Agency Operations & Marketing Specialist

JOB OBJECTIVE:

Assist building tools and best practices to support Encova business teams to profitably manage their agencies. Personally represent Encova Insurance to our agencies through positive agency relationships, marketing the benefits of Encova's products/services and utilization of available agency technology to facilitate profitable growth. Leverage the strategic agency partnership to develop an understanding of each agency's operations, monitor agency performance and apply that knowledge to provide recommendations for increased submission flow, portal adoption, distribution segmentation and best practices. Assist to design, coordinate and implement communication, onboarding and training for our agencies across all lines of business. Assist to review and process agent of record, co-op advertising. Assist to execute the strategy for agency entertainment contracts, marketing and events. Assist to execute the agency education program and related continuing education filings. Provide recommendations to continuously grow our relationships with our independent agents and networking relationships with state/national insurance associations.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS:

• Collaborate with business to conduct ongoing, comprehensive needs assessments as it relates to the communication, marketing and training for Encova's agency partners. Assist in identifying gaps, providing recommendations for improvement and determining priorities.
• Develop, implement and continuously improve the onboarding experience for all Encova agencies.
• Draft agency documentation to include but not limited to new or revised policies and procedures, best practices, training documents, presentations, and user guides.
• Provide recommendations related to problem-solving agency business process and system issues, including but not limited to best practices and tools improving Encova associates' ability to profitably manage our agency relationships.
• Assist to manage end-to-end agency training, including project timelines, priorities, and content, as appropriate. Create marketing/technical training curriculum and incorporate varied instructional design and delivery techniques.
• Collaborate with business to increase the automation and ease of capturing, tracking and maintaining visibility of key agency related metrics and information internally.
• Assist to manage the strategy to gather, research and analyze competitor pricing and products.
• Provide support to our associates in agent facing roles to keep them informed of training, marketing materials, analytics, business processes and system functionality that impact their book of business.
• Assist with the planning and execution of the spring and fall agency review process.
• Utilize training evaluation reports and agency performance metrics to assess training effectiveness and opportunities for ongoing agency education. Ensure agencies are leveraging the services and technology available to them by monitoring agency reports and targeting follow-up accordingly.
• Manage the agent of record and co-op advertising processes.
• Assist to manage the agency entertainment contracts, benefits, marketing and events related to our contracted partnerships.
• Assist to plan and execute agency education program, including but not limited to Encova Academy, Account manager/CSR, Producer roadshow. Assist to manage related CE provider filings through contracted vendor.
• Collaborate with internal and external stakeholders to gather ideas toward system enhancements, increased automation and ongoing development; drive priorities.
• Review industry, state and national user group publications, reporting on noteworthy activities and trends.

OTHER FUNCTIONS:

• Coordinate setup and initial downloads with agency personnel, agency management system vendors, and third parties. Troubleshoot download issues as needed.
• Coordinate setup of rating and bridging vendors.
• Other duties as assigned.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES:

• Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university strongly preferred.
• Minimum of two years' relevant experience in marketing, customer service, training and/or experience working in or with insurance agencies is required.
• Some overnight travel also required.
• Professional training, project management and/or insurance certification is strongly encouraged. Producer license must be obtained within six months.
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills and ability to speak professionally in front of a group. Position requires the ability to interact effectively with internal and external customers.
• Demonstrate ability to form strong partnerships and establish credibility with agency partners and internal business teams at all levels of the organization.
• Highly organized and detail oriented. Able to prioritize work and balance competing priorities utilizing excellent project management skills.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office products.
• Demonstrated ability to assimilate a range of technical information and concepts from different sources and convey the information to end users efficiently and effectively.
• Ability to conduct needs analysis and approach training initiatives with creativity and flexibility to accommodate different learning styles and engage an audience.
• Demonstrate a creative and entrepreneurial approach to sales and marketing initiatives.