Head of Program Triage & Portfolio Steering

AXA•New York, NY

3d•Remote

About The Position

The North America Programs team provides underwriting capacity and strategic partnership to leading Program Administrators (MGAs/MGUs) across Property, Casualty and professional lines. The Program Strategy & Portfolio Development Lead plays a critical role in shaping the composition and direction of the Programs portfolio by leading front-end opportunity triage, portfolio alignment, and strategic deployment of capacity. This role serves as the initial gateway for all new program opportunities, combining targeted market engagement with disciplined evaluation to ensure alignment with underwriting appetite, risk tolerance, and portfolio objectives. Beyond origination, the role provides a portfolio-wide lens on opportunity selection, helping guide where and how the organization deploys capital across segments, partners, and structures. This position works closely with the Head/CUO of Programs and Heads of Property, Casualty, and Professional Programs to ensure consistent, high-quality opportunity selection and strategic coherence across the portfolio.

Requirements

Robust experience across Programs, delegated authority, underwriting, or portfolio management
Robust understanding of MGA/program economics, structures, and risk drivers
Experience assessing underwriting quality and structural risk at a portfolio level
Background in underwriting, program management, or strategy within a carrier, MGA, or broker
Outstanding portfolio mindset ability to evaluate individual deals in a broader strategic context
Highly effective at triage, prioritization, and structured decision-making
Ability to synthesize complex underwriting and commercial factors into clear recommendations
Outstanding commercial judgment balancing growth, risk, and return
Excellent communication skills, particularly in executive-level summarization
Strategic thinker with high awareness of market dynamics and positioning

Nice To Haves

Established market relationships preferred, but depth of judgment prioritized over volume of contacts

Responsibilities

Lead initial evaluation of all new program submissions, acting as the central triage function for the Programs portfolio.
Assess strategic fit, underwriting quality, structure, and economics relative to portfolio needs and risk appetite.
Identify key risks, structural concerns (e.g., CAT aggregation, selection bias, limits, price, compressed layers), and diligence priorities.
Produce concise 1–2 page evaluation memos and deal snapshots for leadership forums.
Establish consistent “go / caution / no-go” frameworks for opportunity filtering.
Evaluate opportunities in the context of portfolio composition, diversification, and accumulation management.
Support disciplined allocation of capacity toward highest-risk-adjusted-return opportunities.
Highlight portfolio gaps, concentration risks, and strategic growth areas.
Provide input into annual and forward-looking portfolio strategy.
Drive a focused origination approach aligned to priority segments and strategic themes.
Build market intelligence across the programs universe.
Support conference strategy (e.g., Target Markets, WSIA) with a clear targeting framework.
Maintain a structured view of priority partners and target segments.
Translate external opportunities into clear internal business cases.
Prepare concise deal summaries outlining structure, economics, key risks, and strategic rationale.
Align early with underwriting, actuarial, and CUO leadership to shape opportunities prior to full diligence.
Act as the central conduit between market-facing activity and underwriting decision-making.
Maintain ownership of the new business pipeline with a focus on quality, not just volume.
Track and report key metrics, including: Submission quality and strategic alignment, Conversion rates and hit ratios, Speed and efficiency of decision-making, Expected vs. bound premium.
Provide forward-looking pipeline insights, not just reporting.
Develop a forward-looking view of the programs landscape, including: Emerging MGAs and new program structures, Challenging capacity flows and underwriting trends, M&A and platform consolidation.
Translate insights into actionable recommendations for portfolio positioning and appetite refinement.
Ensure new opportunities support long-term portfolio construction goals, not just near-term growth.
Provide a consistent framework for evaluating risk vs. return across diverse programs.
Contribute to broader Programs strategy across: Distribution strategy, Product development gaps, Partner selection.
Reinforce early clarity around: Delegated authority scope, Data/reporting requirements, Underwriting governance expectations.
Ensure only opportunities that meet minimum standards of transparency, control, and discipline progress forward.
Drive consistency in how opportunities are assessed, documented, and presented.