Western National Insurance

Underwriter

• Develops and implements underwriting strategies to achieve a balanced, profitable, quality book of surety business.
• Selects, coaches, develops, and retains staff to achieve company, departmental, and individual goals.
• Serves as a referral underwriter for underwriting staff and provides feedback and technical guidance to underwriters as needed.
• May serve as a technical expert for surety-related systems and processes, working with our IT department and other partners on system and process improvements.
• Establishes, delegates, and maintains underwriting authorities for underwriting staff.
• Builds and maintains strong agency relationships and effectively manages underwriting and marketing staff to achieve established growth and profitability goals.
• Frequent travel, by car and plane (up to 50%) for extended periods of time, with occasional overnight and weekend travel.
• Travels to assigned and prospect agencies regularly to build on agency partnerships.
• Travels to key accounts with assigned underwriter as needed to strengthen customer and underwriting relationships.
• Travels to meet with remote underwriters and managers at least on a quarterly basis to help further develop territory and staffing.
• Develops strategies to seize and develop new market opportunities and expand agency relationships throughout Western National’s licensed states.
• Networks within the insurance / surety community and attends industry events to stay abreast of marketplace changes and emerging industry issues.
• Develops, reviews, analyzes, and prepares periodic reports on assigned regional operations and takes appropriate underwriting and rate actions.
• Participates in initiatives to develop and improve processes and policies.
• Interprets and executes policies and guidelines within authority level.
• Establishes account credit lines and individual bonds within assigned authority level.
• Utilizes specialized knowledge, experience, and creative resources to find a wide range of solutions and articulates them to others.
• Understands and effectively communicates relationships between problem components.
• Perform special projects and other duties as assigned.
• Consistently acts according to our customer experience standards, including responding quickly, maintaining a positive attitude, building rapport, demonstrating empathy, managing the customer’s expectations, using the proper communication channel for the situation, and taking ownership to ensure the customer’s issue is resolved.

Director of Underwriting – Surety

Software Engineer

• Assist Application Development Team in all aspects of the software development lifecycle, including design, development, unit testing, and implementation of EnterpriseEngage software.
• Work closely with Guidewire Development Team using Guidewire Jutro/React framework.
• Collaborate with business partners, troubleshoot application issues, and occasionally interact with external vendors.
• Participate in work refinement and estimation with product team; prepare and execute unit testing.
• Work with product and change control teams to ensure quality deliveries; create and maintain documentation.
• Ensure timely delivery of projects and communicate delays and roadblocks.
• Solicit and perform code reviews; prepare technical specifications, flow charts, and data flow diagrams.
• Participate in troubleshooting, resolution, and communication of urgent production issues; identify automation opportunities.
• Perform special projects and flex to noncore responsibilities as needed.

Guidewire Digital Developer III

Human Resources

• Serve as a consultant to management on human resources–related business issues and act as both an employee champion and change agent
• Assess and anticipate human resources needs for assigned business units and proactively communicate those needs with Human Resources Team and leadership
• Identify and develop integrated HR solutions supporting company objectives and specific needs of assigned business units
• Build partnerships within Human Resources and deliver valued services to management and employees
• Support business units in Edina, Minnesota, and Anchorage, Alaska; travel to Anchorage at least quarterly
• Work in-office for the first 90 days, with opportunity to transition to a hybrid schedule afterward
• Provide workforce planning, organizational design, talent strategy, compliance, and employee relations guidance

HR Business Partner / Senior HR Business Partner

Consultant

• Consistently manages a book of assigned large accounts for a variety of industries and provides ongoing loss control services.
• Develops service plans and provides ongoing consultation, assessments, and training to policyholders and agents.
• Completes loss control surveys and reports information regarding risks, exposures, and controls.
• Uses established loss control practices, processes, and procedures to analyze operations and exposures of different types of risks.
• Assesses risk attitude for addressing uncontrolled exposures on new and existing business and identifies risk improvement opportunities through recommendations and safety program improvements.
• Applies advanced to expert-level knowledge of recognized codes and standards (e.g., OSHA, NFPA, DOT) and articulates findings to others.
• Proactively provides mentorship by leveraging a variety of learning approaches and demonstrates leadership; develops presentation materials and presents to external and internal customers.
• Successfully manages projects and takes lead role in project management and development of department resources; performs special projects as assigned.
• Utilizes specialized knowledge, experience, and creative resources to find a wide range of loss control solutions and articulates solutions to others.
• Works with agents to foster and develop relationships and market loss control capabilities to secure new business.
• Consistently acts according to customer experience standards, including responding quickly, maintaining a positive attitude, building rapport, demonstrating empathy, managing expectations, and taking ownership to resolve issues.
• Territory primarily Minnesota with occasional travel to North Dakota, South Dakota, and northwestern Wisconsin; may travel to other states as needed for workload support.

Senior Loss Control Consultant

Manager

• Builds and maintains strong relationships with existing and potential customers by understanding their needs and providing solutions that meet those needs
• Works closely with other departments (marketing, claims, underwriting) to ensure seamless customer experience and align sales strategies
• Analyzes sales metrics and performance data to identify areas for improvement and develop strategies to increase sales effectiveness
• Manages agency production and claims experience through report analysis; reviews production and profitability with agency personnel and follows up to assure sales objectives are achieved
• Recommends and implements appropriate corrective action plans independently
• Establishes regular meeting schedules with each assigned agency and conducts in-person agency visits
• Drives new business submissions to meet corporate growth initiatives for the territory
• Facilitates training on company products and systems, including internet-based technologies and new sales techniques in the agency office
• Acts as liaison between agencies and company to communicate changes and develop opportunities for new and renewal sales
• Works with Agency Sales Team toward established annual sales and production plans and develops talking points/sales approach
• Partners with subject matter experts for product and communication meetings
• Pulls agency reports to analyze and develop strategies and action plans for each agency and territory
• Understands and reports new business opportunities, competitor activities, and industry trends
• Develops and implements rehabilitation and termination programs when necessary
• Leads sales presentations and negotiations with key clients and prospects
• Researches and recommends new agencies for appointment by recruiting, interviewing, and assessing agency fit
• Assists agencies in resolving complex complaints regarding underwriting, claims service, or other internal Western National areas
• Collaborates with underwriting to develop core strategies for agencies and mentor underwriters on agency dynamics
• Consistently acts according to customer experience standards: respond quickly, maintain positive attitude, build rapport, demonstrate empathy, manage expectations, use proper communication channels, take ownership to resolve issues
• Other duties as assigned

Regional Agency Manager

• Builds and maintains strong relationships with existing and potential customers by understanding their needs and providing solutions that meet those needs
• Works closely with other departments, such as marketing, claims, and underwriting, to ensure a seamless customer experience and align sales strategies with overall company goals
• Analyzes sales metrics and performance data to identify areas for improvement and develops strategies for increasing sales effectiveness
• Manages agency production and claims experience through report analysis, reviews production and profitability results with agency personnel, and follows up to assure sales objectives are achieved
• Independently recommends and implements appropriate corrective action plans
• Establishes regular meeting schedules with each assigned agency to achieve corporate objectives through in-person agency visits
• Drives new business submissions to meet corporate growth initiatives for the territory by maintaining and strengthening relationships
• Promotes and provides for agency personnel by facilitating training on company products and systems, including internet-based technologies and new sales techniques in the agency office
• Acts as a liaison between the agencies and company to communicate changes and develops opportunities for new and renewal sales
• Works with all members of the Agency Sales Team to work toward established annual sales and production plans
• Develops talking points and sales approach to ensure proper messaging for Western National Insurance Group’s philosophy
• Pulls agency reports to analyze and develop strategies and action plans to manage each agency and territory accordingly
• Understands and reports new business opportunities, understands competitor activities, and stays informed about industry trends
• Develops and implements appropriate rehabilitation and termination programs when necessary
• Leads sales presentations and negotiations with key clients and prospects
• Develops and implements growth plans with key agencies
• Researches and recommends new agencies for appointment by recruiting, interviewing, and assessing the fit of the agency per established new appointment guidelines
• Assists agencies in resolving complex complaints regarding underwriting, claims service, or other internal Western National areas
• Collaborates with underwriting to develop core strategies for agencies and support account-level decisions and mentors underwriters
• Consistently acts according to customer experience standards, demonstrating empathy, managing expectations, and taking ownership to resolve issues
• Handles complaints and conflicts by striving to resolve them in a way that maintains customer satisfaction and loyalty
• Other duties as assigned

• Serve as a consultant to management on human resources–related business issues and act as both an employee champion and change agent
• Assess and anticipate human resources needs for assigned business units and proactively communicate those needs with members of the Human Resources Team and leadership
• Identify and develop integrated HR solutions supporting company objectives while meeting the specific needs of assigned business units
• Build partnerships within Human Resources and deliver valued services to management and employees
• Support business units in Edina, Minnesota and Anchorage, Alaska; travel to Anchorage at least quarterly
• Provide guidance on workforce planning, organizational design, talent strategies, and compensation best practices
• Identify human resources risks and proactively develop mitigation strategies
• Coach and influence senior leaders, manage conflict, and support employee relations
• Use HRIS (Workday preferred) and HR analytics to inform decisions and initiatives
• Work in-office for the first 90 days with opportunity to transition to a hybrid schedule afterward

• Drive revenue growth by selling property-and-casualty products through communication at agency locations and prospecting new agency relationships
• Build and maintain strong relationships with existing and potential independent agencies, understanding their needs and providing solutions
• Manage all facets of existing relationships between Western National and independent agencies, including agency production and claims experience
• Work closely with marketing, claims, underwriting and other departments to ensure seamless customer experience and align sales strategies
• Analyze sales metrics and performance data to identify improvements and develop strategies to increase sales effectiveness
• Pull and review agency reports to analyze production, profitability, and claims, and implement corrective action plans as needed
• Establish regular meeting schedules and conduct in-person agency visits to achieve corporate objectives
• Promote and provide training for agency personnel on company products, systems (including internet-based technologies), and new sales techniques
• Act as liaison to communicate changes, develop opportunities for new and renewal sales, and lead sales presentations and negotiations
• Research and recommend new agencies for appointment, recruiting and assessing fit per appointment guidelines
• Assist agencies in resolving complex complaints regarding underwriting, claims service, or other internal areas
• Collaborate with underwriting to develop core strategies, mentor underwriters, and support account-level decisions
• Develop and implement rehabilitation and termination programs when necessary
• Consistently act according to customer experience standards, demonstrating empathy, patience, and ownership to resolve issues

• Consistently manage a book of assigned large accounts for a variety of industries and provide ongoing loss control services
• Develop service plans and provide ongoing consultation, assessments, and training for policyholders
• Complete loss control surveys and report information regarding risks, exposures, and controls
• Analyze operations and exposures using established loss control practices, processes, and procedures
• Assess risk attitude and identify risk improvement opportunities through recommendations and safety program improvements
• Apply advanced to expert-level knowledge of recognized codes and standards (e.g., OSHA, NFPA, DOT) in survey work
• Provide mentorship and training to colleagues and demonstrate leadership skills
• Develop presentation materials and present to external and internal customers (policyholders, agents, underwriting, claims, leadership, peers)
• Lead and manage projects and develop department resources
• Work with agents to foster relationships and market loss control capabilities to secure new business
• Perform special projects and other duties as assigned

• Assist Application Development Team in all aspects of the software development lifecycle, including design, development, unit testing, and implementation of EnterpriseEngage software.
• Work closely with Guidewire Development Team using the Guidewire Jutro / React framework.
• Regularly interact with business partners across the organization.
• Collaborate in troubleshooting application issues and participate in work refinement and estimation processes with the product team.
• Prepare and execute unit testing on all new and modified code per standards.
• Work with product and change control teams to ensure quality deliveries and create/maintain documentation.
• Ensure timely delivery of projects and tasks and communicate delays and roadblocks.
• Collaborate with the product team to design, develop, test, and deploy application modifications.
• Prepare technical specifications, flow charts, and data flow diagrams to communicate designs.
• Perform code reviews and identify opportunities for process improvement.
• Participate in troubleshooting, resolution, and communication of urgent production issues.
• Find opportunities for automation of processes and tasks and perform special projects as assigned.

• Develops and implements underwriting strategies to achieve a balanced, profitable, quality book of surety business
• Selects, coaches, develops, and retains staff to achieve company, departmental, and individual goals
• Serves as a referral underwriter for underwriting staff and provides feedback and technical guidance
• May serve as a technical expert for surety-related systems and processes, working with IT on system and process improvements
• Establishes, delegates, and maintains underwriting authorities for underwriting staff
• Builds and maintains strong agency relationships and effectively manages underwriting and marketing staff to achieve growth and profitability goals
• Frequent travel (by car and plane) up to 50%, including overnight and weekend travel; visits assigned and prospect agencies and key accounts
• Travels to meet with remote underwriters and managers quarterly to develop territory and staffing
• Develops strategies to seize and develop new market opportunities and expand agency relationships throughout licensed states
• Networks within the insurance/surety community and attends industry events
• Develops, reviews, analyzes, and prepares periodic reports on regional operations and takes appropriate underwriting and rate actions
• Participates in initiatives to develop and improve processes and policies and interprets and executes policies within authority level
• Establishes account credit lines and individual bonds within assigned authority level
• Utilizes specialized knowledge and creative resources to find solutions and articulates them to others
• Performs special projects and other duties as assigned
• Consistently acts according to customer experience standards, including responding quickly, maintaining a positive attitude, building rapport, demonstrating empathy, and taking ownership to resolve issues

• Builds and maintains strong relationships with existing and potential agencies by understanding needs and providing solutions.
• Drives revenue growth by selling products through agency communication and prospecting.
• Analyzes sales metrics and agency production; develops and implements corrective action plans.
• Manages agency production and claims experience through report analysis and reviews production/profitability with agency personnel.
• Establishes regular meeting schedules and conducts in-person agency visits to achieve corporate objectives.
• Promotes and provides training on company products, systems, and new sales techniques.
• Acts as liaison between agencies and company; communicates changes and develops new and renewal sales opportunities.
• Collaborates with marketing, claims, underwriting, and other departments to ensure seamless customer experience.
• Pulls agency reports to analyze and develop territory strategies and growth plans.
• Leads sales presentations and negotiations; researches and recommends new agencies for appointment.
• Assists agencies in resolving complex underwriting or claims complaints and mentors underwriters on agency dynamics.
• Continuously seeks improvements in sales processes, team performance, and customer satisfaction.

Systems Engineer

Who are we? Western National Insurance Group is a private mutual insurance company with over 120 years of experience serving customers' property-and-casualty insurance needs in the Midwestern, Northwestern, and Southwestern United States. Known as “The Relationship Company®,” we define success as a measure of the relationships we’ve built over time. In everything that we do, we know that delivering a friendly and helpful interaction makes for a better experience for everyone involved. That’s the power of “nice”. At Western National, nice is something we work to bring to every person and organization with whom we partner and serve. Does this opportunity interest you? Western National is seeking a Principal Human Resources Systems Analyst to join our team! The individual in this role will be responsible for optimizing and maintaining the Workday HCM platform to support efficient and effective Human Resources (HR) operations. They will collaborate with HR, IT, finance, and business stakeholders to configure business processes, ensure data accuracy, and deliver meaningful reporting and insights. They will also lead Workday HCM implementations and enhancements, ensuring the system's functionality aligns with strategic HR and organizational goals. This role is based in our Edina, MN office and is eligible for hybrid work schedule after 90 days of employment. Configure, test, and deploy enhancements and business processes in Workday HCM. Serve as the SME for Workday HCM, providing guidance and training to HR and business users. Monitor and resolve system issues and recommend and implement improvements. Develop and maintain custom reports (e.g., Advanced, Matrix, Composite) and dashboards. Ensure data integrity through audits and support of HR data governance. Design and streamline business processes in alignment with compliance and policy. Lead and support Workday HCM implementations, module rollouts, and upgrades. Collaborate cross-functionally to identify configuration strategies and system improvements.

Principal Human Resources Systems Analyst

Director of Underwriting - Surety

• Builds and maintains strong relationships with existing and potential customers by understanding their needs and providing solutions that meet those needs.
• Works closely with other departments, such as marketing, claims, and underwriting, to ensure a seamless customer experience and align sales strategies with overall company goals.
• Analyzes sales metrics and performance data to identify areas for improvement and develops strategies for increasing sales effectiveness.
• Manages agency production and claims experience through report analysis, reviews production and profitability results with agency personnel, and follows up to assure sales objectives are achieved.
• Independently recommends and implements appropriate corrective action plans.
• Effectively establishes regular meeting schedules with each assigned agency to achieve corporate objectives through in-person agency visits.
• Drives new business submissions to meet corporate growth initiatives for the territory by maintaining and strengthening relationships.
• Promotes and provides for agency personnel by facilitating training on company products and systems, including internet-based technologies and new sales techniques in the agency office.
• Acts as a liaison between the agencies and company to communicate changes and develops opportunities for new and renewal sales.
• Works with all members of the Agency Sales Team to work toward established annual sales and production plans.
• Effectively develops talking points and sales approach to ensure proper messaging for Western National Insurance Group\u2019s philosophy.
• Partners with a subject matter expert for product and communication meetings.
• Pulls agency reports to analyze and develop strategies and action plans to manage each agency and territory accordingly.
• Understands and reports new business opportunities, understands competitor activities, and stays informed about industry trends.
• Develops and implements appropriate rehabilitation and termination programs when necessary.
• Continuously seeks ways to improve sales processes, enhance team performance, and increase customer satisfaction.
• Leads sales presentations and negotiations with key clients and prospects.
• Develops and implements growth plans with key agencies.
• Researches and recommends new agencies for appointment by recruiting, interviewing, and assessing the fit of the agency per established new appointment guidelines.
• Assists agencies in resolving complex complaints regarding underwriting, claims service, or other internal Western National areas.
• Collaborates with underwriting to develop core strategies for agencies and support account- level decisions.
• Works with underwriters to mentor and enhance their understanding of agency dynamics and communication and set them up for success.
• Works closely with all company departments to develop a high level of teamwork and cooperation to provide excellent service to agents and policyholders.
• Consistently acts according to our customer experience standards, including responding quickly, maintaining a positive attitude, building rapport, demonstrating empathy, managing the customer’s expectations, using the proper communication channel for the situation, and taking ownership to ensure the customer’s issue is resolved.
• Proficient ability in demonstrating empathy and patience when dealing with customers, especially when they are dealing with stressful situations or complex issues.
• Ability to quickly and effectively address customer inquiries by resolving issues and finding solutions that meet customer needs with minimal assistance from a leadership support system.
• Seeks feedback from customers to identify areas for improvement and works with various departments to implement change.
• Handles complaints and conflicts by striving to resolve them in a way that maintains customer satisfaction and loyalty.
• Other duties as assigned.