If you’re passionate about helping people protect what matters most to them, as well as innovating and simplifying processes and operations to provide the best customer value, then Nationwide’s Property and Casualty team could be the place for you! At Nationwide®, “on your side” goes beyond just words. Our customers are at the center of everything we do and we’re looking for associates who are passionate about delivering extraordinary care.

Please Note: This position is open to working remotely in the United States.

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Job Description Summary

Are you a proven leader with strategic and creative E&S/Specialty, commercial product and underwriting skills? Do you have deep insights into the insurance industry and competition with the ability to translate those insights into strategic underwriting practices and partner with Underwriting Leaders to implement the practices across E&S/Specialty, Commercial Lines? If you have these abilities and a drive to achieve financial goals, set strategic vision and make a difference, then we want to hear from you!

As the COE AVP, Property Underwriting Performance, you will support the VP in leading strategic initiatives across multiple business lines. You’ll help cultivate a high-performing underwriting culture, leverage market insights, and drive performance across Nationwide’s property portfolio. This role partners across the value chain to align underwriting and product strategies with risk appetite, reinsurance, and profitability goals. Operating with a high degree of independence, it requires deep property underwriting expertise, strong knowledge of form language, and a broad understanding of terms and conditions. You’ll also lead the communication and execution of strategies that deliver measurable business outcomes.

Job Description

Key Responsibilities: 

Drive thought leadership on market trends in pricing, coverage, data, and appetite to ensure competitive, customer-aligned products.

Develop and maintain a strategic roadmap to identify market disruptors and deliver innovative underwriting capabilities.

Engage with external markets and reinsurance brokers to benchmark performance and strengthen Nationwide’s market position.

Lead underwriting philosophy and practices to align with enterprise goals and profitability targets.

Ensure underwriting integrity through underwriting practices, automation, and advanced analytics.

Collaborate with Pricing and ECRM teams to manage pricing adequacy, geographic exposure, and CAT accumulation.

Monitor portfolio performance and steer risk selection, capacity optimization, and complex coverage design.

Establish and maintain best practices across CLESS property underwriting, including guidelines, training, and audits.

Participate in business reviews and implement corrective actions to meet performance goals.

Ensure compliance with corporate standards and drive improvements in production, retention, and expense management.

Partner across the value chain to resolve complex issues and enhance underwriting outcomes.

Work with Corporate Reinsurance to develop and optimize property reinsurance strategies.

Inspire and develop underwriting talent to build technical expertise and maintain a competitive edge.

Influence training, audits, vendor management, and systems to support business needs.

Lead a high-performing team in a hybrid work environment.

May perform other responsibilities as assigned. 

Reporting Relationships: Reports to VP

Typical Skills and Experiences: 

Education:  Bachelor's degree in business or related field. Post-graduate business-related studies preferred.    

License/Certification/Designation: Relevant professional designations such as CPCU, ARM, and are highly desirable.         

Experience: Typically, 15-25 years of commercial lines property underwriting including at least five years of leadership experience. Exposure to both field and staff office operations preferred.

Knowledge, Abilities and Skills: 

Comprehensive Market Experience: Demonstrated knowledge across admitted and non-admitted markets, domestic and international business, and both automated and manually underwritten portfolios.

Diverse Segment Expertise: Experience spanning personal lines, small commercial, middle market, large accounts, inland marine, programs, and alternative markets.

Complex Risk Structures: Proficiency in underwriting ground-up, loss-limited, primary, excess of loss, reinsured, quota-shared, and layered business.

Catastrophe Risk Management: Strong understanding of CAT-exposed business across all major perils.

Executive-Level Acumen: Proven leadership in property and casualty products, insurance operations, field and staff functions, and industry trends.

Strategic and Technical Leadership: Strong decision-making, technical underwriting expertise, and the ability to lead cross-functional initiatives and product/underwriting activities.

Influence and Communication: Skilled in building relationships, influencing senior leadership, navigating ambiguity, and representing the organization in market-facing initiatives.

Talent and Project Leadership: Ability to lead teams and projects across underwriting functions, with a focus on results, innovation, and continuous improvement.

Other criteria, including leadership skills, competencies and experiences may take precedence.

Staffing exceptions to the above must be approved by the hiring manager’s leader and Human Resource Business Partner.

Values:  Regularly and consistently demonstrates the Nationwide Values.

Overtime Eligibility: Not Eligible (Exempt)

Working Conditions: Remote, work from home, and occasionally normal office environment for meetings. Travel could be up to 25% of the time.

ADA:  The above statements cover what are generally believed to be principal and essential functions of this job.  Specific circumstances may allow or require some people assigned to the job to perform a somewhat different combination of duties. 

We currently anticipate accepting applications until 08/29/2025. However, we encourage early submissions, as the posting may close sooner if a strong candidate slate is identified before the deadline.

Benefits

We have an array of benefits to fit your needs, including: medical/dental/vision, life insurance, short and long term disability coverage, paid time off with newly hired associates receiving a minimum of 18 days paid time off each full calendar year pro-rated quarterly based on hire date, nine paid holidays, 8 hours of Lifetime paid time off, 8 hours of Unity Day paid time off, 401(k) with company match, company-paid pension plan, business casual attire, and more. To learn more about the benefits we offer, click here.

Nationwide is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive culture where everyone feels challenged, appreciated, respected and engaged. Nationwide prohibits discrimination and harassment and affords equal employment opportunities to employees and applicants without regard to any characteristic (or classification) protected by applicable law.

This position could be filled within any of the lower 48 U.S. states.

Smoke-Free Iowa Statement: Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company, its affiliates and subsidiaries comply with the Iowa Smokefree Air Act. Smoking is prohibited in all enclosed areas on or around company premises as well as company issued vehicles. The company offers designated smoking areas in which smoking is permitted at each individual location. The Act prohibits retaliation for reporting complaints or violations. For more information on the Iowa Smokefree Air Act, individuals may contact the Smokefree Air Act Helpline at 888-944-2247.

For NY residents please review the following state law information: Notice of Employee Rights, Protections, and Obligations LS740 (ny.gov) https://dol.ny.gov/system/files/documents/2022/02/ls740_1.pdf

NOTE TO EMPLOYMENT AGENCIES:

We value the partnerships we have built with our preferred vendors. Nationwide does not accept unsolicited resumes from employment agencies. All resumes submitted by employment agencies directly to any Nationwide employee or hiring manager in any form without a signed Nationwide Client Services Agreement on file and search engagement for that position will be deemed unsolicited in nature. No fee will be paid in the event the candidate is subsequently hired as a result of the referral or through other means.

Nationwide pays on a geographic-specific salary structure and placement within the actual starting salary range for this position will be determined by a number of factors including the skills, education, training, credentials and experience of the candidate; the scope, complexity and location of the role as well as the cost of labor in the market; and other conditions of employment. If a Sales job, Sales Incentives, based on performance goals are possible in addition to this range.

The national salary range for AVP, Property Underwriting Performance - E&S/Specialty and Commercial Lines : $143,000.00-$283,000.00

The expected starting salary range for AVP, Property Underwriting Performance - E&S/Specialty and Commercial Lines : $151,000.00 - $253,000.00