Operational Underwriting Team Manager

Individually we are people, but together we are Aviva. Individually these are just words, but together they are our Values – Care, Commitment, Community, and Confidence.

We are seeking a dynamic and experienced leader to join our Lifestyle Underwriting department as the Team Leader in Western Canada. This role is pivotal in driving excellence in underwriting practices, fostering a high-performance culture, and ensuring the delivery of consistent, high-quality risk assessments aligned with our company’s values and strategic goals.

As the Lifestyle Underwriting Team Leader, you will oversee a team of skilled underwriters, providing mentorship, technical guidance, and performance management. You will play a key role in shaping underwriting strategies, optimizing workflows, and collaborating cross-functionally to support innovation and continuous improvement in our underwriting approach.

This is an exciting opportunity for a results-driven professional with a passion for leadership, a deep understanding of lifestyle products, and a commitment to delivering exceptional service and risk management outcomes

The leader’s directive is to ensure the team provides our brokers with a world-class customer experience that sets Aviva apart from the competition.

Come join our team!

What you’ll do:

You will be passionate about improving customer happiness whenever contact is made with the Lifestyle Underwriting Contact Center. Fully responsible for the leadership, development and coaching of a team of Underwriting team members, ensuring that underwriting customer service standards are met and exceeded. As a partner to a strong national brand, and official representative of Aviva, our department is expected to deliver an extraordinary broker experience.

• Responsible for the achievement of key Aviva strategies for broker service delivery, customer satisfaction, risk acceptability and profitability
• You will have the opportunity to coach, counsel, and develop team members to achieve maximum performance and superior quality in underwriting and ensure Broker experience aligns to our business objectives.
• Your ability to demonstrate rewards and recognition programs to drive strong results will motivate and inspire others.
• Evaluate employee performance and conduct performance reviews for assigned team members.
• Implement and adhere to established underwriting guidelines and practices to establish, build and maintain a profitable book of business.
• Ability to deliver clear communication to employees on changes and updates in operational workflows
• Flexibility is necessary as candidates will be required to travel few times per year
• Identify opportunities to improve the broker/customer journey, the underwriting handling processes for Lifestyle along with the financial outcomes for our business
• Lead change initiatives for the team and business function
• Team player but self-motivated and willing to train/mentor junior members of the team
• Develop and implement strategic plans to enhance broker relationships and drive business growth.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to ensure seamless integration of underwriting processes and broker services.
• Work with your leader to analyze workload trends and forecast future capacity needs to optimize resource allocation
• Develop contingency plans to address unexpected changes in workload or staffing levels.
• Track and report on key performance indicators related to team performance and the quality of work delivered to inform decisions.

What you’ll bring:

• University Degree, CIP (preferred) or equivalent work experience in insurance.
• Previous experience in leadership, coaching and mentoring a team and demonstration of leadership and coaching capabilities
• Minimum 7 years of underwriting experience in the Home & Auto insurance industry (exposure to various provinces considered an asset)
• Broad knowledge and understanding of Personal Lines insurance and Underwriting. (Preferred experience with Lifestyle recreational products)
• Demonstrates the ability to apply foundational project management principles to support and lead change initiatives—championing change through example, fostering stakeholder engagement, and cultivating a culture of adaptability
• Experience in a call center / contact center environment
• Commitment to sound underwriting decisions, exceptional customer experience, and fostering a highly engaged team environment
• Strong written and verbal communication skills with solid ability to build effective relationships with teams and drive results through collaborative approach with stakeholders
• Solid ability to handle and resolve business and customer problems
• Participation in recruitment and salary review/recommendation process in accordance with organizational standards
• Develop and manage capacity plans to ensure the underwriting team can meet current and future workload demands efficiently
• Utilize data analytics to drive decision-making and optimize underwriting strategies

What you’ll get:

• Compelling rewards package including base compensation, eligibility for annual bonus, retirement savings, share plan, health benefits, personal wellness, and volunteer opportunities.
• Exceptional Career Development opportunities.
• We’ll support your professional development education.
• Competitive vacation package with the option to purchase 5 extra days off per year
• Employee driven programs focused on gender, LGBTQ+, origins, diversity and inclusion
• Corporate wellness programs to support our employees’ physical and mental health
• Hybrid flexible work model

Please note that we may use AI tools to help us through the recruitment process. This is a new position which has been posted both internally & externally.

Additional Information: Aviva Canada has an accommodation process in place to provide accommodations for employees with disabilities. If upon commencement of employment you require a specific accommodation because of a disability, please contact your Talent Acquisition Partner so that an appropriate accommodation can be arranged. This process applies throughout your career with Aviva Canada.

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