Senior Manager – Underwriting Business Services

Recognized as a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Top Workplace for 14 consecutive years, including three years of being honored as number one! Join us at West Bend, where we believe that our associates are our greatest asset. We hire talented individuals who are conscientious, dedicated, customer focused, and able to build lasting relationships. We create and maintain an environment where you feel a sense of belonging and appreciation. Your diversity of thought, experience, and knowledge are valued. We’re committed to fostering a welcoming culture, offering you opportunities for meaningful work and professional growth. More than a workplace, we celebrate our successes and take pride in serving our communities.

The Senior Manager, Underwriting Business Services leads the functions that strengthen underwriting quality, consistency, technical capability, and service delivery across the underwriting organization. This role provides strategic leadership and direction for multiple CE teams, including Underwriting Quality Assurance, Policy Services, Premium Audit and Staff Underwriting. The Senior Manager is accountable for driving operational excellence, technical expertise, innovation, associate development, and business performance across functional support and service teams.  In partnership with underwriting leaders and cross-functional stakeholders, this role establishes standards, improves processes, manages risk, identifies trends, and ensures underwriting teams have the technical guidance and operational support needed to achieve business objectives.

This position offers a hybrid work schedule. Candidates who are located within 50 miles of a West Bend office location will work a hybrid schedule for collaboration days, team meetings or other in-person events. The position can be based in West Bend, Wisconsin.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide leadership and strategic direction by aligning priorities, resources, and performance expectations with underwriting and organizational objectives. 
• Lead, coach, and develop managers and senior technical professionals, strengthening leadership capability, technical expertise, accountability, and collaboration. Translate underwriting priorities into annual plans and measurable outcomes for quality, service, productivity, technical consistency, and risk management. 
• Oversee underwriting quality assurance programs, including audits, trend analysis, corrective actions, and reporting to improve underwriting performance and outcomes. Ensure underwriting practices, filed programs, policies, and procedures are maintained and monitored in accordance with regulatory requirements, company standards, and business objectives. 
• Oversee Policy Services operations, including service levels, quality, productivity, workflows, training, and resource allocation. Guide the development, interpretation, and consistent application of underwriting standards, methodologies, manuals, and technical guidance across products, territories, and lines of business. 
• Partner with underwriting leaders to identify capability needs and deliver technical coaching, training, and knowledge-sharing that strengthen underwriting judgment and performance. 
• Use data, audit results, and performance metrics to identify trends, determine root causes, implement solutions, and measure results. 
• Collaborate cross functionally with other divisions on product, process, compliance, and technology initiatives. 
• Provide functional leadership for system implementations and enhancements, including business requirements, testing, readiness, adoption, and post-implementation evaluation within areas of responsibility. 
• Resolve complex cross-functional issues and remove barriers affecting underwriting quality, consistency, service delivery, or associate effectiveness. 
• Establish and manage budgets and resource plans for assigned functions, making adjustments within established parameters to achieve expected outcomes. 
• Promote a culture of continuous improvement, sound underwriting judgment, accountability, and partnership across the underwriting organization. 

Preferred Experience and Skills

• 8+ years of progressively responsible experience in commercial insurance, underwriting, underwriting quality, policy services, or a related field. 
• 5+ years of leadership experience, including experience leading managers, multiple teams, or senior technical professionals. 
• Broad knowledge of commercial underwriting practices, policy administration, quality assurance, regulatory requirements, and insurance operations. 
• Demonstrated ability to lead across multiple functions, establish

The salary range for this position is $139,735-$174,669

The actual base pay offered to the successful candidate will be based on multiple factors, including but not limited to job-related knowledge/skills, experience, business needs, geographical location, and internal equity.  Compensation decisions are made by West Bend and are dependent upon the facts and circumstances of each position and candidate. 

West Bend offers a comprehensive benefit plan including but not limited to:   

• Medical & Prescription Insurance  

• Health Savings Account  

• Dental Insurance  

• Vision Insurance  

• Short and Long Term Disability  

• Flexible Spending Accounts  

• Life and Accidental Death & Disability   

• Accident and Critical Illness Insurance  

• Employee Assistance Program  

• 401(k) Plan with Company Match  

• Pet Insurance  

• Paid Time Off. Standard first year PTO is 17 days, pro-rated based on month of hire. Enhanced PTO may be available for experienced candidates 

• Bonus eligible based on performance  

• West Bend will comply with any applicable state and local laws regarding employee leave benefits, including, but not limited to providing time off pursuant to the Colorado Healthy Families and Workplaces Act for Colorado employees, in accordance with its plans and policies.

West Bend provides equal employment opportunities to all associates and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, and promotion.