Director Underwriting

Athene•West Des Moines, IA

About The Position

We are driven to do more. More for our customers and the financial professionals who offer our products. If you are driven to do more and love the challenge of pursuing more, Athene is your kind of company. You will find we offer more than the basics to create an inclusive and dynamic work environment at our various locations. Purpose: The Director, Structured Settlements will build and scale Athene’s Rated Age underwriting capability, establishing a foundational pillar for growth within the Structured Settlements business. This role will define the underwriting strategy, design scalable frameworks, and stand up the team, processes, and governance required to support production at scale. As the central owner for Rated Age underwriting strategy and operations, this role will partner closely with Structured Settlements business leaders, Legal, Compliance, Risk, IT, and Operations to establish clear underwriting processes and standards. The Director will ensure that underwriting requirements, guidelines, and governance are well-defined while building a high-performing team positioned to support sustained market growth. This leader will play a critical role in translating business objectives into practical underwriting frameworks, including the development of underwriting manuals, project requirements, and operational processes necessary to support Rated Age underwriting at scale.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience
7+ years of experience in insurance underwriting, structured settlements, life insurance underwriting, or related financial services.
4+ years of leadership experience building, managing, or scaling underwriting teams.
Demonstrated experience developing underwriting guidelines, policies, or manuals.
Strong ability to translate business needs into underwriting processes, frameworks, and operational requirements.
Experience supporting new product or capability launches from concept through operational production.
Strong understanding of underwriting risk management, governance, and regulatory considerations.
Exceptional leadership, communication, and stakeholder management skills.
Ability to build and lead high-performing teams in evolving or newly established business functions.
Strong analytical and decision-making skills with the ability to balance growth, risk, and operational efficiency.
Passion for building scalable capabilities that support innovation and growth in Structured Settlements.
Drive. Discipline. Confidence. Focus. Commitment.

Nice To Haves

Significant experience with Rated Age underwriting, medical underwriting, or mortality assessment strongly preferred.

Responsibilities

Design and implement Athene’s Rated Age underwriting strategy and operating model for Structured Settlements.
Translate business objectives into scalable underwriting frameworks, processes and system requirements.
Develop and maintain the Rated Age Underwriting Manual establishing clear guidelines, decision frameworks, and governance standards.
Build and lead a high performing underwriting team, including hiring, development and capability scaling.
Partner with business, technology, and operational leaders to translate underwriting strategy into project requirements and implementation plans.
Establish underwriting workflows, governance processes, and quality standards to ensure consistency, accuracy, and compliance.
Collaborate with Legal, Compliance, Risk, and Medical Review partners to ensure underwriting practices align with regulatory and internal standards.
Drive continuous improvement in underwriting efficiency, scalability, and decision quality through process design and technology enablement.
Monitor underwriting performance, capacity, and operational effectiveness, implementing improvements as the program evolves.
Serve as a strategic advisor to leadership on underwriting capabilities, risk considerations, and growth opportunities.