Senior Audit Lead, Underwriting Quality & Risk Oversight

Senior Audit Lead, Underwriting Quality & Risk Oversight### Senior Audit Lead, Underwriting Quality & Risk Oversight Apply:
US - New York:
Posted Today:
R-174423
** Experience Aviva
** Individually, we are people, but together we are Aviva. Individually, these are just words, but together they are our Values:
Care, Commitment, Community, and Confidence.  At Aviva, we help customers build resilience and move forward with confidence. We foster an inclusive workplace where diverse perspectives are valued, innovation is encouraged, and colleagues are empowered to grow their careers while making a meaningful impact.  As we establish Aviva's presence in the United States, we're seeking talented individuals inspired to build, shape, and lead this new organization.

Joining Aviva Specialty means stepping onto the ground floor of a thoughtfully designed Commercial Insurance organization built for the long term, blending underwriting heritage, disciplined execution, and capital strength with agility, innovation, and entrepreneurial thinking.
** The Opportunity
** As Senior Audit Lead, Underwriting Quality & Risk Oversight, you will establish and lead Aviva Specialty's underwriting quality assurance, audit, and governance framework. Reporting directly to the Chief Underwriting Officer, you will provide independent oversight of underwriting execution across business units and help ensure consistent adherence to risk appetite, risk selection standards, delegated authority, pricing discipline, underwriting guidelines, and regulatory requirements.

This role combines deep technical underwriting expertise with enterprise-level governance, analytical insight, and change leadership. You will design audit methodologies and quality scorecards, lead targeted and broad-based file reviews, identify emerging risks and control gaps, and translate findings into practical actions that strengthen underwriting consistency, profitability, and portfolio quality.

You will partner closely with Underwriting, Product, Claims, Actuarial, Compliance, Risk Management, Finance, and Operations. The successful candidate will be a highly credible underwriting leader who can challenge constructively, influence senior stakeholders, and build a best-in-class oversight function in a growing U.S. specialty insurance organization.
** What You'll Do
*** Underwriting Quality & Audit Leadership
** Design, implement, and lead the enterprise underwriting quality assurance and audit program across Aviva Specialty's business units and product segments.
* Establish risk-based audit methodologies, file review standards, sampling approaches, quality scorecards, documentation requirements, and escalation protocols.
* Lead targeted and broad-based reviews of underwriting decisions, portfolio practices, and adherence to established standards.
* Evaluate compliance with underwriting guidelines, risk appetite, pricing standards, referral requirements, documentation expectations, and delegated authority limits.
* Apply sound underwriting judgment to distinguish isolated exceptions from systemic issues requiring broader intervention.
* Governance & Risk Oversight
** Serve as a key advisor to the Chief Underwriting Officer on underwriting governance, quality, controls, and risk management matters.
* Identify emerging underwriting risks, control gaps, process weaknesses, and patterns that may affect portfolio quality or financial performance.
* Monitor adherence to underwriting frameworks, policies, governance requirements, and applicable regulatory obligations.
* Support enterprise risk management and governance initiatives related to underwriting performance, portfolio quality, and control effectiveness.
* Provide constructive challenge while maintaining strong, collaborative relationships with underwriting and functional leaders.
* Analytics & Executive Reporting
** Develop dashboards, scorecards, key risk indicators, and management reporting for underwriting leadership and governance committees.
* Analyze audit findings and underwriting performance data to identify systemic issues, training needs, control enhancements, and opportunities for continuous improvement.
* Present clear findings, trend analyses, and practical recommendations to executive leadership and relevant governance forums.
* Track underwriting quality metrics, corrective actions, and progress against agreed performance and control objectives.
* Partner with data and technology teams to improve the quality, accessibility, and use of…