Manager, Underwriting

Saskatchewan Blue Cross • Saskatoon, SK

4d • Hybrid

About The Position

Saskatchewan Blue Cross® is recruiting for a full-time permanent Manager, Underwriting to join their team in the Underwriting department. This role is based in their Saskatoon or Regina Office and offers flexibility, with a shared expectation that team members spend meaningful time in the office to collaborate and connect. The Manager, Underwriting provides leadership and direction to a team of underwriters and coordinators, ensuring consistent, risk-based pricing decisions that support sustainable growth and enable the Sales team to deliver competitive insurance solutions. This role is accountable for building underwriting capability, setting clear expectations, and ensuring underwriters are well supported, while working closely with Underwriting professionals to maintain alignment and transparency. They review and approve non-standard underwriting requests and elevated risk decisions, while maintaining pricing discipline. As an active member of the SBC leadership team, the Manager, Underwriting champions corporate initiatives and delegates staff to support enterprise priorities. The role leads collaboration with internal and external stakeholders and upholds the organization’s mission, vision, and values, while protecting the company’s brand, corporate image, and reputation through sound underwriting governance and decision-making.

Requirements

• Completion of a Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field, or an equivalent combination of education, training and leadership experience is required
• 3-5 years of related experience with 1-3 years of supervisory accountability
• Knowledge of Group and Individual insurance products
• Knowledge of Life, Group and Medical Underwriting best practices
• Knowledge of Canadian Drug Insurance Pooling Corporations (CDIPC) framework
• Familiarity with and adherence to Saskatchewan Employment Legislation
• Strong working knowledge of Microsoft 365 with the ability to understand and learn new systems
• Exceptional written and oral communication abilities
• Ability to use sound judgement to make good decisions based on information gathered and analyzed
• Strong managerial skills, including motivating, developing, coaching, and leading teams
• Ability to promote cooperation, collaboration and partnerships between individuals or groups both internal and external to Saskatchewan Blue Cross
• Demonstrated experience applying the principles of successful transformation/change management
• Proven organizational skills and the ability to efficiently manage multiple projects and tasks with competing deadlines
• Effective negotiation, dialogue/conflict resolution, and diplomacy skills
• Must be legally entitled to work in Canada on an unrestricted basis
• The successful candidate will be required to undergo a criminal record and background check satisfactory to Saskatchewan Blue Cross

Nice To Haves

• Certified Employee Benefit Specialist (CEBS) designation is an asset

Responsibilities

• Provide leadership oversight and guidance to underwriting teams, ensuring consistent application of underwriting standards and risk‑based pricing practices
• Provide oversight of underwriting outcomes and pricing performance, identifying trends, risks, and opportunities to support margin and growth objectives
• Partner with Sales leadership to support complex opportunities, providing underwriting guidance while balancing competitiveness with risk and margin objectives
• Lead, coach, and develop underwriters to build technical capability, decision consistency, and risk‑based pricing expertise
• Participate in strategic initiatives and corporate projects in support of enterprise priorities
• Oversee coordination with internal and external partners to ensure timely, accurate data inputs that support underwriting, pricing, and risk decisions
• Provide underwriting leadership input into Canadian Drug Insurance Pooling Corporations (CDIPC) and National Blue Cross reporting, including review, risk assessment, and recommendation of outcomes
• Provide recommendations to the Senior Leadership Team and Executive Leadership Team and communicate final decisions to stakeholders
• Provide oversight and decision authority on escalated disability and salary discrepancy cases, ensuring appropriate risk assessment (including anti‑selection risk) and alignment with underwriting standards
• Approve non‑standard and escalated underwriting requests, including review of contract wording, strategic investment parameters, and overall risk and financial impact
• Ensure underwriting policies, authorities, and practices are applied consistently and in alignment with corporate risk appetite
• Advise stakeholders of decisions related to non‑standard underwriting requests

Benefits

• Flexibility

What This Job Offers

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