VP - Operations

About the role

The VP - Operations provides enterprise‑level leadership and strategic direction across Underwriting Support, Premium Audit, and Billing, with accountability for the end‑to‑end operating model. This role ensures the people, processes, technology, and controls required to achieve production, profitability, premium integrity, and customer experience objectives. The position leads a large, multi‑functional, geographically dispersed organization supporting record premium volume, complex multi‑state operations, and enterprise system transformation. The VP partners with executive leadership and stakeholders across Underwriting, Finance, Technology, Claims and others to shape operating strategy, prioritize enterprise investments, and deliver sustainable financial and operational results. The VP is accountable for operational performance, expense management, workforce strategy, risk and control oversight, training strategy, and change leadership, with a critical role in delivering quality and accurate service to agents and insureds, ensuring premium accuracy and collection, and enabling enterprise growth and transformation initiatives.

Strategy

• In collaboration with executive leadership, establish long‑term strategic vision for business operations to enable UFG’s underwriting, financial, and customer experience goals.
• Direct department goals, holding others accountable and ensuring alignment with underwriting to achieve targets and deliver excellent service.
• When necessary, develop business cases to create a case for change and obtain buy‑in from key stakeholders.
• Lead and prioritize cross‑functional enterprise initiatives across Business operations, UW Enablement, Technology, Finance, and Underwriting that positively impact the policy lifecycle and/or accuracy and customer experience.
• Provide executive leadership across Underwriting Support, Premium Audit, and Billing, aligning operational strategy with underwriting, financial, and enterprise objectives.
• Serve as a key advisor to senior leadership on operational capacity, expense tradeoffs, premium risk, and transformation readiness.
• Establish enterprise operating standards, policies, and performance frameworks that balance growth, profitability, compliance, service levels, and customer experience across all supported functions.

Operational Excellence

• Oversee operational performance across multiple enterprise functions, including Underwriting Support, Premium Audit, and Billing, ensuring productivity, quality, compliance, premium accuracy, audit effectiveness, billing timeliness, and service‑level commitments are consistently achieved.
• Own enterprise workforce and capacity strategy across domestic and offshore operations, aligning resources to premium volume, service demands, and financial targets.
• Resolve complex, high‑visibility escalations from underwriters, RVPs, agents, and internal business partners.
• Develop and enforce enterprise standards, best practices, and continuous improvement frameworks across all units.
• Ensure strong operational controls that mitigate underwriting processing errors, premium leakage, billing errors, audit disputes, and regulatory risk.
• Partner with Finance, Underwriting, and Compliance to ensure internal practices and procedures support accurate premium recognition and financial reporting.

Financial & Risk Stewardship

• Own expense management and workforce investment decisions across all functions, aligning capacity with business objectives.
• Establish and monitor controls related to accuracy, policy/billing integrity, and downstream financial impacts.
• Ensure audit readiness, regulatory compliance, and strong governance practices across all operational areas.
• Use data, KPIs, and trend analysis to identify risk, inform executive decision‑making, and drive continuous improvement.

People Leadership & Workforce Development

• Lead and develop a multi‑disciplinary leadership team capable of executing enterprise transformation and scaling operations.
• Set enterprise training, capability development, and succession strategies that support operational readiness, leadership depth, and long‑term scalability.
• Champion efforts to reduce attrition, strengthen engagement, and improve team stability.
• Establish performance management, coaching, and accountability frameworks that enable leaders to drive results, develop talent, and meet enterprise standards.
• Oversee all offshore partnerships, contract oversight, onboarding, training, and leadership structure.

Requirements

Education: College degree required; degree in business administration or related field preferred. CPCU designation is preferred.

Experience: 15+ years management experience preferred. 15+ years of underwriting/underwriting operations experience required.

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities:

• Executive leadership experience overseeing large, multi‑functional, geographically dispersed teams.
• Strong financial acumen with the ability to connect operations to premium growth, profitability, and expense management.
• Advanced knowledge of the underwriting support functions, including insights into changing
• Expertise in workflow optimization, change management, and operational excellence methodologies.
• Proven record of reducing cycle time, enhancing quality, and improving service metrics.
• Solutions‑oriented leader with the ability to identify, analyze and resolve problems, motivate and develop staff, recognize and meet customer needs, and effectively plan and execute a business strategy.
• Executive‑level written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to influence senior leaders and external stakeholders.
• Accountable for setting the standard for customer experience and representing the organization with credibility and professionalism to internal and external stakeholders.
• Ability