Regional Underwriting Director - South Central

MassMutual•Charlotte, NC

7h•Hybrid

About The Position

As a Regional Underwriting Director, you will lead a dynamic group of underwriters in support of MassMutual’s underwriting strategy. In this leadership role, you will foster a culture where team members feel inspired, engaged, and motivated to deliver high-quality underwriting decisions within established time standards. You will provide supervisory leadership, underwriting expertise, and effective daily work distribution to help the team operate efficiently and consistently. You will also serve as a mentor and coach, offering meaningful feedback that strengthens team members’ skills, confidence, and overall quality. The team consists of underwriters specializing in risk assessment to underwriting outcome and field communication. This includes a diverse mix of both early-career and seasoned professionals, collectively contributing to the team's success. The underwriting challenge, involving decisions with potentially limited information, demanding a blend of analytical thinking, adaptability, and collaboration. As the Regional Underwriting Director, you will play a multifaceted role with a significant impact on the team and overall corporate strategy. You will be key in the acquisition, retention, and development of underwriting talent. Your responsibilities will include overseeing your team’s daily underwriting operations, ensuring adherence to service level agreements, underwriting process guidelines, and delivering optimal underwriting decisions. You will collaborate with fellow directors within and outside of the core underwriting organization to ensure work volumes are balanced effectively across the teams as capacity allows. Additionally, the team will support other teams and regions as capacity allows, creating valuable development opportunities that help team members continue to grow and advance in their careers. You will develop and maintain key relationships with agents, advisors, and other firm staff to resolve escalations, discrepancies, or risk related concerns. You will be instrumental in identifying and developing individual talents within the team, creating opportunities for mentorship, training, and skills enhancement. You will work to foster a “best offer first” mentality, and a collaborative, customer-focused environment. This will align with MassMutual's corporate strategy of achieving consistency in underwriting decisions, as well as building up underwriting skills that are reflected in high-quality review scores, as well as expanded underwriting approval authorities.

Requirements

Bachelor's Degree or 5+ years of professional work experience
5+ years of life insurance underwriting experience
2+ years demonstrating informal leadership by guiding, coaching, and supporting colleagues
Ability to travel as needed (estimated 10-15%)
Minimum established approval authority of $5 million

Nice To Haves

People management experience
Preferred completion of continuing education certificate or education program: FALU, FLMI, CLU, MBA etc.
Strong understanding of operational and performance metrics as well as a proven ability to leverage data to make management decisions
Excellent presentation and communication skills with a customer-focused mindset
Commitment to professional development: adaptable to change; open to both receiving and providing feedback in a constructive manner; makes changes in behavior based on feedback and/or experience
Excellent interpersonal and soft skills to effectively engage with internal and external partners and stakeholders
Ability to multitask, prioritize work, and adapt to a changing environment
Willingness to embrace technology and innovation
Proven success in collaborating with other areas such as training, quality assessment, compliance, and other partners
Knowledge of underwriting processes, including an understanding of the roles of underwriting rules, data models, data compiling and interpretation, slippage, and algorithmic underwriting
Ability to foresee future impacts and communicate effectively

Responsibilities

Lead a dynamic group of underwriters in support of MassMutual’s underwriting strategy.
Foster a culture where team members feel inspired, engaged, and motivated to deliver high-quality underwriting decisions within established time standards.
Provide supervisory leadership, underwriting expertise, and effective daily work distribution to help the team operate efficiently and consistently.
Serve as a mentor and coach, offering meaningful feedback that strengthens team members’ skills, confidence, and overall quality.
Oversee your team’s daily underwriting operations, ensuring adherence to service level agreements and underwriting process guidelines.
Deliver optimal underwriting decisions.
Collaborate with fellow directors within and outside of the core underwriting organization to ensure work volumes are balanced effectively across the teams as capacity allows.
Support other teams and regions as capacity allows, creating valuable development opportunities.
Develop and maintain key relationships with agents, advisors, and other firm staff to resolve escalations, discrepancies, or risk related concerns.
Identify and develop individual talents within the team, creating opportunities for mentorship, training, and skills enhancement.
Foster a “best offer first” mentality, and a collaborative, customer-focused environment.
Achieve consistency in underwriting decisions.
Build up underwriting skills that are reflected in high-quality review scores, as well as expanded underwriting approval authorities.
Roll up their sleeves and jump into production if necessary.