Sr. Director, Producer Group Life Underwriting and Broker Relations

Nationwide•Grandview Heights, OH

2d•$136,000 - $256,000•Remote

About The Position

Nationwide Financial is seeking an experienced life underwriting leader for a high-impact role as Sr. Director, Producer Group Life Underwriting and Broker Relations. This is a highly visible leadership role for a market-savvy underwriting professional who thrives in complex, high-touch environments. The Sr. Director will provide strategic leadership for Producer Group Underwriting, large-case oversight, producer and broker relationship management, and cross-functional partnership across underwriting, sales, medical, operations, and reinsurance. The leader in this role will serve as a trusted partner to the field, guiding high-stakes underwriting decisions, managing key relationship escalations, and helping position Nationwide competitively in the market. This is an opportunity for someone who combines strong technical underwriting depth with leadership capability and a relationship-first mindset. Our underwriters work hard to provide the exceptional customer experience for which Nationwide is known. Actively engaging with our firms and financial professionals to get to know their clients and their needs builds our understanding of the market, what is needed to win business and put our best offer out first. As a Senior Director, you'll set, monitor, measure and achieve the established goals for the assigned channel. The work will include developing and implementing the channel's strategic plans and objectives. To succeed, we'll count on you to build and manage relationships with distribution partners and other customers and to direct associates, functions and activities associated with the life underwriting and broker dealer relations operation. It will be up to you to approve or deny requests that exceed Underwriting staff’s authority, due to level of complexity, premium or coverage provided. The business mix consists mostly of universal life, term, long term care and variable universal life. The team handles the largest mortality risks within underwriting.

Requirements

Deep experience in life insurance underwriting, including complex medical and financial risk assessment
Strong large-case underwriting judgment and meaningful experience handling or overseeing high-face-amount cases
Experience in producer group underwriting, BGA, brokerage, broker-dealer, or similarly competitive life insurance distribution environments
Leadership experience with the ability to develop talent, influence others, and lead through change
Strong reinsurance partnership experience and the ability to navigate complex case structures with confidence
A sales-friendly, relationship-oriented mindset with the ability to balance risk discipline and service excellence
Strong negotiation skills, sound business judgment, and the ability to operate effectively in a high-pressure, highly visible role
Undergraduate studies in Business Administration or related field.
More than 15 years of life underwriting and brokerage experience, including five years management experience.
Proven technical underwriting ability to receive, evaluate and underwrite on a medical or non-medical basis.
Extensive knowledge of life underwriting risk selection, brokerage experience and management experience.
Knowledge of sophisticated life underwriting policies, practices, and procedures, and life insurance underwriting techniques.
Knowledge of alternative rating methods and plans and pricing theory.
Knowledge of reinsurance policies.
Knowledge of regulatory issues, life insurance market conditions, and company operations.
Knowledge of employment principles and practices.
Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
Demonstrates sophisticated negotiation skills.
Ability to direct a highly technical staff.
Ability to work with the brokerage distribution system.
Ability to analyze highly complex insurance risks to determine acceptability including policy language, alternative rating plans, methodologies, and reinsurance.
Ability to devise business solutions to complex problems, implement the most appropriate and monitor effectiveness.
Ability to make decisions on highly sophisticated issues and work with minimal direction.
Ability to coach, train and mentor underwriting personnel.
Other criteria, including leadership skills, competencies and experiences may take precedence.
Staffing exceptions to the above must be approved by the hiring manager’s leader and Human Resources Business Partner.
Regularly and consistently demonstrates Nationwide Values.

Nice To Haves

EKG Certified preferred.
Professional/technical studies or designation such as the Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU), Fellow of Life Management Institute, (FLMI), or Fellow of the Academy of Life Underwriting (FALU) preferred.
FALU (all AALU reqs, ALU 301, Three fellowship electives) preferred with CLU or advance sales concept training.

Responsibilities

Provide strategic leadership for Producer Group Underwriting and Broker Relations within Life New Business
Lead, coach, and develop senior underwriting talent while helping shape team structure, capability, and succession planning
Serve as a senior escalation point for complex medical, financial, and high-face-amount life insurance cases
Guide underwriting strategy and decision-making in alignment with mortality objectives, reinsurance strategy, service expectations, and regulatory requirements
Build strong partnerships with producers, brokers, broker-dealers, reinsurers, and internal stakeholders to support strong case outcomes and trusted relationships
Navigate complex case negotiations and market-facing underwriting decisions in a highly competitive environment
Sponsor process improvement and modernization efforts that enhance service delivery, cycle time, and underwriting efficiency
Represent Nationwide with confidence and credibility in field-facing conversations, presentations, and strategic business discussions
Help strengthen leadership continuity and future-state organizational capability within the underwriting organization
Drives overall strategy and day-to-day leadership of the underwriting staff which assesses sophisticated medical history and financial data to bind Nationwide and its reinsurers to life coverage; provides oversight and direction regarding sophisticated risk appraisal issues.
Leads all aspects of team providing seamless service to new and existing customers.
Directs the development of life underwriting practices and procedures.
Ensures compliance with state and federal regulations.
Develops and implements strategic underwriting plans.
Provides business forecasting related to trends, and profitability within channel.
Provides consultation and advice about underwriting requirements as new products are developed.
Directs the evaluation of strategies to grow life insurance business with key brokerage firms.
Serves as the primary liaison to sales leadership and business channel customer group.
Builds relationships with brokerage general agency firms.
Maintains relationships with key business partners; identifies business needs and service requirements.
Consults to resolve service issues.
Provides alternative solutions to meet client requests.
Leads the administration and monitoring of overall client satisfaction and progress of life underwriting operation's projects.
Develops and leads the implementation of operational improvements to improve service delivery.
Consults with all levels of internal and external partners regarding underwriting policy and practice.
Develops strategic and business plans and helps identify operational opportunities and efficiencies.
Participates in industry organizations, evaluates industry trends, business drivers, market challenges and strategies.
Leads associate management including: performance management, salary planning and administration, training and development, workflow and organizational planning, hiring and placement and disciplinary actions.
Participates in discussions with reinsurers per department guidelines, verifying the appropriate use of all reinsurance facilities used by the department.
Negotiates with reinsurers on customized, unique programs, lining up capacity.
Engages actuary and staff underwriting for the most sophisticated, high-dollar policies.
Maintains good working relationship with reinsurers.
Develops and implements customized programs.
Collaborates with operations, sales, actuary and data science teams to build and implement guidelines that differ from our traditional approach for a particular set of customers.
Supervises trial application process.
Ensures underwriters complete process in a comprehensive and timely manner, submitting the most competitive health classification to approve the case.
Handling up to $20,00,000 for life, up to $1,500,000 sign off for morbidity underwriting, and sign off authority for exceptions on Intelligent Underwriting.
May perform other responsibilities as assigned.