Job Type:
Permanent
Build a brilliant future with Hiscox
About Hiscox UK
Hiscox UK is a leading specialist brand in the UK insurance market, recognised as setting the standards others try to emulate. We consistently deliver strong growth and exceptional returns, recruiting only the very best and empowering them to deliver. We are known for insuring the homes of the rich and famous through the most innovative technology companies. We operate in twelve target sectors in the UK, across which our customers are diverse and unique, and are only united by our ability to provide specialist insurance tailored to their needs.
About the Trading Operations Team
We have a market leading reputation for providing excellent products and service to our customers. The Trading Operations team comprises five business functions across Operations encompassing four sites and approx. 300 people across the UK. The teams underwrite new and existing business across our Art & Private Client and Professions & Speciality Commercial product lines for our Direct and Broker customers.
Trading Operations Underwriting Team Leader
As Underwriting Team Leader, you will champion both internal and external relationships, driving your team to surpass business targets while cultivating a collaborative and high-performing culture. You will actively nurture strong partnerships with brokers and clients, ensuring service excellence at every touchpoint. Embodying Hiscox values of integrity, courage, and human connection, you will coach, train, and provide feedback to empower underwriters, uphold accountability, and promote a shared commitment to service and business growth through open communication and mutual respect.
You will coach your team to deliver their best, set high standards for broker and customer service and drive continuous process improvement by collaborating and responding to feedback from both internal colleagues and external partners. Leading teams across multiple sites, you will foster robust internal relationships and communicate transparently, which, alongside your proactive engagement with external stakeholders, will help retain and grow business, support customers, and ensure service excellence in alignment with our sales strategy, operational goals, and the Hiscox values that guide our decisions and behaviour.
Key Responsibilities
Leadership and Motivation
1. Inspire and energise team members to deliver their best work every day.
2. Set clear expectations, communicate targets and ensure everyone understands their role.
3. Provide regular coaching, feedback, and support for ongoing professional development.
4. Recognise achievements and address performance issues promptly and constructively.
Operational Delivery
5. Allocate and prioritise workloads to meet service metrics and deadlines.
6. Track team and individual performance against targets, addressing shortfalls quickly.
7. Monitor quality standards, ensuring underwriting processes and outcomes meet audit requirements.
Customer and Broker Focus
8. Champion a customer centric culture, ensuring all interactions support positive outcomes for brokers and clients.
9. Actively seek feedback from brokers and customers to identify areas for improvement.
10. Support the team in resolving queries and issues efficiently, maintaining high service levels.
11. Continuously look for ways to enhance the broker and customer experience through process and behavioural improvements.
Continuous Improvement
12. Identify and implement efficiency improvements within the team’s day-to-day work.
13. Analyse performance data to spot trends, issues and opportunities for change.
14. Encourage team members to suggest and trial new ideas to improve outcomes.
15. Lead or support small change initiatives and projects aimed at better service, quality, or efficiency.
Stakeholder Relationships and Collaboration
16. Build and maintain strong working relationships with internal stakeholders and other teams in Hiscox to support the Commercial Trading System.
17. Collaborate actively to share best practice, resolve issues and support business growth.
18. Engage regularly and proactively with external partners, such as brokers, to strengthen trust and understanding.
Candidate Profile
19. Proven people management experience is essential, ideally within a broker, underwriting, or contact centre/operations setting.
20. Demonstrable experience leading teams in a target-driven environment, including performance management and coaching to achieve individual and team objectives.
21. Strong leadership capability, with the ability to motivate, develop and hold individuals accountable for performance and service standards.
22. Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with a track record of building effective relationships with stakeholders and/or customers (e.g. brokers, clients or internal teams).
23. Confident in handling performance conversations and driving improvements in quality, productivity and service delivery.
24. Commercially aware, with an understanding of service levels, operational workflows and customer outcomes.
25. Highly organised, with the ability to manage workload, prioritise effectively and oversee team delivery against agreed SLAs.
26. A collaborative team player who contributes positively to team culture and wider business objectives.
27. Demonstrates drive, resilience and a proactive approach, with a focus on continuous improvement and delivering results aligned to Hiscox values.
Diversity and flexible working at Hiscox
At Hiscox we care about our people. We hire the best people for the job and we’re committed to diversity and creating a truly inclusive culture, which we believe drives success. We also understand that working life doesn’t always have to be ‘nine to five’ and we support flexible working wherever we can. No promises, but please chat to our resourcing team about the flexibility we could offer for this role.
Work with amazing people and be part of a unique culture