VP Agency Sales

Horace Mann; Springfield (IL); On-site; USD 250,000 - 300,000; Full time

Job summary

Horace Mann seeks a Head of Agency Sales to lead the Exclusive Agent field channel across auto, home, life, retirement and supplemental products. You will own revenue, growth, and performance, shaping the future of the channel and agent experience.

This executive will set strategy, drive modernization with analytics and CRM, and build a scalable recruiting engine while partnering with finance, HR and other functions. Base salary range $250,000–$300,000.

Qualifications

• Extensive senior leadership experience leading and scaling a field sales or exclusive agency distribution channel within insurance or financial services.
• Proven success recruiting, retaining, engaging, and developing agents and producers while improving sales productivity.
• Experience building disciplined agency management systems, including territory strategy, business planning, scorecards, sales coaching, succession planning, and performance intervention.
• Strong general-management judgment and the ability to make timely, consequential decisions, establish clear accountability, lead through change, and modernize distribution.
• Deep knowledge of multiline insurance and financial services products and economics, supported by strong analytical and financial acumen.
• Exceptional leadership, communication, and influencing skills, with the ability to inspire a dispersed field organization and align senior leaders and cross-functional partners around shared results.

Responsibilities

• Own channel sales, growth, retention, profitability, and productivity results across all product lines, regions, territories, agencies, and producers.
• Establish a disciplined operating cadence with clear goals, scorecards, forecasts, and performance reviews; make timely, fact-based decisions and intervene decisively when results fall short.
• Define and execute a multi-year strategy that improves channel economics, expands Horace Mann's reach, and positions the Exclusive Agent model to thrive as educator needs, technology, and buying behaviors evolve.
• Translate strategy into practical field plans and modernize the channel through stronger analytics, CRM adoption, digitally enabled selling, lead management, and flexible agency models; test new approaches and scale what works.
• Build a disciplined, repeatable recruiting engine that attracts high-caliber, entrepreneurial agents and producers who connect with Horace Mann's purpose and the education community.
• Own agent retention and the agent value proposition - including onboarding, development, compensation, recognition, and field support - while maintaining trusted relationships and representing the voice of the agent across the enterprise.
• Set the territory strategy and standards for market coverage, educator opportunity, school access, capacity, and growth, ensuring every territory has an actionable business plan.
• Evaluate territory potential and agency capacity continuously, addressing gaps through recruiting, development, realignment, succession, or agency transitions while expanding access to schools and education partners.
• Implement a consistent agency management system and improve producer productivity through disciplined business planning, pipeline management, field coaching, multiline selling, customer retention, and adoption of sales technology.
• Shape compensation, incentive, and recognition programs that reinforce profitable growth, productivity, persistency, multiline relationships, and strong customer outcomes, partnering with Finance and Human Resources to align investments with enterprise objectives.
• Represent channel performance, opportunities, risks, and needs in senior leadership forums and translate field insight into clear enterprise priorities.
• Collaborate across Product, Underwriting, Marketing, Service, Claims, Finance, Human Resources, Legal, Technology, Digital, Analytics, and other channels to remove barriers and align the organization behind growth.
• Lead, develop, and hold accountable a high-performing field sales leadership team spanning regional, territory, agency management, and sales enablement functions.
• Elevate agency management capability and build a strong leadership pipeline through clear roles, consistent standards, effective coaching, disciplined execution, and succession planning.

Skills

Senior field sales leadership

Insurance/financial services knowledge

Strategy and analytics

People development

Education

Bachelor's degree

MBA preferred

Tools

CRM systems

Sales forecasting

Job description

Shape the strategy, performance, and long-term health of Horace Mann's Exclusive Agent channel - a national business representing more than $1.5 billion in inforce revenue, over 400 storefronts, and 1,000 producers serving educators across the country.

Horace Mann is seeking an accomplished Head of Agency Sales executive to lead our Exclusive Agent field sales channel across auto, home, life, retirement, and individual supplemental products. This leader will own sales results, profitable growth, agent experience, and the future readiness of the channel.

As the largest financial services company focused on educators, Horace Mann depends on this role to build a high-performing agency organization that expands our reach and strengthens how we serve the education community. You will be a key member of the distribution leadership team, a visible champion of the field, and the executive voice of the Exclusive Agent channel across the enterprise.

What you will lead

Sales performance and accountability

• Own channel sales, growth, retention, profitability, and productivity results across all product lines, regions, territories, agencies, and producers.
• Establish a disciplined operating cadence with clear goals, scorecards, forecasts, and performance reviews; make timely, fact-based decisions and intervene decisively when results fall short.

Channel strategy and modernization

• Define and execute a multi-year strategy that improves channel economics, expands Horace Mann's reach, and positions the Exclusive Agent model to thrive as educator needs, technology, and buying behaviors evolve.
• Translate strategy into practical field plans and modernize the channel through stronger analytics, CRM adoption, digitally enabled selling, lead management, and flexible agency models; test new approaches and scale what works.

Agent recruiting, retention, and engagement

• Build a disciplined, repeatable recruiting engine that attracts high-caliber, entrepreneurial agents and producers who connect with Horace Mann's purpose and the education community.
• Own agent retention and the agent value proposition - including onboarding, development, compensation, recognition, and field support - while maintaining trusted relationships and representing the voice of the agent across the enterprise.

Territory growth and sales execution

• Set the territory strategy and standards for market coverage, educator opportunity, school access, capacity, and growth, ensuring every territory has an actionable business plan.
• Evaluate territory potential and agency capacity continuously, addressing gaps through recruiting, development, realignment, succession, or agency transitions while expanding access to schools and education partners.
• Implement a consistent agency management system and improve producer productivity through disciplined business planning, pipeline management, field coaching, multiline selling, customer retention, and adoption of sales technology.

Channel economics and enterprise leadership

• Shape compensation, incentive, and recognition programs that reinforce profitable growth, productivity, persistency, multiline relationships, and strong customer outcomes, partnering with Finance and Human Resources to align investments with enterprise objectives.
• Represent channel performance, opportunities, risks, and needs in senior leadership forums and translate field insight into clear enterprise priorities.
• Collaborate across Product, Underwriting, Marketing, Service, Claims, Finance, Human Resources, Legal, Technology, Digital, Analytics, and other channels to remove barriers and align the organization behind growth.

Leadership and talent development

• Lead, develop, and hold accountable a high-performing field sales leadership team spanning regional, territory, agency management, and sales enablement functions.
• Elevate agency management capability and build a strong leadership pipeline through clear roles, consistent standards, effective coaching, disciplined execution, and succession planning.

What you bring

• Extensive senior leadership experience leading and scaling a field sales or exclusive agency distribution channel within insurance or financial services, with full accountability for revenue, growth, profitability, or P&L results at a comparable scale.
• Demonstrated success recruiting, retaining, engaging, and developing agents and producers while improving sales productivity and profitable growth.
• A record of building disciplined agency management systems, including territory strategy, business planning, scorecards, sales coaching, succession planning, and performance intervention.
• Strong general-management judgment and the ability to make timely, consequential decisions, establish clear accountability, lead through change, and modernize distribution.
• Deep knowledge of multiline insurance and financial services products and economics, supported by strong analytical and financial acumen.
• Exceptional leadership, communication, and influencing skills, with the ability to inspire a dispersed field organization and align senior leaders and cross-functional partners around shared results.
• A bachelor's degree is required; an MBA or other advanced degree is preferred. Relevant insurance and securities licensing is also preferred.

Preferred perspective: Experience working with education or other affinity communities.

Base Salary Pay Range:

• $250,000 - $300,000

Salary is commensurate to experience, location, etc.

Horace Mann was founded in 1945 by two Springfield, Illinois, teachers who saw a need for quality, affordable auto insurance for teachers. Since then, we have broadened our mission to helping all educators protect what they have today and prepare for a successful tomorrow. And with our broadened mission has come corporate growth: We serve more than 4,100 school districts nationwide, we’re publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange (symbol: HMN) and we have more than $12 billion in assets.

We’re motivated by the fact that educators take care of our children's future, and we believe they deserve someone to look after theirs. We help educators identify their financial goals and develop plans to achieve them. This includes insurance to protect what they have today and financial products to help them prepare for their future. Our tailored offerings include special rates and benefits for educators.

EOE/Minorities/Females/Veterans/Disabled. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or protected veteran status

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