"Insurance & Financial Risk Manager"

Insurance & Financial Risk Manager

Notre Dame, IN, United States
Full-time
Vice President for Finance
EIC3

Company Description

The University's Finance Division is committed to being a best-in-class partner, delivering impactful, innovative, and forward-thinking financial solutions that inform strategic decisions and empower Notre Dame to be a force for good in the world. As today's financial stewards for tomorrow's leaders, our daily work comes with a higher purpose.

Specifically, the Office of Treasury Services collaborates with stakeholders across the University and beyond to transform ideas into reality, execute strategies, and support operational excellence. In addition to Insurance & Financial Risk, the Office of Treasury Services includes the areas of Cash Management, Capital Planning, Debt and Real Estate. The overarching goal of Treasury Services is to maximize economic value, contributing to making a Notre Dame education affordable for current and future generations.

Job Description

Who We Are / What We Do

Our team is seeking an experienced and dynamic Insurance & Financial Risk Manager to provide strategic leadership and expertise in managing the University's core functions of insurance and mitigation of financial risk associated with loss events. This pivotal role involves the identification, evaluation, analysis, and appropriate retention/transfer of financial risk, serving as a primary resource for all University constituents.

Key responsibilities include:

• Insurance Leadership and Program Management: Provide primary strategic management over the insurance function, developing financial risk transfer strategies, policies, and protocols that aligns with the University's operational, financial, and risk mitigation goals.
• Insurance Portfolio Management: Lead the comprehensive management of the University's insurance portfolio. This includes evaluating whether financial risks are best managed through external transfer or internal mitigation strategies. When external transfer is warranted, propose and implement appropriate insurance structures, including coverage limits and retentions. Lead the review, negotiation, and procurement of individual insurance policies, including property, casualty, athletics, and international travel among others. Continuously assess the portfolio to identify coverage gaps, enhance contract language, and negotiate favorable terms, ensuring optimal financial risk protection, compliance, and stewardship.
• Risk Identification & Analysis: Identify current and emerging operational and enterprise level risks for the University, evaluating emerging trends and their potential impact, and advising campus and senior leadership on proposed financial risk mitigation strategies.
• Execute Alternative Risk Strategies: Explore and implement alternative risk strategies as appropriate to mitigate or transfer financial risk. This role provides strategic direction and has operational responsibility over implementation and expansion of the University's Self-Insurance Programs. Establish deductible and self-insurance levels, maintain adequate reserves to fund deductibles and self-insured losses, and manage the insurance and self-insurance budgets and claims, providing detailed reports to leadership.
• Contractual Risk Transfer: Serve as the primary subject matter expert in reviewing and negotiating insurance-related contract language, determining appropriate external insurance requirements for University contractors and service providers, and supporting and advising the Office of General Counsel and other campus constituents in the review of indemnification and insurance related provisions. Prepare waiver/release and indemnification agreements for campus operations and events as appropriate.
• Claims Administration: Administer the property and casualty claim process, including preliminary incident investigations, validating claims, evaluating liability exposures, determining applicable coverage, and actively pursuing subrogation of claims against third parties, including the negotiation of settlements. Note that this position is not responsible for Workers Compensation or Athletics Injury claims management.
• Teambuilding: Lead and convene teams across campus, serving as an expert in the areas of insurance and financial risk. Provide problem-solving recommendations and solutions that may cross many departments and functions throughout campus.
• Relationship Management: Foster and maintain strong positive relationships with multiple insurance brokers, insurance companies, third-party administrators, and internal stakeholders and senior leaders across various University units, external constituents and peer universities.
• Reporting and Administration: Maintain university-wide insurance schedules, background information, and comprehensive records to support the completion of insurance applications and reporting to carriers. Understand and explain complex insurance policy documents to senior management. Manage and oversee the risk and insurance management system (RMS) including data entry, upload, information verification, and report generation.

The Ideal Candidate

• Has significant insurance experience (7+ years preferred) in the field, with a strong background in commercial property and casualty insurance.
• Aspires to be recognized as an industry leader in higher education financial risk management.
• Possesses a curious and collaborative nature and an eagerness to understand University practices, while being comfortable suggesting and leading change and optimizing efficiency.
• Demonstrates a strong aptitude for critical thinking and more specifically with respect to financial risk mitigation and alternative insurance-related strategies.
• Has the proven ability to work independently, research complex issues, problem-solve, and propose effective solutions while being flexible to work collaboratively as part of a team, as appropriate.
• Exhibits excellent written and verbal communication skills, comfortable working with diverse internal stakeholders and external partners.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's Degree or equivalent experience; relevant industry certifications (ARM, CPCU, etc.) strongly preferred.
• 7+ years of progressive commercial property and casualty insurance experience; experience working within higher education a plus.
• Demonstrated strategic leadership capabilities in comprehensive insurance management.
• Collaborative nature and eagerness to understand University practices, while comfortable suggesting and leading change.
• Ability to work independently, research issues, problem-solve, and propose implementable and innovative solutions to complex challenges.
• Proven ability to review, establish, and refine procedures and optimize efficiency.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Aptitude for financial analysis and technical insurance requirements with high attention to detail.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office Suite - Experience with Riskonnect RMS system a plus.