Underwriting Manager

Benefits

• Medical
• Dental
• Vision
• Life insurance
• 401K match
• Paid time off (PTO)
• Sick time
• 10 paid holidays
• Remote work opportunities

About the role

The Agency Underwriting Manager is responsible for leading the day-to-day operations, performance, and strategic development of the Agency Underwriting Department. This role oversees underwriting quality, productivity, service levels, staffing capacity, and operational efficiency while ensuring compliance with agency guidelines, applicable federal and state regulations, and company credit policies.

The Agency Underwriting Manager establishes departmental goals, key performance indicators (KPIs), and operational benchmarks to drive consistent results, maintain service-level expectations, and support overall business objectives. This position monitors underwriting production, turnaround times, quality trends, workflow distribution, and staffing capacity to identify opportunities for improvement and ensure resources are aligned with business demand.

In addition to managing department performance, the Agency Underwriting Manager is responsible for coaching and developing underwriting staff, strengthening technical expertise, establishing consistent underwriting practices, and fostering a culture of accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement. This role partners with senior leadership and cross-functional departments to develop strategies, manage departmental expenses, support budgeting and forecasting, and implement innovative solutions that improve productivity, quality, and the overall underwriting process.

Responsibilities

Department Leadership and Performance Management

• Lead and manage the daily operations of the Agency Underwriting Department to achieve established production, quality, turnaround time, and service-level objectives.
• Establish, communicate, and monitor departmental goals, performance expectations, and measurable KPIs aligned with company objectives through regularly scheduled meetings.
• Monitor underwriting productivity, volume, aging pipelines, turnaround times, quality results, escalation trends, and service-level performance to ensure operational targets are consistently met.
• Develop and maintain departmental performance reports and dashboards to provide visibility into production trends, staffing capacity, workflow balance, and areas requiring management attention.
• Analyze performance results, identify gaps against established targets, and implement corrective action plans to improve outcomes.
• Provide regular reporting and performance updates to senior leadership, including key trends, operational risks, resource needs, and recommended solutions.
• Promote a culture of ownership, accountability, continuous improvement, and consistent execution across the department.

KPI Management, Budgeting, and Capacity Planning

• Establish and monitor performance drivers that influence departmental productivity, turnaround times, quality, staffing requirements, and overall operational costs.
• Partner with leadership to develop departmental budgets, expense forecasts, staffing plans, and resource allocation strategies based on projected loan volume and business demand.
• Monitor actual performance against budget, forecasted volume, productivity assumptions, and staffing plans; identify variances and recommend appropriate adjustments.
• Evaluate workload capacity, underwriter utilization, productivity expectations, and staffing needs to maintain an appropriate balance between production demands and available resources.
• Forecast staffing and operational needs based on pipeline trends, seasonality, business growth, and changes in underwriting volume or complexity.
• Establish appropriate workload distribution and escalation processes to prevent bottlenecks, manage aging files, and maintain consistent service levels.
• Recommend staffing, scheduling, cross-training, and resource allocation adjustments to improve efficiency while maintaining underwriting quality and employee engagement.
• Discover and implement new ways to incorporate offshoring personnel to maximize efficiency.

Workflow Optimization and Process Improvement

• Evaluate existing underwriting workflows, procedures, and operational processes to identify inefficiencies, redundancies, delays, and opportunities for improvement.
• Lead initiatives to streamline processes, improve workflow consistency, reduce unnecessary touchpoints, and increase underwriting capacity without compromising credit quality or compliance.
• Develop, implement, and maintain standardized procedures, workflow controls, job aids, and best practices to support consistent underwriting decisions and efficient file movement.
• Identify opportunities to leverage technology, automation, reporting tools, and innovative operational practices to improve productivity, data accuracy, and decision-making.
• Collaborate with technology, operations, sales, closing, processing, and other relevant departments to resolve workflow challenges and implement process enhancements.
• Measure the effectiveness of process changes through defined KPIs, performance reporting, and ongoing evaluation; adjust strategies as needed to achieve sustainable results.
• Lead change management efforts by communicating process updates, securing team adoption, and ensuring appropriate training and documentation are in place.

Coaching, Employee Development, and Accountability

• Coach, mentor, and develop underwriting staff, including senior underwriters and emerging leaders, to strengthen technical expertise, decision-making, productivity, and professional growth.
• Establish clear performance expectations and provide regular feedback through individual coaching sessions, performance reviews, and development plans.
• Monitor individual and team performance against established productivity, quality, turnaround time, and service-level expectations.
• Identify training needs and performance gaps through quality reviews, reporting trends, employee feedback, and operational observations.
• Develop and oversee training programs, reference materials, job aids, and continuing education initiatives to improve underwriting consistency and technical proficiency.
• Support onboarding and development of new underwriting staff to promote efficient ramp-up, sound credit judgment, and adherence to company standards.
• Address performance concerns proactively through coaching, documented action plans, and appropriate follow-up.
• Promote a collaborative, accountable, and solutions-oriented work environment that encourages knowledge sharing, employee engagement, and continuous development.
• Identify opportunities for succession planning, cross-training, and leadership development to strengthen departmental depth and operational continuity.

Underwriting Quality, Credit Policy, and Compliance

• Oversee underwriting quality and consistency to ensure loan decisions align with applicable agency guidelines, FHA/VA requirements where applicable, company credit policy, and investor requirements.
• Maintain current knowledge of agency guidelines, including FHA Single Family Housing Policy Handbook 4000.1, applicable Mortgagee Letters, and relevant VA guidance.
• Monitor quality assurance findings, underwriting errors, exception trends, and compliance results to identify root causes and implement corrective actions.
• Provide guidance on complex underwriting scenarios, credit policy interpretation, risk assessment, and escalated loan decisions.
• Ensure underwriting practices comply with applicable federal and state laws, regulatory requirements, agency standards, and company policies and procedures.
• Partner with compliance, quality control, and other internal stakeholders to resolve findings, address emerging risks, and strengthen departmental controls.
• Communicate policy changes and regulatory updates to the underwriting team and ensure procedures and training materials are updated accordingly.
• Balance production and efficiency objectives with prudent risk assessment, sound credit decisions, and consistent underwriting quality.

Cross-Functional Collaboration and Strategic Support

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