/BI tools

Job description

About AXA:

AXA is a global leader in insurance and financial services, dedicated to helping customers protect what matters most to them. As the sixth-largest insurance company in the world, we provide a wide range of services, including health, car, home, and business insurance. We support millions of customers worldwide, helping them navigate life's uncertainties with confidence.

AXA Commercial protects businesses, from multinationals to micro start-ups, giving them the confidence to thrive.

Job overview:

Are you a seasoned Construction Underwriter eager to make a strategic impact? Our Birmingham commercial team seeks a dynamic Lead Construction Underwriter to drive profitable growth within the Mid-Market and corporate construction segments. In this role, you’ll underwrite risks within agreed authority levels to maximise income while building strong, proactive relationships with brokers aligned with our company objectives. You’ll help transform our broker partnerships through collaborative, flexible approaches, leveraging your technical and trading expertise supported by data and mobile decision tools. If you're passionate about shaping underwriting strategies and delivering exceptional results, we want to hear from you.

Key responsibilities:

• Lead the development of strong trading relationships with a panel of brokers, taking full ownership for the generation of profitable business from nominated panel.
• Develop a robust pipeline of appropriate new business opportunities and ensure that long-term pipeline is realised by ensuring broker / client engagement.
• Lead meetings, presentations and tender responses with brokers / end customers to portray AXA capabilities and secure new business opportunities.
• Coach, train and develop underwriters to continually improve their technical and trading capability from a new and existing business perspective.
• Act as the referral point for Underwriters within our teams, providing technical and trading input to improve the quality of decisions within their empowerment.
• Effectively promote and deploy AXA’s strategy, product range, propositions and key differentiators to leverage commercial opportunities.

Work arrangements:

At AXA we work smart, empowering our people to balance their time between home and the office in a way that works best for them, their team and our customers. You'll work at least three days a week (60%) away from home. Away from home means attending the office in Birmingham, visiting clients or attending industry events.

Your skills & experience:

• Strong trading capability, negotiation skills, and established relationships with brokers and construction stakeholders.
• High-level technical product knowledge for construction classes and a sound understanding of legislative and regulatory insurance requirements.
• Capable of identifying, converting, and managing business opportunities, with proven experience in monthly performance management using MI/business tools to meet financial KPIs.
• Excellent communication, negotiation, and relationship-building skills at all levels, both internally and externally, demonstrating strong communication and networking abilities.
• Time management and prioritisation skills with the ability to succeed in a target-driven environment.

As a precondition of employment for this role, you must be eligible and authorised to work in the United Kingdom.

This position has been defined as an Insurance Distribution Directive (IDD) role under the IDD regime which means that in addition to pre-employment screening checks, the successful candidate will be subject to background screening every 4 years with an annual declaration in interim years.