ASSISTANT VICE PRESIDENT OF UNDERWRITING

Job Description

The Carlisle Group has been retained to find an Assistant Vice President, Technical Underwriting Office. Our client is a leading provider of commercial insurance products dedicated exclusively to the construction industry. Their headquarters is located in North Carolina. The company serves markets across the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast and is A- rated by AM Best.

For more than 40 years, our client has maintained a singular focus on the construction industry. With deep ties to the North Carolina Home Builders Association and strong partnerships across industry organizations, the company brings specialized expertise and a consistent commitment to job-site safety and risk management.

As our client enters its next phase of growth, the focus is on strengthening underwriting excellence, enhancing scalability, and driving long-term performance. Their culture is grounded in teamwork, expertise, inclusion, and community, with clear expectations for leaders to deliver results, develop people, and build systems that support sustainable growth.

This is an in-office opportunity. Relocation assistance will be provided.

Position Overview

Reporting to the VP of Underwriting, the AVP - Technical Underwriting Office (TUO), leads the technical underwriting discipline, governance, and modernization strategy for the underwriting organization. This role drives the evolution of the underwriting strategy by setting underwriting design, standards, tools, and capabilities to ensure consistency, data-driven execution, regulatory compliance, and scalability that support profitable growth and long-term performance.

Responsibilities

• Lead the design, governance, and continuous improvement of underwriting policies, guidelines, authorities, and overall design to ensure technical excellence, consistency, and regulatory compliance across all lines.
• Lead our staff underwriting function, including underwriting consultants, training, and quality assurance teams, ensuring alignment to strategic objectives.
• Partner with Product, Actuarial, and Finance to assess portfolio performance, rate adequacy, and coverage design; implement technical underwriting and operational enhancements that support profitable growth.
• Set the strategic direction for underwriting training and capability building, designing curricula, learning paths, and tools that strengthen technical skills and support career progression for underwriting staff.
• Oversee the development and maintenance of underwriting manuals, playbooks, and knowledge-management tools that translate strategies and risk appetite into actionable guidance for underwriters and leaders.
• Serve as executive sponsor for underwriting innovation initiatives, driving adoption of technology, analytics, and automation solutions that improve risk selection, pricing accuracy, and productivity.
• Collaborate cross-functionally on enterprise initiatives such as product development, reinsurance strategy, and risk governance, representing underwriting’s technical and operational perspective at the leadership level.
• The above responsibilities are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by individuals assigned to this job. They are not intended to be an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties, and skills required by the position. All employees may be assigned additional duties at any time.
  
  

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required; advanced degree preferred in Business, Risk Management, Actuarial Science, or related field.
• Professional designation(s) strongly preferred (e.g., CPCU, ARM, CIC).
• 15 years of property and casualty commercial lines underwriting experience.
• 10 years of underwriting leadership experience. 5 years of experience leading other leaders. Experience leading an underwriting team with a minimum of $350M in written premium.
• Deep technical expertise in commercial lines with strong knowledge of forms, pricing, exposure analysis, and regulatory considerations.
• Proven success leading underwriting operations, process improvement, or technical underwriting teams, with accountability for metrics, quality, and change initiatives.
• Demonstrated experience designing and implementing training programs and competency frameworks for underwriting teams.
• Exceptional collaboration and influence skills, with the ability to lead through partnership across business functions.
• Strong analytical and decision-making capability, with a data-driven strategic mindset.
• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to convey complex technical concepts to diverse audiences.
• To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each primary responsibility satisfactorily. The requirements listed above are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the primary responsibilities.
  
  

Core Competencies

• Strategic agility and innovation.
• Technical/functional underwriting expertise.
• Operational excellence and process management.
• Developing talent and building capability.
• Collaboration and influencing.
• Change leadership and learning agility.
  
  

Physical Requirements

• Must be able to sit at a desk for 8 hours.
• Must be able to lift up to 20 pounds.
• Must be able to communicate using a standard office phone.
• Must be able to operate standard computer hardware.