Business Development Manager [North America]

WHO WE ARE | Founded in 2018 and headquartered in Paris, Descartes Underwriting was born of the conviction that climate change calls for a revolution in the insurance industry to better protect individuals, businesses, and governments. We provide data-driven insurance products based on satellite imagery and IoT to protect corporate and public sector clients against climate risk and natural catastrophes. Following a Series A funding of 18m USD in September 2020, we opened offices in New York, Singapore, Sydney and London. Today, Descartes’ ambitious and international team of 40+ is proud to protect 150+ clients – several from the Fortune 500 – in 60+ countries.

OUR PURPOSE | Losses from catastrophes and man-made disasters are likely to increase year after year due to demographic density and climate change. We firmly believe that the insurance sector can and must play a critical role in helping enterprises and individuals cope with climate risk. This will require, however, a deep transformation of the sector, as current insurance products often lack transparency, carry expensive premiums, and come with slow claims processing.

OUR APPROACH | True to our namesake, René Descartes, one of the greatest European scientific philosophers of the 17th Century, our company draws a distinct advantage in challenging the approach adopted by traditional insurers. Utilizing forward-looking models and real-time monitoring from satellite imagery, IoT and big data analytics, Descartes’ products help businesses bounce back faster. In collaboration with our partners, our parametric insurance products can serve clients across the globe, from mid-size tickets to EUR +100 million.

ABOUT THE ROLE

In close collaboration with the Head of North America for Descartes Insurance Solutions and the Senior Business Development Manager, you will aid in business development activities in North America.

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

• Help build upon Descartes’ corporate broker network in the North American market, building strong relationships to generate new opportunities & secure renewals
• Promote the value proposition of Descartes’ parametric products as a pro-active element within brokers' strategic toolkit
• Understand and build upon the North American market needs for parametric offerings in order to generate and maintain meaningful business opportunities
• Represent Descartes externally at Broker, Client and Industry meetings & events; including occasional public speaking engagements
• Support the ongoing sales & marketing strategies (incl. digital) for the North American market

CROSS FUNCTIONAL COLLABORATION

• Closely collaborate with other BD team members, as well as the Paris-based Underwriting organization to optimize business opportunities & meet objectives
• Coordinate with relevant stakeholders to ensure smooth policy issuance and claims settlement processes
• Monitor insurance industry, and parametric specific developments in the North American market, effectively communicating insights internally
• Travel: this position will entail regular domestic travel activities, including overnight stays

ABOUT YOU

EXPERIENCE & QUALIFICATIONS

• Minimum 3 to 5 years’ experience in the North American P&C market, in a business development, underwriting and/or broker capacity
• Candidates with experience from brokerage firms or underwriting companies highly preferred
• Expertise in Commercial Property insurance (incl. NatCat) and/or Parametric risk space preferred

SKILLS

• Fluency in English (written and verbal communication) – required
• Good command of one additional language (e.g. Spanish, French) – valued
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, incl. sales & negotiation
• Strong analytical capabilities and financial acumen

MINDSET

• Results oriented, high energy, with the ability to work in a dynamic and multi-cultural environment
• Excellent team player with an entrepreneurial mindset and value of diversity
• Desire to take on new challenges associated with existing in a startup environment
• Motivated to learn and help improve businesses’ and communities’ resilience to climate change

COMPENSATION & BENEFITS

We offer a competitive compensation and benefits package, in accordance with candidates’ experience & qualifications. At Descartes Underwriting, we value diversity across multiple dimensions – cultural, cognitive, leadership & experience. Our diverse multilingual and multicultural team is core to our value proposition, allowing us to think & build globally from the first iteration. We seek talents who subscribe to these core values.