Sr. Director, Producer Group Life Underwriting and Broker Relations

About the role

At Nationwide®, “on your side” goes beyond just words. Our customers and partners are at the center of everything we do and we’re looking for associates who are passionate about delivering extraordinary care. This role is open to full remote work.

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

Requirements

This role does not qualify for employer-sponsored work authorization. Nationwide does not participate in the Stem OPT Extension program.

Qualifications

• 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

Skills

• 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
• 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

Benefits

• Medical/dental/vision
• Life insurance
• Short and long term disability coverage
• Paid time off
• Unity Day paid time off
• 401(k) with company match
• Company-paid pension plan
• Business casual attire