Lead Construction Underwriter - Manchester

AXA UK plc; Manchester; Hybrid; GBP 75,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading insurance company in Manchester is seeking an experienced Lead Construction Underwriter to drive profitable growth by managing broker relationships and underwriting risks. You will possess strong technical skills and a proven track record of growing business within the construction sector. This role offers competitive salary and significant benefits including performance bonuses and a contributory pension scheme.

Benefits

Competitive annual salary up to £90,000

Annual company & performance-based bonus

Contributory pension scheme (up to 12% employer contributions)

Private health cover

28 days annual leave plus Bank Holidays

Qualifications

• Experience working as a Construction Underwriter with mid-market contractors.
• Proven track record in growing construction business, targeting over £1.5m.
• Familiarity with FCA responsibilities and compliance requirements.

Responsibilities

• Drive profitable growth within the construction segment.
• Lead the development of trading relationships with brokers.
• Act as referral point for underwriting quality decisions.

Skills

Strong accountability for business development

Excellent trading capability

Negotiation skills

Technical underwriting expertise

Education

Cert CII qualification

DIP CII desirable

Job description

As a Lead Construction Underwriter, you'll help drive and transform how we partner our broker portfolios, through proactive, flexible and collaborative relationships. With a strong balance of technical and trading capability, you'll be empowered to make decisions, supported by data, insight, and decision support tools on mobile technology to succeed, underwrite new and existing business profitably, accurately, consistently and in line with established underwriting practices, using the full range of appetite and tools available.

• Proactively lead the development of strong trading relationships with a panel of brokers, taking full ownership for the generation of profitable business from nominated panel.
• Proactively 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.
What's in it for you:
• We'll equip you with the technical skills for tomorrow: It's our job to support you in becoming an expert who has ownership over their work. We want you to be confident that you can make an impact by helping our customers. We ask ourselves what we can do today that will help us in the future. That's why we offer continuous development to help our colleagues become experts in tomorrow.
• Build a career that's as dynamic as the market you work in: We're on a journey of transformation, so we're investing in new technology that enables us to help our people and businesses thrive.
• Shape your career one decision at a time: We'll support you to progress through the business and are committed to developing talent. We do this with training and tailored development plans.
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 60% of your week away from home, either at our office location in Manchester, visiting clients or attending industry events., We acknowledge and appreciate the exceptional efforts of our people in protecting what matters most to our customers. In exchange we offer a series of core and supporting benefits designed to empower our people to thrive both professionally and personally., We believe in hiring people who possess the appropriate skills and values that align with our vision. Our selection process is fair and equitable, ensuring that all candidates have an equal opportunity to join us. We are dedicated to promoting diversity and inclusion, and we actively encourage applications from individuals of all backgrounds. As an Equal Opportunities Employer, we take pride in treating our employees and potential hires with respect and without discrimination based on any Protected Characteristics., AXA UK are recognised as a Disability Confident Leader. We actively encourage applications from people who face barriers in the workplace due to a disability or long-term health condition. We participate in the Disability Confident 'Offer of Interview' scheme. This means a fair and proportionate number of candidates with long-term health conditions or disabilities who meet the essential criteria of a job, will be offered an interview.
• You'll need to show you meet the essential criteria as detailed in the job advert or job description
• You don't need to share the details of your long term health condition or disability for your application to be considered under this scheme
As part of your application, you'll be asked if you would like to 'opt in'. To ensure ease of access, every job advert lists a responsible Talent Acquisition contact, who'll be able to connect you with our Accessibility Concierge if you require any support. Screening & Conduct As a regulated financial services company, all successful candidates will be subject to pre-employment checks. Additionally, adherence to the Prudential Regulation Authority's (PRA) Insurance Conduct Standards and the Financial Conduct Authority's (FCA) Conduct Rules will be required., This depends on the location of the role, and what works best for you and the interviewer. We'll give you all the information you need to prepare for whichever format's used for your interview.I'm struggling to connect to my online interview, what should I do? Don't worry, we know these things happen. Get in touch with the person who arranged your interview, or the Talent Acquisition contact. One of the team will be able to help get the interview started or re-arrange it for a different time.How do I get feedback on my interview? Whenever possible, we'll call and provide feedback by phone. Sometimes, we'll need to provide feedback by email.How can I prepare for my interview? We'll send a candidate preparation pack before the interview to help you prepare.

Are you a seasoned construction underwriter looking to make a strategic impact? Our commercial team in Manchester is seeking a dynamic Lead Construction Underwriter to join their team. In this pivotal role, you'll drive profitable growth within the construction segment, focusing on Mid-Market and corporate clients. Your expertise will help underwrite risks within agreed authority levels to maximise income, while fostering strong relationships with a panel of brokers in line with our company objectives. If you're passionate about shaping underwriting strategies and delivering exceptional results, we want to hear from you.,
• Experience working as a Construction Underwriter dealing with mid-market construction business, including both contractors and liability risks.
• Experience of growing construction books, with a new business target exceeding £1.5m.
• Ability to underwrite in line with underwriting licence and empowerment guidelines.
• Strong accountability for targeting business development and nurturing relationships with panel brokers.
• Familiarity with FCA responsibilities and compliance requirements.
• Excellent trading capability with a good commercial awareness, negotiation skills and the ability to build strong broker relationships.
• Demonstrable technical underwriting expertise in a composite insurance environment.
• Sound knowledge of legislative and regulatory requirements for insurance.
• Cert CII qualification with DIP CII desirable.
As a precondition of employment for this role, you must be eligible and authorised to work in the United Kingdom.

AXA Commercial protects businesses, from multinationals to micro start-ups, giving them the confidence to thrive. We're currently making our biggest ever investment to develop the expertise and skills we need to be the best. We're a vibrant community where everyone is supported to learn, develop, and take ownership of their work., At AXA we have a culture of trust, respect and care, where everyone belongs. We have an ambition to become one of the most inspiring companies to work for, as such we're committed to supporting employee needs, providing meaningful career development, and celebrating differences. We all have a role to play in ensuring a working environment in which everyone, regardless of who they are, can reach their true potential., At AXA we're committed to offering a fair and inclusive experience to all candidates. You're encouraged to report, in good faith, any concerns of behaviour or processes believed to be inappropriate, unethical, or illegal. Should you wish to report any concerns, you can do this through by sending an email to [e-mail], AXA's dedicated hotline. This service is managed by an independent investigation team. Please note that this email address is not for dealing with job or application related queries. Read more

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. What we offer: At AXA UK, we're appreciative of the people who work for us and our rewards package is reviewed regularly to reflect that. You can expect to receive:
• Competitive annual salary of up to £90,000 dependent on experience
• Annual company & performance-based bonus
• Contributory pension scheme (up to 12% employer contributions)
• Life Assurance (up to 10 x annual salary)
• 28 days annual leave plus Bank Holidays
• Opportunity to buy up to 5 extra days leave or sell up to 5 days leave
• Up to 21 hours volunteering leave per year
• Private health cover
• Wellbeing services & resources
• AXA employee discounts, When will I hear back from you after my interview?
We aim to provide feedback as soon as the interview process allows. The time period will vary depending on the role.How do I discuss the package I've been offered for a role? You can discuss the package with your Talent Acquisition contact at offer stage.Yay! I've got the role, what's next? We'll carry out a number of background checks before you start. This is known as 'screening'.Do you do any background checks? Yes. All financial services companies, including AXA, are regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Being part of a regulated industry means we must check the background of all applicants before we confirm a job offer. Pre-employment screening is not just regulatory, it also gives us the confidence that our people are the right fit to protect what matters to customers, colleagues, and our business.
• Who is screened? Everyone, from first-jobbers to senior directors! Often, the higher up the career ladder you are, the more stringent the screening becomes.
• What is screened? Identity and address; qualifications; employment history; credit check; criminal record; directorships.
If you think anything may affect these checks, please tell us.What benefits or perks do you offer? At AXA, we appreciate the people who work for us and regularly review our rewards package to reflect that. The advert for the role you're interested in will detail what you can expect to receive, but you can see an overview of our benefits and perks on our Why Join Us page.Does AXA offer car allowance or a company car? This depends on the grade, role, and eligibility of the employee. Check the benefits listed on the ad for the role you're interested in or confirm with your recruitment contact.