VP, Investments – Specialty Finance

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** Job Description Summary
** As the VP, Investments leader for Specialty Finance, you will lead the development and management of innovative specialty finance insurance solutions, such as fund financing, structured credit, collateral protection, and residual value products. You’ll leverage your investment expertise and strategic vision to oversee underwriting practices, portfolio management, and a team of seasoned professionals.

Your role requires you to collaborate closely with internal teams and external partners, especially Ryan Specialty, to ensure robust underwriting guidelines and effective risk management. In this position, you are responsible for establishing underwriting strategies, maintaining quality control, and setting portfolio targets that align with Nationwide’s overall risk exposure. You’ll build strong relationships across departments—including Technology, Operations, Actuarial, Finance, Office of Investments and Compliance—to support sound decision-making.

You will also design performance and risk measurement tools, identify new product opportunities, and mentor talent to drive business results and growth.
****** Job Description
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* Key Responsibilities:

*** Provide profit-oriented, risk-appropriate underwriting leadership for Specialty Finance, maintaining awareness of market trends and developments to inform strategic direction and product innovation.
* Establish and maintain comprehensive underwriting strategies, guidelines, referral protocols, quality control, monitoring processes, and effective communications.
* Define the framework for setting target portfolios of Specialty Finance products, ensuring alignment with Nationwide’s overall risk exposure.
* Navigates complex challenges, makes data-driven decisions, and builds trusted partnerships at all levels of the company.
* Foster strong collaboration across supporting functions—including Technology, Operations, Actuarial, Finance, Reserving, Reinsurance, Audit, Compliance, Legal, Risk Management, and Claims—to enhance decision-making in underwriting.
* Partner with risk professionals to develop and implement methodologies for evaluating risk and return, integrating asset-oriented and product-focused perspectives into underwriting guidelines, and ensuring alignment with Ryan Specialty.
* Oversee Specialty Finance leads, guiding the design, implementation, and monitoring of operating manuals, and incorporating feedback from internal and external stakeholders.
* Develop and implement performance and risk measurement tools and reporting systems in partnership with Specialty Finance asset leads and reporting teams.
* Build and maintain relationships with internal and external partners to identify and evaluate new product opportunities.
* Recruit, mentor, and develop talent, providing consistent feedback and fostering professional growth.

May perform other responsibilities as assigned.
** Reporting Relationships:
** Reports to SVP, Enterprise CRO. Leads a team of Investment, Actuarial and Risk professionals.
** Typical Skills and Experiences:
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* Education:

** Bachelor’s Degree; MBA, MS or MA in business administration, economics, finance, or CFA preferred.  
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* Experience:

** At least 10 years of related investment experience.
** Knowledge, Abilities and

Skills:

** Proven to have a deep expertise in institutional asset management, especially in structured products and private markets, with a demonstrated ability to evaluate complex investments. Strong analytical, problem-solving, and negotiating skills are essential, along with proficiency in asset underwriting and return on capital analysis. Effective communication, leadership, and collaboration are key, as is the ability to think critically and creatively, work independently, and manage multiple tasks under pressure.

Professionalism, reliability, and the capacity to…