Underwriting Team Leader - Schemes

Ecclesiastical Insurance Group; England; Hybrid; GBP 100,000 - 125,000; Full time

Job summary

An insurance firm in Brighton is looking for an Underwriting Team Leader to guide a skilled team toward sustainable growth and retention. You will be instrumental in managing objectives and enhancing team capabilities while maintaining client relationships and overseeing underwriting processes. Ideal candidates will possess commercial underwriting experience and strong stakeholder management skills. The role offers competitive salary, hybrid working, and excellent benefits, reinforcing a commitment to personal development and community impact.

Benefits

Competitive salary

Hybrid working

Group Personal Pension – up to 12% employer contribution

Generous annual bonus scheme between 6% and 24%

25 days annual leave plus bank holidays

Health and wellbeing benefits

£200 annual personal grant to a charity

Volunteering day per year

Employee Assistance Programme

Full study support for professional qualifications

Access to virtual GP

Enhanced maternity and paternity pay

Qualifications

• Significant experience in trading and negotiation.
• Experience in a commercial scheme environment.
• Experience managing a successful underwriting/customer-service team.

Responsibilities

• Manage the team to achieve objectives and ensure growth.
• Collaborate to support new schemes and oversee administration.
• Conduct audits and provide coaching and training.
• Manage team performance and address development needs.

Skills

Commercial underwriting experience

Stakeholder management

Data analysis and MI reporting

Negotiation skills

Education

Dip CII qualification

Job description

Working hours: 35 hours per week, Monday to Friday

Duration: Permanent

Location: Brighton

Job Ref: 203590

About the role

Ansvar, who are proudly part of Benefact Group, are looking for an Underwriting Team Leader to join our Brighton office.

To work with the Bespoke Team Underwriting Manager to deliver the business plan in relation to schemes, providing high‑level decisions and advice to enable the delivery of Underwriting strategy, quality and performance whilst managing the day‑to‑day activities and performance of the Schemes team.

Why join us?

Join a collaborative and inclusive culture that’s committed to making a difference and building a more sustainable future. Ranked amongst the UK’s 15 Best Big Companies to Work For in 2025, we offer fantastic career and development opportunities within a rapidly growing, innovative Group – where all profits go to charity and good causes.

What you'll be doing

Manage the team to deliver on team and individual objectives, ensuring sustainable profitable growth and retention of business in accordance with Underwriting strategy and in line with Ansvar Business Plan.

Work collaboratively across the business to support the acquisition and implementation of new schemes, and oversee the administration of existing schemes.

Alongside the Bespoke Team Underwriting Manager, manage relationships to support the implementation, growth and profitability of potential and existing schemes, including broker visits.

Contribute to the monitoring and reviewing of systems and processes and support the implementation of initiatives to improve team capability and performance.

Plan, prioritise and manage individual and team workflow effectively to deliver outstanding service.

Set and monitor individual and team targets on an annual, weekly and daily basis to maximise team performance and meet objectives.

Manage team performance in line with Underwriting capability framework, supporting team members to identify and address development needs and ensuring appropriate stretch.

Own caseload of underwriting work to undertake, which may fluctuate with team requirements.

Act as referral point for the team providing coaching, training in an appropriate time frame.

Conduct audits and provide feedback, coaching and training as appropriate.

Deal effectively with escalations within the team working with other underwriting teams where relevant.

Ensure that appropriate risk‑management frameworks are embedded within the team.

Identify and resolve all escalated customer complaints in line with regulatory/company guidelines.

Provide managerial support by acting flexibly across the areas of the business providing customer support.

What you'll need to have

Commercial underwriting experience, with significant trading and negotiation experience.

Experience of effective stakeholder management within a commercial environment.

Experience of analysing data and MI reporting.

Confident and influential communicator with the ability to negotiate at all levels, both internally and externally.

What makes you stand out

• Minimum Dip CII qualified or working towards within an agreed timeframe.
• Experience of managing a successful underwriting/customer‑service team within an Insurance/Financial services.
• Previous experience working within a commercial scheme environment.

What we offer

• A competitive salary — let's discuss it.
• Hybrid working.
• Group Personal Pension – up to 12% employer contribution.
• Generous annual bonus scheme between 6% and 24%.
• 25 days annual leave plus bank holidays, and a holiday buy and sell scheme.
• An array of health and wellbeing benefits, including private healthcare, income protection and life assurance.
• £200 annual personal grant to a charity of your choice.
• Encouraged to take at least one volunteering day per year.
• Employee Assistance Programme.
• Full study support to gain professional qualifications.
• Access to virtual GP.
• Enhanced maternity and paternity pay.

About us

Ansvar specialise in insurance to the third sector. We cover thousands of risks in the UK, and unlike other insurers, our products are specifically designed for the niches we insure.

Driven by our values of empathy, professionalism and trust, we hold a genuine desire to positively impact the communities we help protect.

Benefact Group is a unique international financial services Group made up of over 30 businesses. We are owned by a charity and have been the 3rd largest UK corporate donor over a decade, having given away £250 million since 2014. We have ambitious plans to become the UK’s number one corporate donor, with strategic objectives in place to double the Group’s size.

We believe it’s essential to attract, empower, grow and reward talented people, offering fantastic opportunities for career and personal development. Our giving ethos, 135‑year history and the diversity of what we do, has enabled us to build a culture of kindness, great ambition, and of passionate people driven to do better and be better.

At Benefact Group, we are committed to creating an inclusive culture and building an environment where each and every one of us feels valued and respected. We are a community made up of people with a range of different backgrounds, abilities, perspectives, beliefs and interests and we value the strength this brings to us as a Group. We welcome applications from everyone.

If you need any additional support during the recruitment process, then please let us know.