Vice President, Unit Leader- Commercial Insurance

Vice President, Real Estate Unit Leader

Virtus Insurance, a nine-time Best Places to Work in Insurance award-winner, is redefining what a modern brokerage looks like. We are fast, specialized, and relentlessly client-centric, operating across Real Estate, Hospitality, Private Capital, Benefits, Construction, Retail & Distribution, Food & Beverage and Small Business / Personal Lines. Our culture rewards ownership, excellence, and fearless pursuit.

We are looking for a proven leader who wants to build something extraordinary.

What This Role Is:

The Vice President, Real Estate Unit Leader is a high-impact leadership role responsible for managing some of the firm's largest Commercial Real Estate clients and leading a high-performing Real Estate Client Success Unit. You will be the operational engine, the cultural standard-bearer, and a key strategic partner in advancing one of Virtus' most important industry verticals.

At scale, this role will transition to full people leadership, managing direct reports exclusively.

This is a role for someone who wants both command and accountability and the autonomy to build a best-in-class practice within a growing national platform.

Who Thrives at Virtus:

• Embody the Virtus Core Values: Better Tomorrow, Fearless Pursuit, One Virtus.
• Are energized by leading people, elevating performance, and building high-trust teams.
• Manage complex Real Estate placements with confidence and technical mastery.
• Are a disciplined operator who values process, quality, and measurable results.
• Communicate with clarity, conviction, and executive polish.
• Want a seat at the table helping shape the future of the Real Estate Practice.

Key Responsibilities:

1. Leadership & Team Development
• Lead and mentor a full Real Estate Client Success Unit (AEs, AMs, CAS).
• Set the standard for service excellence, technical accuracy, and client experience.
• Conduct workflow reviews, renewal readiness checks, and quality audits.
• Optimize workload distribution and team capacity planning.
• Deliver real time coaching, formal evaluations, and individualized development plans.
• Recruit and retain top performers; support succession and bench strength.
• Serve as senior point of escalation for client issues, carrier obstacles, or process bottlenecks.
• Maintain compliance with all internal systems, documentation, and licensing standards.
• Lead weekly or bi-weekly alignment meetings with the team focused on performance, renewal excellence and career progression.
2. Strategic Practice Leadership
• Collaborate with Practice Leadership on service model evolution, operational strategy, and staffing structure.
• Participate in leadership meetings and support practice level forecasting and financial planning.
• Lead cross functional improvements to drive efficiency and scalable growth.
• Influence key stakeholders and help roll out new workflows and service innovations.
• Reinforce One Virtusbuilding cohesion, alignment, and shared accountability.
3. Book of Business Management
• Manage a personal portfolio of upper-middle-market Commercial Real Estate accounts until a certain Book scale is reached, then exclusively manage the Unit team members.
• Lead strategy around coverage architecture, risk transfer, stewardship reporting, and renewal planning.
• Maintain deep understanding of each client's business model, risk exposure, operations, and strategic priorities.
• Provide executive-level guidance on risk management, market conditions, and financial structures.
• Maintain exceptional retention and growth metrics across assigned accounts.
4. Portfolio Oversight & Technical Excellence
• Provide oversight into unit deliverables: proposals, marketing strategies, and submissions.
• Review complex placements including layered property programs, self-insured retention programs, captives, builder's risk, management liability, cyber, and specialty structures.
• Ensure delivery meets Virtus standards for quality, accuracy, and documentation.
• Strengthen carrier and wholesaler partnerships and utilize market insights to drive strong outcomes.
• Stay current on industry trends, legal changes, and emerging Real Estate risks.
5. Operational & Financial Accountability
• Own unit KPIs: retention, renewal discipline, file quality, service plans, client satisfaction.
• Support practice profitability through revenue execution, margin discipline, and cross-sell strategies.
• Ensure timely, precise completion of all renewals, endorsements, certificates, audits, and communications.
• Support producers in strategic planning and new business opportunities.

Qualifications:

• 510+ years commercial insurance experience with proven Real Estate specialization.
• Direct experience leading, coaching, or managing within a brokerage environment.
• Deep technical understanding of complex Real Estate risks and placements.
• Strong negotiation skills and ability to build connection quickly.
• Proficient with modern systems, workflows, insurance platforms and Microsoft 365.
• Exceptional communication skills including public speaking and executive presentation.
• Bachelor's degree preferred; CPCU or related designations strongly preferred.
• Active Property & Casualty license.

What Will Make You Stand Out:

• Expertise in large Real Estate programs, alternative risk, captives, aggregate deductibles, and self-insured retention structures.
• Experience leading large multi-stakeholder engagements at scale.
• Proven track record of team performance improvement and operational excellence.
• Prior Unit Manager, Client Service Leader, or similar leadership experience at a top brokerage.

Physical Requirements:

The employee must be able to sit, use hands to handle or feel, talk or hear frequently; and occasionally stand, walk, and reach with hands and arms. Must have close and distance vision.

Travel:

Approximately 10%-20% dependent on client needs.

Why Join Virtus?

Virtus offers the freedom and trust to build a world-class practice within a supportive, high-performance environment. We invest in our people through:

• Market-leading compensation and bonus programs
• 401(k)
• Health, dental, and vision
• Unlimited PTO
• Continuous professional development
• An entrepreneurial culture where great ideas become reality

Push Forward We've got your back!