Head of Program Triage & Portfolio Steering

AXA XL; Exton (PA); On-site; USD 170,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

AXA XL in Exton, PA seeks a Program Strategy & Portfolio Development Lead to shape the Programs portfolio. You will triage opportunities, evaluate submissions, and guide capacity deployment across segments and partners with a view to strategic alignment and risk control.

You will partner with senior leaders to ensure coherent portfolio strategy, governance and disciplined decision-making across the underwriting functions.

Responsibilities

• Opportunity triage & portfolio gatekeeping (core focus)
• Lead initial evaluation of new program submissions for the Programs portfolio
• Assess strategic fit, underwriting quality, structure and economics
• Identify risks and diligence priorities including CAT aggregation, selection bias, limits, price, layers
• Produce concise 1–2 page evaluation memos and deal snapshots for leadership
• Establish go/caution/no-go frameworks for filtering opportunities
• Portfolio strategy & capacity deployment and diversification
• Evaluate opportunities in context of portfolio composition and risk appetite
• Support allocation of capacity toward high risk-adjusted returns
• Highlight portfolio gaps, concentration risks and growth areas
• Provide input into annual and forward-looking portfolio strategy
• Targeted origination & market engagement aligned to priority segments
• Build market intelligence across the programs universe
• Support conference strategy with a clear targeting framework
• Maintain a structured view of priority partners and segments
• Deal framing & internal alignment to build business cases
• Prepare concise deal summaries outlining structure, economics and risks
• Align with underwriting, actuarial and CUO leadership early in diligence
• Act as central conduit between market activity and underwriting decisions
• Pipeline oversight & decision analytics with quality-focused pipeline
• Track metrics: submission quality, alignment, conversion, speed and premium expectations
• Provide forward-looking pipeline insights beyond simple reporting
• Market intelligence & strategic insight on emerging MGAs and trends
• Translate insights into actionable portfolio positioning recommendations
• Portfolio alignment & strategic contribution toward long-term goals
• Contribute to strategy across distribution, product gaps and partner selection
• Governance & underwriting discipline with clear delegated authority, data/reporting and governance expectations
• Ensure opportunities meet transparency, control and discipline standards
• Drive consistency in opportunity assessment, documentation and presentation

Job description

• Portfolio Alignment & Strategic Contribution

The North America Programs team provides underwriting capacity and strategic partnership to leading Program Administrators (MGAs/MGUs) across Property, Casualty and professional lines.

The Program Strategy & Portfolio Development Lead plays a critical role in shaping the composition and direction of the Programs portfolio by leading front-end opportunity triage, portfolio alignment, and strategic deployment of capacity.

This role serves as the initial gateway for all new program opportunities, combining targeted market engagement with disciplined evaluation to ensure alignment with underwriting appetite, risk tolerance, and portfolio objectives.

Beyond origination, the role provides a portfolio-wide lens on opportunity selection, helping guide where and how the organization deploys capital across segments, partners, and structures.

This position works closely with the Head/CUO of Programs and Heads of Property, Casualty, and Professional Programs to ensure consistent, high-quality opportunity selection and strategic coherence across the portfolio.

This position reports to Chief Underwriting Officer, Programs Americas.

What You’ll Be Doing

• Opportunity Triage & Portfolio Gatekeeping (Core Focus)
• Lead initial evaluation of all new program submissions, acting as the central triage function for the Programs portfolio
• Assess strategic fit, underwriting quality, structure, and economics relative to portfolio needs and risk appetite
• Identify key risks, structural concerns (e.g., CAT aggregation, selection bias, limits, price, compressed layers), and diligence priorities
• Produce concise 1–2 page evaluation memos and deal snapshots for leadership forums
• Establish consistent “go / caution / no-go” frameworks for opportunity filtering
• Portfolio Strategy & Capacity Deployment
• Evaluate opportunities in the context of portfolio composition, diversification, and accumulation management
• Support disciplined allocation of capacity toward highest-risk-adjusted-return opportunities
• Highlight portfolio gaps, concentration risks, and strategic growth areas
• Provide input into annual and forward-looking portfolio strategy
• Targeted Origination & Market Engagement
• Drive a focused origination approach aligned to priority segments and strategic themes.
• Build market intelligence across the programs universe.
• Support conference strategy (e.g., Target Markets, WSIA) with a clear targeting framework
• Maintain a structured view of priority partners and target segments
• Deal Framing & Internal Alignment
• Translate external opportunities into clear internal business cases
• Prepare concise deal summaries outlining structure, economics, key risks, and strategic rationale
• Align early with underwriting, actuarial, and CUO leadership to shape opportunities prior to full diligence
• Act as the central conduit between market-facing activity and underwriting decision-making
• Pipeline Oversight & Decision Analytics
• Maintain ownership of the new business pipeline with a focus on quality, not just volume
• Track and report key metrics, including:
• Submission quality and strategic alignment
• Conversion rates and hit ratios
• Speed and efficiency of decision-making
• Expected vs. bound premium
• Provide forward-looking pipeline insights, not just reporting
• Market Intelligence & Strategic Insight
• Develop a forward-looking view of the programs landscape, including:
• Emerging MGAs and new program structures
• Challenging capacity flows and underwriting trends
• M&A and platform consolidation
• Translate insights into actionable recommendations for portfolio positioning and appetite refinement
• Portfolio Alignment & Strategic Contribution
• Ensure new opportunities support long-term portfolio construction goals, not just near-term growth
• Provide a consistent framework for evaluating risk vs. return across diverse programs
• Contribute to broader Programs strategy across:
• Distribution strategy
• Product development gaps
• Partner selection

Governance & Underwriting Discipline

Reinforce early clarity around:

• Delegated authority scope
• Data/reporting requirements
• Underwriting governance expectations

Ensure only opportunities that meet minimum standards of transparency, control, and discipline progress forward

Drive consistency in how opportunities are assessed, documented, and presented