Experience Aviva
Individually, we are people, but together we are Aviva. Individually, these are just words, but together they are our Values: Care, Commitment, Community, and Confidence.
At Aviva, we help customers build resilience and move forward with confidence. We foster an inclusive workplace where diverse perspectives are valued, innovation is encouraged, and colleagues are empowered to grow their careers while making a meaningful impact.
As we establish Aviva's presence in the United States, we're seeking talented individuals inspired to build, shape, and lead this new organization. Joining Aviva Specialty means stepping onto the ground floor of a thoughtfully designed Commercial Insurance organization built for the long term, blending underwriting heritage, disciplined execution, and capital strength with agility, innovation, and entrepreneurial thinking.
The Opportunity
As Senior Audit Lead, Underwriting Quality & Risk Oversight, you will establish and lead Aviva Specialty's underwriting quality assurance, audit, and governance framework. Reporting directly to the Chief Underwriting Officer, you will provide independent oversight of underwriting execution across business units and help ensure consistent adherence to risk appetite, risk selection standards, delegated authority, pricing discipline, underwriting guidelines, and regulatory requirements.
This role combines deep technical underwriting expertise with enterprise-level governance, analytical insight, and change leadership. You will design audit methodologies and quality scorecards, lead targeted and broad-based file reviews, identify emerging risks and control gaps, and translate findings into practical actions that strengthen underwriting consistency, profitability, and portfolio quality.
You will partner closely with Underwriting, Product, Claims, Actuarial, Compliance, Risk Management, Finance, and Operations. The successful candidate will be a highly credible underwriting leader who can challenge constructively, influence senior stakeholders, and build a best-in-class oversight function in a growing U.S. specialty insurance organization.
What You'll Do
Underwriting Quality & Audit Leadership
- Design, implement, and lead the enterprise underwriting quality assurance and audit program across Aviva Specialty's business units and product segments.
- Establish risk-based audit methodologies, file review standards, sampling approaches, quality scorecards, documentation requirements, and escalation protocols.
- Lead targeted and broad-based reviews of underwriting decisions, portfolio practices, and adherence to established standards.
- Evaluate compliance with underwriting guidelines, risk appetite, pricing standards, referral requirements, documentation expectations, and delegated authority limits.
- Apply sound underwriting judgment to distinguish isolated exceptions from systemic issues requiring broader intervention.
Governance & Risk Oversight
- Serve as a key advisor to the Chief Underwriting Officer on underwriting governance, quality, controls, and risk management matters.
- Identify emerging underwriting risks, control gaps, process weaknesses, and patterns that may affect portfolio quality or financial performance.
- Monitor adherence to underwriting frameworks, policies, governance requirements, and applicable regulatory obligations.
- Support enterprise risk management and governance initiatives related to underwriting performance, portfolio quality, and control effectiveness.
- Provide constructive challenge while maintaining strong, collaborative relationships with underwriting and functional leaders.
Analytics & Executive Reporting
- Develop dashboards, scorecards, key risk indicators, and management reporting for underwriting leadership and governance committees.
- Analyze audit findings and underwriting performance data to identify systemic issues, training needs, control enhancements, and opportunities for continuous improvement.
- Present clear findings, trend analyses, and practical recommendations to executive leadership and relevant governance forums.
- Track underwriting quality metrics, corrective actions, and progress against agreed performance and control objectives.
- Partner with data and technology teams to improve the quality, accessibility, and use of underwriting oversight information.
Continuous Improvement & Remediation
- Partner with underwriting leaders to develop proportionate corrective action plans, clarify accountability, and drive sustainable improvements.
- Lead root-cause analyses related to audit findings, underwriting exceptions, control failures, and recurring quality issues.
- Recommend enhancements to underwriting guidelines, workflows, controls, referral processes, documentation standards, and decision-making frameworks.
- Validate that agreed remediation actions have been implemented and are operating effectively.
- Promote a culture of underwriting excellence, accountability, disciplined decision-making, and continuous improvement.
Training & Capability Development
- Collaborate with underwriting leadership to develop targeted training and coaching based on audit results, recurring findings, and emerging risk trends.
- Identify knowledge gaps and opportunities to strengthen technical underwriting capability and decision quality.
- Support onboarding, professional development, and technical standards for underwriting colleagues.
- Help drive consistency in underwriting practices across regions, business units, and product segments.
- Serve as a respected technical resource and advocate for strong underwriting judgment and governance.
Regulatory & Compliance Management
- Partner with Compliance and Legal to help ensure underwriting processes and controls align with applicable regulatory requirements.
- Maintain documentation standards and audit trails that support regulatory examinations, internal reviews, and governance requirements.
- Support internal and external audits as a subject matter expert for underwriting quality, governance, and control effectiveness.
- Monitor relevant regulatory and industry developments and assess their potential implications for underwriting oversight practices.
What You'll Bring
- 10+ years of progressive underwriting experience within commercial or specialty insurance.
- 5+ years of leadership experience in underwriting, underwriting quality assurance, audit, governance, risk management, or a closely related function.
- Demonstrated experience developing or enhancing underwriting controls, quality frameworks, audit programs, scorecards, or performance management processes.
- Deep understanding of underwriting principles, portfolio management, risk selection, pricing discipline, delegated authority, documentation standards, and underwriting governance.
- Strong analytical and data interpretation capabilities, with the ability to translate findings into practical business actions.
- Experience presenting to executive leadership or governance committees and influencing strategic or operational decisions.
- Exceptional communication, presentation, stakeholder management, and constructive-challenge skills.
- Ability to lead change and build credibility across a complex, cross-functional organization.
- Bachelor's degree in Business, Risk Management, Insurance, Finance, or a related discipline
Preferred Qualifications
- CPCU, ARM, AU, or another relevant professional insurance designation.
- Experience supporting multiple commercial or specialty lines of business.
- Experience building or scaling an underwriting quality assurance, audit, or governance capability.
- Familiarity with technology-enabled audit, underwriting workflow, data visualization, and management reporting tools.
What You'll Gain
At Aviva Specialty, we put people first: our colleagues, our customers, and our communities. We're proud of a culture built on care, inclusion, and collaboration, where your voice matters and your growth is supported. We're not just about insurance; we're about making a real difference by protecting what matters most.
- Competitive base salary ranging from $170,000-$210,000, depending on experience, qualifications, location, and market considerations.
- Compelling rewards package including base compensation, eligibility for an annual bonus, retirement savings, health benefits, and volunteer opportunities.
- Opportunity to help shape underwriting culture, talent strategy, and business growth in a newly established U.S. operation.
- Flexible hybrid work model.
- Outstanding professional development and leadership growth opportunities.
- Competitive vacation package.
Additional Role Requirements
Travel Requirements: Travel may be required for underwriting reviews, leadership meetings, business planning sessions, and other business activities.
Physical Requirements: This position is primarily performed in an office or remote work environment and requires prolonged periods of computer use, communication with internal and external stakeholders, analysis of underwriting and business information, and participation in virtual and in-person meetings.
Aviva Specialty welcomes applications from all qualified individuals and has a process in place to provide accommodations for persons with disabilities at all stages of the hiring process and during employment. If you require an accommodation during the interview or hiring process, please contact your Aviva Talent Partner so that appropriate accommodation can be arranged.