Risk Management Director

J.E. Dunn Construction Group Inc P•Kansas City, MO

18d

About The Position

The Risk Management Director leads the Risk Management team and is responsible for strategy, execution and continuous improvement of the Company’s insurance, surety, captive, claims and various risk compliance programs. This role closely partners with groups across the organization including Legal, Accounting/Finance, Operations, HR, and external partners such as brokers, carriers, and sureties to align risk strategy with JE Dunn’s business objectives, protect the company’s assets, support growth and inform risk-based decision making. All activities will be performed in support of the strategy, vision and values of JE Dunn.

Requirements

10+ years of progressively responsible construction insurance, surety, risk management, risk financing, captive insurance, construction law, claims, or related experience (Required).
Experience leading managers, specialized professionals, external service providers, and cross-functional enterprise initiatives (Required).
Experience with captive insurance, contractor-controlled insurance programs, subcontractor default insurance, surety, claims governance, financial risk analysis, and executive-level reporting (Required).
Ability to perform work accurately and completely, and in a timely manner
Communication skills, verbal and written
Proficiency in MS Office, including Excel – Advanced
Ability to present independent training and presentations for Risk Management
Detail oriented with exceptional organizational skills – Advanced
Critical thinking and problem solving skills
Knowledge of organizational structure and available resources
Adapts to change and stress in the work environment and manages competing demands while maintaining high performance levels
Supports change initiatives. Identifies the best approach for implementing strategic processes
Participates in educational activities related to knowledge and professional issues
Ability to build relationships and work collaboratively with a team, internally and externally

Nice To Haves

Advanced degree, including J.D., MBA, M.S. in Finance/Risk Management, or similar advanced credential (Preferred).
In lieu of the above requirements, equivalent relevant experience will be considered.

Responsibilities

Establishes the Risk Management department strategy, governance model, annual priorities, service expectations, and performance standards for the Company, building partnerships to align risk strategy with business priorities.
Leads annual, triennial, and other scheduled procurement, placement, renewal, and administration of corporate insurance, contractor-controlled insurance programs (CCIP), subcontractor default insurance (SDI), captive insurance, builder’s risk, project-specific policies, surety-related programs, and other risk transfer solutions.
Oversees project-specific, owner-provided, joint venture, subsidiary, investment, and development-related insurance placements and risk transfer structures, including review of unique or high-risk coverage issues.
Oversees all aspects of the insurance program administration, including exposure tracking, enrollments, and compliance with program requirements. Collaborates with other internal teams on insurance pricing, premium charges, and risk financing & allocation.
Leads or supports the claims governance process for subcontractor default, builder’s risk, auto, workers’ compensation, general liability, bond, and other insured claims, including reserve review, claim reviews, settlement strategy, loss trend analysis, carrier/TPA performance, and coordination with Legal, Accounting, Safety and other departments, as needed.
Oversees the processing, payment, resolution, and financial tracking of complex, high-exposure, or strategically significant insurance and subcontractor default claims in coordination with Legal, Accounting, Finance, Operations, brokers, carriers, TPAs, and outside advisors.
Oversees trade partner financial risk evaluation, contractor prequalification, and subcontractor default underwriting; and leads owner creditworthiness analysis to reduce enterprise risk and support project execution.
Oversees lower-tier insurance certificate review processes, program enrollment, and other related risk management compliance activities.
Oversees surety agency and bond services, including bond authorization requests, bond issuance, riders, bondability letters, joint venture bonds, surety submissions, surety billing and payments, rate verification, owner inquiries, final bond closeouts, and surety relationship management.
Leads captive insurance company strategy and administration, including underwriting support, policy development, placement, reserve setting, collateral strategy, claims handling, actuarial coordination, board support, rate development, and evaluation of captive growth opportunities.
Develops and maintains risk dashboards, claim trend reporting, key performance indicators, cost-of-risk reporting, and executive-level risk insights for leadership decision making.
Negotiates, manages, and oversees strategic relationships and contractual arrangements with brokers, carriers, sureties, TPAs, actuaries, consultants, vendors, and other risk service providers to preserve capacity, optimize program structure, and support JE Dunn’s growth and competitive positioning.
Advises Operations, Marketing, and project teams on risk-related owner discussions, RFPs, prequalification submissions, insurance requirements, surety support, risk product positioning, and project-specific risk mitigation.
Partners with Safety/IPS, HR, Legal, Operations, and other enterprise owners on workers’ compensation, auto/MVR governance, safety-related loss trends, and risk mitigation initiatives, with role clarity based on current Company ownership of each process.
Supports crisis and emergency response process development, training, and execution in coordination with Communications, Safety/IPS, Legal, Operations, and executive leadership, with Risk Management focused on insurance, claims, documentation, and risk mitigation implications.
Develops and updates Risk Management policies, SOPs and other materials, providing training, education and guidance on insurance, surety, subcontractor default, claims, risk transfer, and other risk management topics and best practices.
Represents the Company in construction industry risk management, insurance, captive, surety, and related associations or peer groups.
Leads and continuously improves the Risk Management team by integrating insurance, surety, claims, subcontractor default/prequalification, captive, risk financing, risk reporting, and risk compliance into a coordinated enterprise function.
Assists the Chief Legal Officer in developing and implementing enterprise governance, risk, and compliance initiatives related to insurance, claims, risk transfer, information security incident response support, risk reporting, and enterprise risk controls.
Collaborates with the CLO and the chair of the Board of Directors’ Audit Committee to update annually the Enterprise Risk Management assessment and matrix based upon input from the executive Leadership Team, company data and evaluation by the CEO, CLO, CFO, COO.
Leads Company collateral strategy, reserve strategy, actuarial engagements, risk-financing mechanisms, and other financial-risk structures associated with insurance, captive, subcontractor default, and surety programs.
Responsible for negotiating or overseeing all agreements for Risk Management third-party vendors and service providers in coordination with Legal, as applicable.
Provides concise, decision-ready reporting to the Chairman, CEO, COO, CLO, CFO, and other senior leaders regarding risk program performance, cost of risk, claims trends, collateral, insurance market conditions, surety capacity, risk mitigation priorities, and emerging exposures.
Coordinates recurring enterprise risk summit / risk analysis processes for the Company and captive, including issue identification, risk prioritization, cross-functional ownership, mitigation planning, and follow-through.
Identifies opportunities to enhance the captive, insurance agency, surety platform, risk financing model, risk products, and related Risk Management services that support JE Dunn operations and strategic growth.
Establishes decision rights, escalation thresholds, governance routines, and accountability mechanisms for Risk Management matters with material legal, financial, operational, reputational, or executive-level impact.
Owns comprehensive financial responsibility (e.g., financial plans, budgets, forecasts, reserves, audits, billings, and other financial controls) for an entire work program to minimize risk and variance, and to maximize contributions to company revenue and margin.
Directs and oversees financial management across one or more levels of employees to optimize financial results for the work program.
Reviews and assesses financial data, reports and records. Ensures employee compliance with related procedures to ensure effective and efficient operations.
Creates and communicates financial targets and goals in order to accomplish broader financial objectives.
Proactively monitors and interprets ongoing financial performance and responds strategically. Assesses and mitigates financial risks.
Translates broad corporate financial plans, targets and KSIs into plans and targets specific for the work program. Contributes to corporate planning, budgeting and issue resolution.
Develops business plans and makes operational decisions in light of broader financial goals and constraints.
Inspires a sense of team in the work environment. Utilizes communication and conflict resolution skills to foster teamwork and collaboration. Models a positive and professional attitude, maintaining composure under pressure.
Communicates and explains goals and encourages and motivates team performance and productivity in alignment with broader work program and corporate goals and plans. Leads and facilitates effective team meetings. Recognizes individual and team accomplishments.
Assesses and manages quality of work produced by team.
Creates, monitors and manages scheduling; directs assignments and goal setting for optimal productivity and resource management.
Participates in a range of talent management activities, which may include responsibilities such as evaluating and managing performance, providing formal and informal feedback, recruiting and staffing, employee learning and development, addressing employee relations risks and issues, etc.
Provides feedback and coaching to support individual employee performance, learning and career development.
Removes obstacles and solves problems and addresses escalated issues from team members to optimize team performance and productivity.
Serves as a change agent by supporting corporate and work program change initiatives. Models and communicates positive approaches to adapting to change.