Director of Production Underwriting – Workers’ Compensation

Goodwin Recruiting; Cincinnati (OH); On-site; USD 140,000 - 230,000; Full time

Job summary

Goodwin Recruiting is seeking a Director of Production Underwriting for Workers’ Compensation to lead and develop its production underwriting team. The role blends hands-on underwriting with strategic leadership to grow the territory and relationships with retail brokers.

The ideal candidate has deep WC underwriting experience, a proven ability to build a productive book of business, and a track record of coaching underwriters to replicate territory development success.

Qualifications

• Significant Workers’ Compensation underwriting experience.
• Proven leadership or mentoring of underwriting teams.

Responsibilities

• Lead, mentor, and develop a team of Production Underwriters.
• Personally manage and grow a defined workers' compensation territory.
• Build and strengthen relationships with retail insurance brokers and agencies.
• Coach underwriters on territory development, broker engagement, and generating submissions.
• Develop strategies to expand relationships with existing agencies and penetrate new markets.

Job description

Director of Production Underwriting – Workers’ Compensation

A growing, profitable specialty insurance organization seeks an experienced Director of Production Underwriting - Workers’ Compensation to lead and develop its production underwriting team.

This is a true player/coach opportunity for an accomplished Workers’ Compensation production underwriter who has personally built and grown a successful territory and can teach other underwriters how to do the same.

The director will remain hands-on with underwriting and business development while leading, mentoring, and coaching a team of production underwriters. The ideal candidate combines strong technical workers' compensation expertise with the ability to develop retail broker relationships, generate profitable submissions, and create repeatable territory-development strategies.

What You’ll Do

• Lead, mentor, and develop a team of Production Underwriters.
• Personally manage and grow a defined workers' compensation territory.
• Maintain an active book of business while underwriting complex accounts.
• Build and strengthen relationships with retail insurance brokers and agencies.
• Coach underwriters on territory development, prospecting, broker engagement, and generating qualified submissions.
• Help team members identify target agencies and create actionable business-development plans.
• Conduct regular territory and pipeline reviews focused on both production and underwriting quality.
• Accompany underwriters on broker meetings and provide hands‑on field coaching.
• Develop strategies to expand relationships with existing agencies and penetrate new markets.
• Evaluate workers' compensation risks across complex and high‑severity industries.
• Analyze loss history, operations, safety programs, claims trends, and management practices to make sound underwriting decisions.
• Partner closely with claims, loss control, operations, and senior leadership on complex accounts and growth strategy.
• Maintain an active marketplace presence through agency visits, industry events, conferences, and relationship‑building activities.
• Provide market intelligence regarding broker activity, competitive trends, pricing, and emerging opportunities.

What We’re Looking For

• Significant Workers’ Compensation underwriting experience.
• Proven success as a production underwriter with responsibility for developing and growing a defined territory.
• Demonstrated ability to personally generate business through retail broker relationships.
• Established relationships with retail insurance brokers and agencies.
• Prior leadership, management, or mentoring experience with underwriting or production teams.
• A proven ability to explain how you built a territory and translate that approach into a repeatable strategy for other underwriters.
• Strong technical knowledge of workers' compensation, including complex or high‑severity risks.
• Strong business‑development instincts and comfort being active in the marketplace.
• Ability to balance profitable underwriting with production and growth objectives.
• Strong communication, coaching, and relationship‑building skills.
• Self-motivated and comfortable operating in an entrepreneurial, collaborative environment.

Particularly Valuable Experience

• Experience with high‑severity/low‑frequency workers' compensation classes such as construction, transportation, manufacturing, steel, or waste management.
• Experience within an MGA, specialty carrier, or similarly entrepreneurial insurance environment.
• Familiarity with alternative program structures and creative pricing approaches.
• Experience working closely with integrated claims and loss‑control teams.
• AU, CWCA, or other relevant insurance designations.

What Will Make Someone Successful

This position is designed for someone who can genuinely say:

“I built a successful territory myself, I understand exactly how I did it, and I know how to teach other underwriters to do the same.”

Technical underwriting expertise alone will not be enough. The Director must be comfortable developing broker relationships, generating submissions, growing a profitable book, and helping other underwriters become stronger producers.

Location & Travel

Candidates may live anywhere in or near the Mid-Atlantic region, Southeast (not Atlanta) , or Southwest, provided they have strong retail broker relationships in the territory.

Expect approximately25% travelfor broker meetings, agency visits, conferences, and industry events.

Why Consider This Opportunity?

• Leadership role with meaningful influence over the underwriting team's growth and development.
• Opportunity to remain hands‑on with underwriting and production rather than moving into a purely administrative management position.
• Highly collaborative environment with strong claims, loss‑control, and operational support.
• Focus on broker relationships, underwriting strategy, and profitable growth rather than excessive administrative work.
• Stable, profitable organization with a long‑term approach to building its book of business.
• Culture that values underwriting quality and relationships over simply chasing top‑line premium.
• Strong emphasis on professional development, training, and continuing education.

Compensation: Competitive base salary plus performance‑based incentive compensation and comprehensive benefits.

JOB ID: 182736#post

Warren Mead