Executive Director - Early Career Programs (INSURANCE)

ARU • Chapel Hill, NC

42d • Hybrid

About The Position

Recently, ARU announced that founding CEO Will Johnson would be moving into a new role to focus on special projects. One of the initiatives Will J. seeks to execute is the creation of a world-class MGA / MGU Summer Internship program, which will: 1) Introduce rising college seniors to the MGA / MGU business, 2) Educate these individuals about the myriad of professional opportunities available in the specialty insurance space, and 3) Establish a steady pipeline of entry level insurance professionals for ARU and affiliated companies. The Executive Director - Early Career Programs (EDECP) will work closely with Will J. and will lead the design and execution of the Internship program. The EDECP will work closely with regional colleges and universities (especially UNC, located across the street from company HQ), with the goal of championing the specialty insurance business to college students and growing the next generation of insurance talent.

Requirements

• Required: Bachelor's degree from an accredited 4 year college or university.
• REQUIRED: P&C INSURANCE LEADERSHIP EXPERIENCE
• 8 - 12+ years building early-career, campus, fellowship, or rotational programs or equivalent experience in high-bar recruiting, L&D, and/or academic partnerships.
• Excellent instructor presence and gravitas; able to translate complex, technical or analytical topics into engaging, practical learning.
• Project/program management excellence: scope, timeline, budget, vendors, and measurable outcomes.
• Demonstrable proficiency using AI tools to improve professional output.
• Executive-ready communication; proven stakeholder management with senior leaders and deans/faculty.
• Demonstrable proficiency in thoroughness, accuracy, organization, resource management, record-keeping, and requirement gathering.
• Demonstrable success influencing positive outcomes, driving initiatives, and coordinating efforts across departments without having formal direct authority.
• Exceptional leadership and soft skills, with the strong ability to resolve challenging situations with a patient and calm demeanor.
• Excellent professional presentation and polish, in the spoken word and written form.
• Excellent critical thinker and problem-solver under pressure. High intellectual curiosity, with an enjoyment of learning and self-improvement.
• The EDECP role requires a strong in-person presence at company HQ, on UNC's campus, and occasionally on other university campuses. HQ is located inside Innovate Carolina Junction in downtown Chapel Hill, NC.
• As a requirement of the position, the EDECP must live within a 35 minute commute of Chapel Hill, NC.

Nice To Haves

• Preferred: MBA, JD, or other post-graduate degree.

Responsibilities

• Help ARU be the best in the world at what we do, and do not ever settle for mediocrity. Actively participate in ARU’s culture of collaborative problem-solving.
• Treat every assignment as an opportunity to: 1) learn and grow as an insurance professional, and 2) prepare for increased responsibilities in the company.
• Perform as a polished and professional representative for ARU, establishing and growing relationships with university leaders, students, and industry partners.
• Address internal and external business challenges in a graceful and tactful manner. Complete all duties with a high degree of urgency, thoroughness, and accuracy.
• Architect a “better-than-best-practice” internship program for university rising seniors that demystifies the specialty insurance ecosystem (MGA/MGU, underwriting, claims, loss control, operations, sales, data, GIS, marketing, software, AI, etc).
• Build a modular curriculum that blends classroom-style sessions, simulations (“Underwriter for a Day,” Claims War-Room, Cat Modeling 101), project sprints, and job-shadow rotations across ARU teams.
• Define clear learning outcomes; map each module to on-the-job skills and measurable competencies
• Own relationships with priority schools (with special focus on UNC) and a growing slate of regional/national universities; secure faculty champions and career-services partners.
• Design year-round campus engagement: guest lectures, micro-workshops, student case competitions, and “Risk Studios” hosted at ARU.
• Create easy-access pathways for non-business majors (engineering, comp sci, statistics, geography/GIS, economics, communications / other liberal arts) to discover specialty insurance careers.
• Build a high-signal recruiting funnel: targeted outreach, portfolio-based applications, structured interviews, work-sample assessments, and reference checks.
• Champion diversity of backgrounds and thought; ensure equitable, consistent selection processes.
• Personally teach cornerstone modules (e.g., Intro to MGAs/MGUs, Risk Thinking & Judgment, Insurance as a Data Product).
• Identify opportunities for field instruction (Loss Control, Claims, etc) in collaboration with ARU field resources.
• Coach interns weekly; deliver actionable feedback; cultivate professional polish.
• Own the end-to-end intern journey: onboarding, schedules, rotations, mentors, events, housing guidance (as applicable), and showcase/demo days.
• Ensure a safe, compliant environment; manage policies, handbooks, and risk protocols.
• Partner with Marketing to build an on-campus brand for ARU that is smart, modern, and unmistakably specialty-insurance.
• Ship high-quality collateral: landing pages, syllabus snapshots, student spotlights, and post-program case studies.
• Source, contract, and manage expert third-party instructors, assessment providers, and experiential-learning partners.
• Build and manage the annual budget; track ROI with rigor.
• Define and track success metrics (examples): application volume/quality, offer-accept rate, NPS of 70+, conversion to full-time, time-to-productivity, and hiring manager satisfaction.
• Run after-action reviews; iterate the program each cycle; publish insights back to Will Johnson.
• Leverage ARU’s technology orientation to scale the program (ATS/CRM integration, LMS, analytics dashboards, AI-assisted content and assessment).
• Ensure data integrity and privacy standards.
• Provide concise, data-driven updates to Will J. and senior leadership; surface risks early with solutions.
• Serve as the point of contact for internal teams and external academic partners.
• Master the use of ARU standardized hardware, software programs, third party software, and processing procedures.
• Other, as assigned.

Benefits

• You will receive a competitive compensation package, with base annual salary, annual bonus, and company-provided benefits.
• You will have 100% employer-paid health insurance, generous PTO, and a 100% vested retirement plan with company match.
• relocation assistance will be available.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Intern
• Number of Employees: 51-100 employees