Director, Portfolio Management Lead

Markel • San Diego, CA

7d • $158,720 - $218,240 • Hybrid

About The Position

This role is for a Director, Portfolio Management Lead within Markel's U.S. Wholesale & Specialty business, focusing on driving value from data to support strategic ambitions. The position is part of a newly centralized Portfolio Analytics team, designed to be free from the corporate financial calendar and aligned with regional business priorities. The team will comprise analytics professionals with diverse skillsets, including actuaries, data scientists, implementation engineers, data engineers, and data visualization developers. The function is envisioned as dynamic and underwriter-centered, aiming to identify trends, deliver actionable insights, and embed actuarial and predictive models into daily workflows. The Portfolio Management Lead will act as a crucial link between the Portfolio Analytics team and its customers, sitting within both the Portfolio Analytics team and the U.S. Wholesale & Specialty business, with a dotted-line reporting relationship to Regional Presidents.

Requirements

• Advanced ability to manipulate and analyze large, complex datasets; strong commercial acumen and understanding of Markel’s strategy.
• Strong understanding of actuarial principles.
• Original thinking and creative problem-solving skills to any given situation, driving for improved processes, systems, products, or services so that Markel can establish and maintain a competitive edge.
• Experience in building alliances and cultivating deep and broad relationships across large organizations.
• Demonstrated ability to partner with underwriters to enhance decision making through analytics, fostering trust, curiosity, and sustained adoption of data-driven practices, from the spectrum of line underwriter to executive.
• Exceptional communication skills, capable of galvanizing support from a wide range of stakeholders.
• Track record of delivering value to Insurance organizations through pricing, portfolio management, and analytics.
• Ability to influence and collaborate with diverse stakeholders.
• Excellent understanding of insurance data, particularly with regards to Commercial and Specialty insurance in the US and Bermuda markets.
• The ability to stay ahead of external trends and promote a culture of continuous improvement.
• A disciplined, energetic work ethic with a focus on high-impact priorities.
• Bachelor’s degree in Actuarial Science, Statistics, Data Science, Economics, Mathematics, Information Systems, Risk Management or related field.
• 8–15+ years in analytics, pricing, underwriting, or portfolio management within US Commercial/Specialty lines; leadership or multi-region experience valued.
• US Work Authorization required.

Nice To Haves

• Advanced degree preferred.
• Pricing actuarial experience at a Commercial or Specialty Insurer is highly desirable.
• Ideal candidate would also have experience working within a business unit or an underwriting function.
• Certifications: ACAS/FCAS, CPCU, ASA; PMP/PMI-ACP a plus.

Responsibilities

• Drive the strategic implementation of active portfolio management at the Regional & Product level across Markel US Wholesale & Specialty.
• Make appropriate recommendations and enhancements to ensure relevant stakeholders are equipped to actively manage their portfolios.
• Bring the underwriting viewpoint via an analytical lens to conversations with actuarial and claims partners.
• Help define and actively monitor the key performance drivers with appropriate segmentation to support underwriting to drive remedial actions where necessary.
• Identify, scope, and evaluate the ROI of high-impact analytical models and solutions; partner with the team to build and prioritize an analytics project pipeline.
• Drive underwriting engagement during the development, implementation, and adoption of strategic and predictive analytics in partnership with the broader Portfolio Analytics team.
• Deliver tools and insights to optimize portfolio performance and enable smarter underwriting decisions.
• Support improvements in the sophistication and adoption of technical pricing models and portfolio management tools with the aim of improving risk selection and reducing loss ratios.
• Collaborate with actuarial to ensure underwriting actions are quantified, understood and allowed for in their reserving and pricing work.
• Support quarterly business planning with performance monitoring and alignment to plan; provide insights to steer portfolio strategy.
• Champion data science, automation, and data-driven decision-making; promote adoption of tools and a data-centric culture.
• Lead training and enablement initiatives for underwriters and colleagues, in partnership with Training & Development.
• Collaborate across regions, sharing knowledge and best practices with the International Portfolio Analytics team.

Benefits

• Competitive benefit programs that help meet our diverse and changing environment as well as support our employees’ needs at all stages of life.
• Option to select from multiple health, dental and vision insurance plan options.
• Optional life, disability, and AD&D insurance.
• 401(k) with employer match contributions.
• Employee Stock Purchase Plan.
• PTO.
• Corporate holidays and floating holidays.
• Parental leave.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director