Senior Manager - Surety Operations

Company Overview

Recognized as a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Top Workplace for 14 consecutive years, including three years of being honored as number one! Join us at West Bend, where we believe that our associates are our greatest asset. We hire talented individuals who are conscientious, dedicated, customer focused, and able to build lasting relationships. We create and maintain an environment where you feel a sense of belonging and appreciation. Your diversity of thought, experience, and knowledge are valued. We're committed to fostering a welcoming culture, offering you opportunities for meaningful work and professional growth. More than a workplace, we celebrate our successes and take pride in serving our communities.

Job Summary

This role sits at the intersection of strategy, operations, and technology within the Surety organization. You'll help modernize how work gets done, improving processes, advancing data and reporting capabilities, and enabling smarter decision-making across the business. With strong cross-functional exposure and the ability to influence meaningful change, this position offers the chance to lead impactful initiatives, drive continuous improvement, and shape the future of Surety operations in a growing, evolving environment.

Work Location

This position offers a hybrid schedule (3 days in the office) for collaboration days, team meetings or other in-person events. The position can be based in Madison or West Bend.


External applications will be accepted on a rolling basis while the position remains open.

Responsibilities & Qualifications

This senior leadership role is responsible for driving strategic planning, technology enablement, operational excellence, and business process improvements within the Surety organization. With a focus on long-term growth, the role emphasizes data-driven decision-making, cross-functional collaboration, and continuous improvement. The Senior Manager also leads a multidisciplinary team and fosters partnerships across key departments to ensure alignment and execution of enterprise initiatives.

Qualified applicants at varying experience levels will be considered, position level will be determined based on qualifications.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide strategic leadership for technology, operations, and business planning initiatives within the Surety division.
• Leverage data analytics to identify trends and drive improvements in business outcomes.
• Design and implement key processes, metrics, and operational enhancements across leadership teams.
• Maintain awareness of industry, economic, and competitive conditions to inform strategic direction.
• Collaborate with internal stakeholders-including underwriting, IT, legal, and claims-to execute division-wide initiatives.
• Lead and develop a team of Systems Analysts, Product Owners, and Business Process Specialists responsible for reporting and analytics across the Surety division.
• Promote staff development through coaching, performance management, and clearly defined objectives.
• Build and strengthen partnerships with product, actuarial, IT, finance, billing, claims, underwriting, product management, and marketing teams.
• Establish and maintain operational practices that optimize internal resource utilization and efficiency.

Preferred Experience and Skills

• 8+ years in surety operations, underwriting support, or underwriting
• 4 years of leadership experience
• Analytical, quantitative, and problem-solving skills
• Communication skills, both written and verbal.
• Advanced knowledge of data sources, tools, and business processes, including a sophisticated understanding of cross-functional operations and business drivers
• Knowledge of key industry, economic, and competitive conditions, as well as the strategic and operational challenges facing the business
• Ability to provide focus and direction to field operations and strong project management capabilities to implement national/regional initiatives

Preferred Education and Training

• Bachelor's degree in business, insurance, or related field or equivalent experience in surety underwriting

Salary Statement

The salary range for this position is $123,659 - $154,574.


The actual base pay offered to the successful candidate will be based on multiple factors, including but not limited to job-related knowledge/skills, experience, business needs, geographical location, and internal equity. Compensation decisions are made by West Bend and are dependent upon the facts and circumstances of each position and candidate.

Benefits

West Bend offers a comprehensive benefit plan including but not limited to:

• Medical & Prescription Insurance
• Health Savings Account
• Dental Insurance
• Vision Insurance
• Short and Long Term Disability
• Flexible Spending Accounts
• Life and Accidental Death & Disability
• Accident and Critical Illness Insurance
• Employee Assistance Program
• 401(k) Plan with Company Match
• Pet Insurance
• Paid Time Off. Standard first year PTO is 17 days, pro-rated based on month of hire. Enhanced PTO may be available for experienced candidates
• Bonus eligible based on performance
• West Bend will comply with any applicable state and local laws regarding employee leave benefits, including, but not limited to providing time off pursuant to the Colorado Healthy Families and Workplaces Act for Colorado employees, in accordance with its plans and policies.

EEO

West Bend provides equal employment opportunities to all associates and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, and promotion.