Senior Operations Manager- Ocean Marine

The Hartford•Clinton, NY

21h•$90,000 - $135,000•Hybrid

About The Position

We’re determined to make a difference and are proud to be an insurance company that goes well beyond coverages and policies. Working here means having every opportunity to achieve your goals – and to help others accomplish theirs, too. Join our team as we help shape the future. This role can have a Hybrid or Remote work arrangement. Candidates who live near one of our office locations will have the expectation of working in an office 3 days a week (Tuesday through Thursday). Candidates who do not live near an office will have a remote work arrangement, with the expectation of coming into an office as business needs arise. The Senior Operations Manager is accountable for leading approximately 10 Underwriting Support Operations Staff, supporting our Global Specialty Ocean Marine business partners who are in various regional offices across the country. Accountabilities include effectively supporting and driving business results by leveraging key operational data to deliver on organizational objectives. The ideal candidate will be responsible for collaborating with and influencing business partners to work across functional and organizational lines to understand the end-to-end customer experience and facilitating a high-performance culture by aligning individual goals, differentiating performance through evaluation and recognition, and managing performance improvement issues swiftly and appropriately. The individual must also partner closely with Underwriting Partners/leadership space to assure business objectives are met. Additional responsibilities include: compensation and incentive budget administration, timekeeping administration, interviewing, hiring, communications, staff direction and team building. Process Improvement/Technology Adoption Leadership skills with an innovative mindset, driving towards continuous improvement. Proven ability to deliver tough messages and push teams towards continued learning and adaptability. Understanding AI and a commitment to learning and using tools to help teammates increase productivity. Ability to identify variances in process and shown experience on remediating differences. Performance Management & Results: Accountable for achieving performance standards, provides direction and communicates team objectives and goals in alignment with organizational priorities. Manage these standards by providing coaching and holding team members accountable for performance while managing attendance, employee retention and addressing behavior of team members. Responsibilities include recognizing and rewarding strong performance and effectively understanding and leveraging key operational concepts to influence change – outlier analysis, variation reduction, audits etc. Coaching & Staff Development: Responsibilities include coaching front-line staff for quality, performance, and professional development. Leverage the skill strengths of individual employees to drive overall team performance through ongoing feedback via coaching sessions, one-on-one interactions, process confirmations, business partner feedback, and performance reviews. Ensures that appropriate development plans are in place with staff and progress is being made. Accountable for monitoring and addressing employee satisfaction and retention to maximize employee effectiveness and minimize turnover while maintaining an inclusive work environment that supports diversity. Business Partnering & Effective Relationships: Establish credibility and work effectively with business partners and other leaders to achieve key performance goals and influence initiatives through effective decision making. Works and collaborates with others to identify and solve problems across teams and business units. Initiatives & Change Management: Responsible for leading the team with ambiguity through change as well as the adoption of new initiatives while keeping staff informed and helping them understand the big picture. Turns abstract concepts into concrete actions.

Requirements

3+ years managerial experience required
Formal coaching and mentoring required
Proven track record of delivering improved and sustained results over time
Ability to foster a high-performing team environment
Possesses exceptional interpersonal skills and strong influencing abilities
Demonstrated capacity to communicate across small and large groups
Readily able to adapt and lead others through change management
Strong organization, planning, time management and delegation skills
Ability to successfully manage in a structured environment
Good business acumen and professional demeanor
Flexibility to work team core hours
high speed broadband internet service is required, we do not recommend or support DSL, wireless, Wifi, Hotspots, Fiber without a modem and Satellite
Internet provider supplied modem/router/gateway is hardwired to the Hartford issued computer with an ethernet cable
minimum upload/download speeds of 75MB download/10MB upload will be required

Nice To Haves

Insurance/Financial Services Industry strongly preferred
Commercial Insurance/Underwriting/Ocean Marine experience a plus
Experience managing hybrid/remote teams a plus
AI exposure driving team adoption

Responsibilities

compensation and incentive budget administration
timekeeping administration
interviewing
hiring
communications
staff direction and team building
Process Improvement/Technology Adoption Leadership skills with an innovative mindset, driving towards continuous improvement
Proven ability to deliver tough messages and push teams towards continued learning and adaptability
Understanding AI and a commitment to learning and using tools to help teammates increase productivity
Ability to identify variances in process and shown experience on remediating differences
Accountable for achieving performance standards, provides direction and communicates team objectives and goals in alignment with organizational priorities
Manage these standards by providing coaching and holding team members accountable for performance while managing attendance, employee retention and addressing behavior of team members
Responsibilities include recognizing and rewarding strong performance and effectively understanding and leveraging key operational concepts to influence change – outlier analysis, variation reduction, audits etc
Responsibilities include coaching front-line staff for quality, performance, and professional development
Leverage the skill strengths of individual employees to drive overall team performance through ongoing feedback via coaching sessions, one-on-one interactions, process confirmations, business partner feedback, and performance reviews
Ensures that appropriate development plans are in place with staff and progress is being made
Accountable for monitoring and addressing employee satisfaction and retention to maximize employee effectiveness and minimize turnover while maintaining an inclusive work environment that supports diversity
Establish credibility and work effectively with business partners and other leaders to achieve key performance goals and influence initiatives through effective decision making
Works and collaborates with others to identify and solve problems across teams and business units
Responsible for leading the team with ambiguity through change as well as the adoption of new initiatives while keeping staff informed and helping them understand the big picture
Turns abstract concepts into concrete actions