Team Lead, Excess & Surplus (E&S) & Crisis Management OPS

Swiss Re; Windsor, Northern (CT, KY); Hybrid; USD 76,000 - 114,000; Full time

Job summary

Swiss Re is seeking a Team Lead for Excess & Surplus (E&S) and Crisis Management Operations in a hybrid setup. You will coach a team of underwriting assistants and ops professionals, drive performance, and partner with Underwriting leadership to ensure compliant, high-quality policy lifecycle execution.

You will oversee workflow standardization, audits, and cross-functional collaboration with brokers, claims, and finance, while championing AI adoption to modernize operations.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of insurance operations, underwriting support, or commercial insurance experience.
• Prior people leadership experience preferred.
• Knowledge of E&S, Crisis Management, Commercial Property, Casualty, or Specialty operations preferred.
• Strong understanding of policy administration processes, compliance requirements, and service operations.
• Demonstrated experience leading change and process improvement initiatives.
• Excellent communication, stakeholder management, and coaching skills.
• Bachelor's degree or equivalent professional experience

Responsibilities

• Lead, coach, and develop a team of Underwriting Assistants and Operations professionals, fostering a culture of accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement.
• Balance workloads and staffing strategies proactively to meet evolving business needs.
• Serve as the primary escalation point for operational issues and capacity concerns, ensuring swift and effective resolution.
• Ensure timely and accurate execution of policy lifecycle activities including binders, endorsements, renewals, cancellations, invoicing, and policy issuance.
• Monitor and report on service levels, productivity, quality, and operational KPIs to drive accountability and transparency.
• Identify and implement process improvements that enhance efficiency, strengthen controls, and elevate the customer experience.
• Drive standardization and consistency across workflows, SOPs, and operational practices across the portfolio.
• Support audit readiness and regulatory compliance requirements with rigor and attention to detail.
• Partner closely with E&S and Crisis Management Underwriters to support portfolio growth and service delivery objectives.
• Maintain strong cross-functional relationships with brokers, underwriting teams, claims, finance, legal, compliance, and other key stakeholders.
• Own operational controls, documentation quality, audit evidence, and issue remediation across the portfolio.
• Champion AI adoption and workflow improvement, driving operational modernization with curiosity and confidence.

Skills

Leadership

Coaching

Communication

Stakeholder management

Change management

People development

Education

Bachelor's degree or equivalent professional experience

Job description

Team Lead, Excess & Surplus (E&S) & Crisis Management OPS

About the Role

As Team Lead for E&S and Crisis Management Operations, you will be at the heart of operational excellence - driving service delivery, quality, and compliance while partnering closely with Underwriting leadership to fuel profitable growth and deliver exceptional client and broker experiences. This is a leadership role with real influence: you will develop talent, optimize processes, champion technology adoption, and help shape the future operating model for a dynamic and growing portfolio. If you are energized by leading teams through change and building something better, this role is for you.

Key Responsibilities

Leadership & People Management

• Lead, coach, and develop a team of Underwriting Assistants and Operations professionals, fostering a culture of accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement.
• Drive performance management, development planning, succession planning, and cross-training activities to build a resilient and engaged team.
• Balance workloads and staffing strategies proactively to meet evolving business needs.
• Serve as the primary escalation point for operational issues and capacity concerns, ensuring swift and effective resolution.

Operational Excellence

• Ensure timely and accurate execution of policy lifecycle activities including binders, endorsements, renewals, cancellations, invoicing, and policy issuance.
• Monitor and report on service levels, productivity, quality, and operational KPIs to drive accountability and transparency.
• Identify and implement process improvements that enhance efficiency, strengthen controls, and elevate the customer experience.
• Drive standardization and consistency across workflows, SOPs, and operational practices across the portfolio.
• Support audit readiness and regulatory compliance requirements with rigor and attention to detail.

Business Partnership

• Partner closely with E&S and Crisis Management Underwriters to support portfolio growth and service delivery objectives.
• Participate in business planning, operational strategy discussions, and change initiatives as a trusted operational voice.
• Maintain strong cross-functional relationships with brokers, underwriting teams, claims, finance, legal, compliance, and other key stakeholders.
• Ensure operational support models evolve in step with changing business demands and market dynamics.
• Own operational controls, documentation quality, audit evidence, and issue remediation across the portfolio.
• Ensure adherence to company policies, regulatory requirements, and underwriting authority guidelines at all times.
• Proactively escalates risks and develop mitigation plans before service impacts occur.
• Maintain data integrity and documentation standards to uphold regulatory compliance across the portfolio.
• Support technology implementation, automation initiatives, and process redesign efforts that modernize operations.
• Champion AI adoption and workflow improvement, driving operational modernization with curiosity and confidence.
• Lead readiness activities including training, SOP governance, and change management to ensure smooth transitions.
• Contribute to future-state operating model development and capacity optimization initiatives that position the team for long-term success.

About the Team

At our core, we are driven by a commitment to putting clients first - working alongside them to co-create solutions and deliver real, lasting value. As Crisis Management and E&S Operations professionals, we combine deep insurance industry knowledge with sharp operational expertise, supporting two of Swiss Re's most dynamic and specialized portfolios. We help clients navigate complexity with confidence, ensuring seamless policy lifecycle execution, rigorous operational controls, and outstanding service to brokers and clients every step of the way.

About You

You are an experienced operations leader who brings both strategic thinking and hands-on execution to everything you do. You know how to inspire a team, navigate complexity, and drive meaningful change - all while keeping service quality and compliance front and center. You communicate with clarity, build relationships with ease, and approach challenges with a solutions-oriented mindset. You are equally comfortable in the details and in the boardroom, and you bring a genuine commitment to developing the people around you.

We are looking for candidates who meet these requirements:

• 5+ years of insurance operations, underwriting support, or commercial insurance experience.
• Prior people leadership experience preferred.
• Knowledge of E&S, Crisis Management, Commercial Property, Casualty, or Specialty operations preferred.
• Strong understanding of policy administration processes, compliance requirements, and service operations.
• Demonstrated experience leading change and process improvement initiatives.
• Excellent communication, stakeholder management, and coaching skills.
• Bachelor's degree or equivalent professional experience

Our company uses a hybrid work model requiring at least three days in the office each week, with the option to work onsite full-time if preferred. This position isnoteligible for full-time telework, relocation assistance or visa sponsorship.

The estimated base salary range for this position for both: Alpharetta, GA and Windsor, CT, is $76,000 to $114,000. The specific salary offered for this, or any given role will take into account a number of factors including but not limited to job location, scope of role, qualifications, complexity/specialization/scarcity of talent, experience, education, and employer budget. At Swiss Re, we take a "total compensation approach" when making compensation decisions. This means that we consider all components of compensation in their totality (such as base pay, short- and long-term incentives, and benefits offered), in setting individual compensation.

About Swiss Re Corporate Solutions

Swiss Re is one of the world's leading providers of reinsurance, insurance and other forms of insurance-based risk transfer. We anticipate and manage risks, from natural catastrophes and climate change to cybercrime.

Swiss Re Corporate Solutions is the commercial insurance arm of the Swiss Re Group. We offer innovative insurance solutions to large and midsized multinational corporations from our approximately 50 locations worldwide. We help clients mitigate their risk exposure, whilst our industry-leading claims service provides them with additional peace of mind.

Our success depends on our ability to build an inclusive culture encouraging fresh perspectives and innovative thinking. Swiss Re Corporate Solutions embraces a workplace where everyone has equal opportunities to thrive and develop professionally regardless of their age, gender, race, ethnicity, gender identity and/or expression, sexual orientation, physical or mental ability, skillset, thought or other characteristics. In our inclusive and flexible environment everyone can bring their authentic selves to work and their passion for sustainability.

If you are an experienced professional returning to the workforce after a career break, we encourage you to apply for open positions that match your skills and experience.

Swiss Re is an equal opportunity employer. It is our practice to recruit, hire and promote without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, sex, disability, age, pregnancy, sexual orientations, marital status, military status, or any other characteristic protected by law. Decisions on employment are solely based on an individual's qualifications for the position being filled.

During the recruitment process, reasonable accommodations for disabilities are available upon request. If contacted for an interview, please inform the Recruiter/HR Professional of the accommodation needed.

We may use AI-powered tools to support the review and evaluation of applications for this position. These tools provide additional insights to our recruitment teams, but all hiring decisions are carefully reviewed and made by people. To learn more about how we use AI in recruitment and how we handle your personal data, please review our Data Privacy Statement before applying.

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