Director, Business Development - Surety (Large Commercial)
$152,000–$269,000 year
On-siteChicago, Illinois, United States or Minnesota, United States
EXPIREDChicago, Illinois, United States or Minnesota, United StatesOn-siteFull Time$152,000–$269,000 yearSenior LevelAssociates DegreeINSURANCEEnterprise
Full TimeSenior LevelAssociates DegreeEnterpriseINSURANCE
Job Summary
Lead the underwriting team and drive sales growth by establishing business relationships with agencies and brokers to expand the surety book of business. Independently underwrite complex accounts within granted authority, analyzing portfolio performance, risk selection, and pricing decisions to ensure profitability. Manage territory-level business planning, including sales strategy development, budget creation, and performance management for associates. Provide consultative underwriting guidance to staff, review complex risk mitigation arrangements, and coordinate with internal partners on operational processing. Monitor regional market conditions and industry developments to identify expansion opportunities and close-out strategies for stressed accounts.
Required Qualifications
- Significant experience in large commercial surety underwriting, including both new business and portfolio management of complex or high-exposure accounts
- Demonstrated success in territory development and broker distribution management, with the ability to identify expansion opportunities, build producer plans, and develop target account strategies
- Advanced ability to analyze complex financial statements, including interpretation of profitability, leverage, cash flow, working capital, liquidity, backlog, and work-in-progress trends
- Experience evaluating credit quality and capacity of privately held and publicly traded companies, including identification of emerging deterioration and concentration risk
- Expertise in reviewing bond forms, indemnity agreements, collateral arrangements, and other risk-mitigation structures for larger or more complex accounts
- Proven ability to structure, negotiate, and recommend underwriting terms that appropriately balance growth objectives with risk discipline
- Experience monitoring and managing a territory or portfolio of surety business, including trend analysis, close-out strategies, and proactive identification of adverse developments
- Strong marketing and relationship-management skills, with the ability to serve as a trusted partner to brokers and to influence new business opportunities in a competitive market
- Undergraduate degree in business, insurance, or a related field
- Actively pursuing of AFSB, CPCU or other insurance/finance related certification
- Ten years commercial or contract surety or related underwriting experience
- Significant business management and people leadership experience
- Knowledge of contract and/or commercial surety operations products, procedures and practices
- Expertise in surety lines of business, ratings, customer environment and markets
- Expertise in underwriting risks, including utilizing relevant tools for underwriting
- Extensive knowledge of surety underwriting best practices, field underwriting operations and day-to-day underwriting operational needs
- Familiarity with other company products
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills
- Ability to set work priorities and to initiate, evaluate and recommend solutions to upper management
- Ability to perform duties with independent judgment and within underwriting authority and company underwriting standards
- Demonstrated decision-making ability required in day-to-day operations where there may be unclear or competing priorities, including evaluating and recommending solutions to customer service issues, work processing issues, underwriting selection and rating problems, and best practices compliance
- Must have a valid driver's license with satisfactory driving record in accordance with Nationwide standards
- Must be able to relocate
- Must be able to work extended and/or non-standard work hours
- Extensive travel in the field
Desired Qualifications
- A CPA designation or experience in financial or credit underwriting is highly transferable to this role
- Familiarity with other company products preferred
- Education: Undergraduate degree in business, insurance, or a related field preferred
- License/Certification/Designation: Actively pursuing of AFSB, CPCU or other insurance/finance related certification desired
- Experience: Ten years commercial or contract surety or related underwriting experience preferred
- Significant business management and people leadership experience desired
- Familiarity with other company products preferred
- Competencies include: Building Organizational Talent, Optimizing Diversity, Selling the Vision, Leading Change, Driving Execution, Entrepreneurship
- Other criteria, including leadership skills, competencies and experiences may take precedence
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