Director, Business Development

Job Description

Reporting to the Chief Distribution Officer, you will develop relationships with brokers and implement our sales process to identify opportunities to grow Economical's presence and profitability within your region. To support achievement of regional sales plans, you will provide guidance to your team on developing and implementing sales plans at the Territory and Broker levels, negotiating terms and conditions with Brokers, and executing marketing and promotional campaigns.

Accountabilities

Strategy & Planning:

• Conducts Regional and Territory sales planning by optimizing the portfolio mix to meet business plans, deploying promotional and sales campaigns in the Region, and ensuring the right offer to the right Broker based on Broker segmentation strategy
• Supports and provides input to the development and validation of service level agreements, productivity levels, and KPIs to be executed by Regional BD, and monitors performance of his/her team
• Ensures that their team appropriately escalates market intelligence to identify emerging Broker and client needs
• Conducts competitive analysis for his/her Region, leveraging market intelligence gathered from his/her Direct Reports
• Drives strategic discussions with brokers through assessing broker performance across top line and bottom line metrics

Business Development:

• Manages the day-to-day implementation of standard Underwriting (UW) and sales processes, standard operating procedures, UW guidelines, etc. relevant to BD for his/her Region
• Provides input and feedback to the organization by monitoring performance relative to the forecast
• Adheres to relevant guidelines, implements and monitors operational controls and risk protocols for his/her Region, and coaches Direct Reports in consistently and effectively implementing operational controls, risk protocols, and escalating issues, as appropriate

Sales Management:

• Manages the overall regional pipeline of opportunities, and reports on open, closed and won opportunities within the Region
• Manages deployment of promotional and sales campaigns in the Region to drive Broker awareness, understanding and preference for Economical's products, services, compensation structures, etc., and monitors campaign effectiveness
• Reviews and approves contracts with Brokers negotiated by Direct Reports, escalating where necessary
• Inorganic growth (Portfolios and New Broker Appointments)
• Manages and monitors broker performance in the region adjusting tactics to achieve targets

Customer Experience:

• Collaborates with the Regional VP CI, AVP PI Sales, HO Sales & Distribution and Direct reports to define and execute a Regional Broker relationship management strategy to drive growth, profitability, and sustainability of the PI and CI portfolios within the Region
• Manages Broker satisfaction survey results for his/her Region to create and implement action plans; strives to improve customer engagement SLA's with Brokers across his/her Region
• Manages the planning and delivery of Broker training, engaging Underwriting (UW) and Head Office Subject Matter Experts, where appropriate
• Promotes ease of doing business and guide broker experience improvement
• Collaborates with Claims leadership
• Addresses escalated Broker complaints, issues or non-compliance situations in his/her Region, escalating to the Regional VP where appropriate

People Management and Development:

• Oversees strategic workforce management for his/her function including resource planning, retention management, and succession management, as well as informing and appropriately leveraging Economical's recruiting strategy
• Develops, coaches/mentors and manages the performance of Direct Reports (Business Development Advisors (BDA) and Business Development Specialists (BDS), including identification of areas where performance improvement plans are needed to ensure the achievement of business, functional and individual productivity levels, profitability targets, service level agreements, and KPIs

Financial Management:

• Contributes to Economical's growth and profitability by meeting specific GWP, loss ratio and expense ratio targets for his/her Region
• Develops, proposes, and manages the marketing budget for his/her Region
• Supports the CDO in developing annual plans for his/her function, including annual budgets as well as high-level business case analyses for initiatives within his/her Region

Job Requirements

• University degree in any discipline, or College diploma in a relevant discipline
• 8-10 years of sales experience in insurance or a related field (e.g., Brokerages), with 3-5 years of supervisory experience leading a team of sales professionals in the Property and Casualty insurance industry
• Preference will be given to candidates who have experience managing a team of remote resources
• CIP designation, or a commitment to completing the CIP is required
• Additional designations are considered an asset (e.g., FCIP, Certified Sales Professional (CSP))
• Valid driver's license with a driving record acceptable to the company
• Exceptional customer service, verbal and written communication skills
• Very strong ability to influence and effectively negotiate with stakeholders
• Strong management and leadership skills with the ability to build and maintain effective relationships with business partners and Brokers
• Strong ability to provide on-the-job coaching and feedback to develop strong sales skills in his/her team
• Leadership experience in guiding a team through sustained organizational change
• Comfortable working in a fast-paced and dynamic environment in which he/she is leading organizational change
• Strong analytical thinking and planning skills
• Bilingual

Salary Range: $101,000 - $186,000

About Us

Interested in this role, but don't meet every requirement? We encourage you to apply! We know from experience that a candidate doesn't need 100% of the qualifications listed to bring incredible value to our team. We're actively seeking diverse backgrounds and perspectives to help us make insurance better. At Definity, inclusion, diversity, and equity aren't just "nice to have" - they're essential to our success.

What's in it for you?

• Hybrid work schedule for most roles
• Company share ownership program
• Pension and savings programs, with company-matched RRSP contributions
• Paid volunteer days and company matching on charitable donations
• Educational resources, tuition assistance, and paid time off to study for exams
• Focus on inclusion with employee groups, support for gender affirmation surgery, access to BIPOC counsellors, access to programs for working parents
• Wellness and recognition programs
• Discounts on products and services

Actual salary for the role may vary depending on work location of the successful candidate and other factors including but not limited to, skills, education, experience, working conditions and the local labour market. In addition to base pay, eligible employees may participate in various incentive plans which are paid out at the discretion of the company and subject to individual and company performance.

Go ahead and expect a lot - you deserve it.

It's better here - but don't take our word for it. Definity was named by Great Place to Work as one of the Best Workplaces in Canada for women, for youth, and for inclusion.

Our inclusive work environment welcomes diversity and supports accessibility. If you require accommodation at any time during the recruitment process, please let us know by contacting accessibility@definity.com.

Background checks

This role requires successful clearance of background checks (including criminal checks and leadership references).

#LI-Hybrid

#IND1

About the Team

Definity is the parent company to some of Canada's most long-standing and innovative insurance brands, including Economical Insurance, Sonnet Insurance, Family Insurance Solutions, and Petline Insurance. Our ambition is to be one of Canada's leading and most innovative property and casualty insurers. We can't do that without our people, so we embrace and encourage a culture that's collaborative, ambitious, rewarding, and empowering.

We offer a flexible, hybrid work experience where employees work from the office and virtually depending on the type of work they are doing and who they are working with. Bring your true self and be a part of our journey. It's better here.