Head of New Business Experience & Enablement

Job Summary

Head of New Business Experience & Enablement is responsible for defining, owning, and evolving the end-to-end new business experience for Westfield's independent agents. This role drives the strategy, design, and continuous improvement of how new business is submitted, quoted, underwritten, and bound - across all digital and traditional channels.

Acting as the business owner for this experience, this individual will balance deep understanding of underwriting, product, pricing, operations, distribution, and marketing with design thinking and behavioral economics principles to deliver a uniquely simple and differentiated agent experience.

The Experience Owner will partner closely with IT product teams to define the roadmap, prioritize enhancements, and ensure investments in platforms like Westfield's proprietary online rating and underwriting system drive measurable improvement in ease of doing business. This includes leveraging AI and third-party data to reduce keystrokes, accelerate quotes, and improve data quality - while maintaining underwriting integrity and profitability.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership

• Own the vision and strategy for the new business experience across digital, comparative rater, traditional and non-traditional submission channels.
• Align business strategy, agent needs, and technology capabilities to deliver a frictionless, intuitive quoting and underwriting experience.
• Serve as the voice of the business and advocate for the agent in all capability decisions.
• Identify, prioritize, and sequence initiatives that drive measurable improvements in agent satisfaction, conversion rates, and operational efficiency.

Experience Design & Innovation

• Lead redesign of Westfield's proprietary online rating and underwriting platform to simplify workflows, reduce data entry, and improve quote accuracy.
• Partner with IT and data science to implement AI-enabled automation, including document ingestion, data extraction, and pre-filled quote generation.
• Champion the use of behavioral economics and UX design principles to guide desired user behaviors and improve agent decision-making.
• Leverage third-party and internal data sources to supplement submissions, reducing manual input and improving underwriting precision.

Cross-Functional Ownership

• Collaborate with Underwriting, Product, Pricing, Sales, Marketing, and Operations to ensure a unified experience that reflects the totality of the Westfield Small Business value proposition.
• Partner with Distribution and Field teams to gather agent insights, translate them into actionable requirements, and measure outcomes.
• Work with IT Product Owners and Scrum teams to ensure backlog prioritization reflects business impact and customer value.
• Define and track experience KPIs (e.g., ease of doing business, submission-to-quote speed, quote-to-bind ratio, agent NPS).

Market & Channel Development

• Lead assessment of the comparative rater and aggregator landscape, defining Westfield's participation strategy and competitive positioning.
• Continuously scan the market for emerging technologies, platforms, and data partnerships that can enhance the agent experience and support profitable growth.

Change Leadership & Communication

• Serve as a change champion, driving adoption of new tools and behaviors among internal teams and distribution partners.
• Communicate the vision, progress, and impact of experience improvements across the organization and to executive leadership.
• Represent the new business experience domain in cross-enterprise initiatives, ensuring alignment to Westfield's small business strategy.

Qualifications

• 7+ years of experience in small commercial insurance, with a strong understanding of underwriting, product development, pricing, and distribution.
• Proven track record of leading experience transformation or digital enablement initiatives within insurance or financial services.
• Bachelor's degree in Business, Marketing, Economics, or related field (MBA or advanced degree preferred).
• Familiarity with agile product delivery and ability to partner effectively with IT product owners and delivery teams.
• Working knowledge of AI/automation applications and data-driven decisioning in underwriting or quoting workflows.
• Preferred - Strong grounding in behavioral economics, human-centered design, and user experience optimization.

Location

• Hybrid - defined as working three or more days per week in the office if the employee's residence is within 50 miles of Westfield Center, OH; OR Remote-if the employee resides more than 50 miles from Westfield Center, OH.

Behavioral Competencies

• Strategic Mindset - Connects experience design to broader business outcomes and growth goals.
• Customer Focus - Advocates for the agent and ensures solutions create value for all stakeholders.
• Collaborates - Builds trust and alignment across IT, underwriting, sales, and operations.
• Innovates - Challenges the status quo with curiosity and data-driven experimentation.
• Communicates Effectively - Tailors communication to audiences from field agents to executives.
• Drives Results - Converts strategy into measurable outcomes and sustained improvements.

Technical & Business Skills

• Experience Mapping & Journey Design
• Data Analytics & Business Case Development
• AI and Automation Enablement
• Market & Competitive Analysis
• Agile Product Delivery Collaboration
• Commercial Lines Underwriting & Rating Concepts
• Digital Distribution & Comparative Rater Strategies
• Change Management & Adoption Planning

This job description describes the general nature and level of work performed in this role. It is not intended to be an exhaustive list of all duties, skills, responsibilities, knowledge, etc. These may be subject to change and additional functions may be assigned as needed by management.