Risk Team Director - Real Estate

About the role

As Director, Real Estate Risk, you'll be WithCoverage's senior technical authority for risk advisory across our Real Estate vertical, supporting owners, operators, developers, REITs, syndicators, and institutional investors. You'll personally lead the most complex placements and serve as the in-house expert our advisors, service teams, and clients rely on for real estate-specific coverage strategy. This is a senior individual contributor role today, with a path to building and leading the Real Estate Risk function as the book grows. You'll set the technical bar, codify best practices, and architect the playbooks, tools, and training that scale a high-performing vertical practice.

Responsibilities

• Act as the senior technical lead on complex real estate placements, including layered/shared property towers, CAT-exposed portfolios, captive and alternative risk financing structures, wrap-ups (OCIP/CCIP), and lender/JV insurance compliance
• Design and refine client risk management programs tailored to real estate exposures across asset classes and lines of business (Property, GL, Umbrella/Excess, Builders Risk, Environmental, Workers Comp, Auto, Cyber, D&O, Crime, EPLI, etc.)
• Provide deep technical expertise on real estate-specific coverage issues, including CAT-exposed property placements, vacancy and protective safeguards provisions, ordinance & law, business income/rents, anti-concurrent causation, assault & battery sublimits, habitational liability, construction defect, and tenant/contractual risk transfer
• Partner with Risk Advisors on renewal and risk mitigation strategies, including SOV optimization, valuation accuracy, COPE data integrity, and modeling outputs (RMS/AIR) for CAT-exposed portfolios
• Lead loss analysis, benchmarking, and claims trend work across real estate portfolios to guide client decision-making and carrier negotiations
• Evaluate client operations, asset-level exposures, lease structures, vendor agreements, and contractual risk transfer mechanisms to propose proactive solutions
• Build the foundational playbooks, technical standards, and review processes that will define how WithCoverage delivers real estate risk advisory at scale
• Develop and deliver internal training on real estate exposures and emerging issues (climate, wildfire, convective storm, habitability litigation, AOB, social inflation), raising the technical fluency of the broader advisory team
• Serve as a trusted resource and mentor to Risk Advisors working on real estate accounts, with the expectation that you'll hire, build, and eventually lead a dedicated Real Estate Risk team as the practice grows
• Collaborate with leadership to shape the tools, technology, and processes that power real estate risk advisory delivery
• Engage directly with executive-level clients (CFOs, GCs, asset managers, principals) on high-stakes coverage strategy, program design, and carrier negotiations

Requirements

10+ years of experience in commercial insurance or risk management, with deep specialization in the Real Estate vertical, ideally within a brokerage or consulting environment

A senior individual contributor with a track record of personally owning complex real estate placements and being the go-to technical resource for advisors, clients, and carriers

Deep technical command of real estate insurance programs, including Property (CAT-exposed and shared/layered towers), General Liability (habitational and commercial), Umbrella/Excess, Builders Risk, Environmental/Pollution, Workers Comp, Auto, and specialty lines (D&O, Crime, EPLI, Cyber)

Demonstrated experience structuring programs for owner/operators, REITs, syndicators, developers, property management companies, and/or institutional real estate investors

Working knowledge of lease and loan insurance requirements, waivers of subrogation, additional insured/AICOI compliance, and contractual risk transfer best practices for real estate

Fluent with CAT modeling outputs, COPE data quality, and valuation methodologies, and how each drives carrier appetite and pricing

Proven ability to communicate complex insurance and real estate risk concepts to executive-level clients in a clear, advisory tone

Strong analytical and strategic thinker, comfortable working across asset classes, geographies, and capital structures

Builder's mindset, energized by the prospect of standing up a function from the ground up, codifying how the work gets done, and eventually hiring and leading the team that scales it

Interest in mentorship and team leadership over time; prior people management is a plus but not required

Designations (CPCU, ARM, CIC, CRM, CRIS) preferred but not required

Qualifications

Required:

• Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Risk Management, Insurance, or a related field
• Professional designations such as CPCU, ARM, CIC, CRM, CRIS preferred but not required

Preferred:

• Experience with CAT modeling software (e.g., RMS, AIR)
• Knowledge of lease and loan insurance requirements, waivers of subrogation, additional insured/AICOI compliance, and contractual risk transfer best practices for real estate
• Experience with COPE data quality and valuation methodologies

Skills

• Technical expertise in real estate insurance programs
• Ability to communicate complex insurance and real estate risk concepts to executive-level clients
• Strong analytical and strategic thinking skills
• Experience with CAT modeling outputs, COPE data quality, and valuation methodologies
• Experience with lease and loan insurance requirements, waivers of subrogation, additional insured/AICOI compliance, and contractual risk transfer best practices for real estate

Benefits

Competitive compensation that includes equity

Comprehensive benefit plans for medical, dental, vision, life, and disability

Pre-tax accounts (FSA, HSAs, dependent care FSAs, commuter savings)

Human Interest: 401(k) provider

Time Off: Flexible time off, sick leave, family and medical leave, and major national holidays

A curated in-office employee experience, designed to foster community, team connections, and innovation

Collaborative, transparent, and fun culture