Director, Life Underwriting

We are looking for a Director, Life Underwriting to lead our underwriting production function, with a strong emphasis on team performance, people development, and operational excellence. This role is accountable for ensuring consistent, high-quality underwriting output while building and developing a high-performing...

Own underwriting production output, ensuring volume and quality targets are met

Identify and recommend automation opportunities (straight-through processing, AI-assisted case review) to increase throughput without compromising quality

UW Production & Quality: 
Partner with Underwriting Auditors to track audit findings and drive corrective action
Ensure decisions align with guidelines, risk appetite, and regulations
People Development: 
Lead and grow a team of underwriters and supervisors/managers
Oversee onboarding/training programs and build career development pathways
Drive a coaching culture and strong team retention
Performance Management: 
Establish clear, measurable performance standards for underwriters and supervisors across productivity, set productivity targets, quality standards, TAT, and compliance
Drive performance against TAT/SLA targets across case types
Build reporting to track real-time production and SLA performance
Resolve issues causing breaches; coordinate with Sales/Ops/Claims on escalations
Conduct regular performance reviews, using audit findings and production data to identify trends and root causes of underperformance
Lead structured, constructive conversations on performance gaps, including formal Performance Improvement Plans where warranted
Ensure consistency in performance evaluation standards across teams, especially in distributed/cross-geography setups
Recognize and reward high performers to reinforce a strong performance culture alongside accountability
Team & Org Leadership: 
Build and scale teams as business needs grow
Manage capacity planning against volume forecasts
Ensure consistency in UW practices across distributed teams
Foster a culture of continuous improvement, experimentation, and openness to new technology
Stakeholder management:
Cross-Functional Collaboration: Key UW point of contact for Sales, Operations, Compliance, and Engineering
Represent UW in cross functional meetings; influence stakeholders on process changes using data

15+ years in Life Insurance Underwriting, with strong people management experience
Proven track record managing production to standards at scale
Proven experience managing large teams (80/100+ members).
Experience building/leading UW teams (direct and/or cross-geography)
Strong technical UW knowledge, data-driven decision-making, and stakeholder influencing and communication skills
Bachelor's degree required; UW certifications (LOMA, FALU) are preferred
Don’t meet every single requirement? If you’re excited about this role but your past experience doesn’t align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyway. At Ethos we are dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive and authentic workplace.