Deputy Insurance Commissioner - Operations Division

This recruitment will remain open until March 21, 2025. The agency reserves the right to make a hiring decision at any time after the initial screening date on February 28, 2025. It is in the applicant’s best interest to submit materials as soon as possible.

Make a Difference: Protect Consumers & Join Our Dynamic Team!

The Office of the Insurance Commissioner (OIC) seeks a motivated and qualified individual for a Deputy Insurance Commissioner for the Operations Division. This role is based out of our Tumwater Office.

WHY OIC?

• Meaningful work: Ensure a healthy insurance market & protect Washington consumers.
• Impactful career: Make a daily difference in the lives of countless Washingtonians.
• Small agency, big opportunities: Gain a holistic understanding of our mission and build strong relationships with colleagues.
• Flexible work options: Hybrid work opportunities.

About the Position

This position is an executive leader, reporting directly to the Chief Deputy Insurance Commissioner, managing the agency's Operations Division comprised of the following business units:

• Fiscal (Budget & Finance)
• Office Support
• Facilities
• Employee Health, Safety and Security
• Telecommunications
• Information Technology
• Public Records
• Presiding Officer for Administrative Hearings

The Deputy of Operations has oversight of key functions including IT infrastructure, budget development and accounting processes, procurement and management of assets, business process transformation efforts, business continuity plans and workplace health and safety, and compliance with the state Public Records Act.  

As a member of the Executive Management Team (EMT), this position participates in setting the strategic direction for the agency, establishing legislative priorities, ensuring fiscal responsibility, and creating an inclusive, performance-based culture. 

Apply today and become a leader of our dedicated and professional team!

This is a civil service exempt position. The annual salary for this position is $165,000.00.

Benefits & Perks

• Comprehensive benefits package: Health, dental, vision, retirement, paid leave (vacation, sick, etc.) and much more!
• Supportive work environment: We value diversity, professional growth, and collaborative atmosphere.
• Wellness programs: Invest in your well-being with on-site resources and initiatives.
• Work-life balance: Flexible schedules with telework opportunities.
• Public service fulfillment: Contribute to a cause that matters and feel the satisfaction of serving the public good.
• Training & Development: Continuously learn and grow with tuition reimbursement. Public Service Loan Forgiveness, and other programs.
• Free parking (Tumwater) & Public transportation pass (Thurston County): Save on commuting costs.
• And more! Explore our website for additional benefits: https://www.insurance.wa.gov

This position manages, plans, leads, organizes and directs all the activities of the Operations Division. To accomplish its mission, primary responsibilities include but are not limited to:

• Oversee and monitors the agency’s Business Plan, including implementation of plans for updating the agency’s strategic plan and developing the biennial budget request and biennial business plan.
• Ensure division managers liaise effectively with Department of Enterprise Services (DES), Office of Financial Management (OFM), including Office of the State Chief Information Officer (CIO), Central Technology Services, Office of the Attorney General and Secretary of State’s Office.
• Work with Chief Deputy and other executive managers to prepare the agency biennial and supplemental budgets and agency allotments.
• Manage the division’s budget within appropriate allotments.
• Provide direction and oversight for the agency’s records management program and ensure public disclosure and records management policies and processes conform to best practices set forth by the Office of the Secretary of State.
• Provide direction and guidance for facilities management and leasing strategies, including contracts for janitorial, security, generator and HVAC maintenance.
• Oversee the development of the agency contingency plans and ensure processes and procedures are in place to mitigate financial, operational and reputational risks.
• Provide administrative supervision and support for the presiding officer who reports directly to the Commissioner on all adjudicatory matters.

To read more about this position and view all duties, click here to request a position description.

Required Experience, Competencies and/or Education:

Experience for both required and desired qualifications can be gained through various combinations of formal professional employment, education, and volunteer experience. See below for how you may qualify.

A total of 10 years of full-time experience and/or education as described below:

• Demonstrated Experience in five of the following areas:
  • Strategic planning and business development
  • Legislative analysis and relations
  • Developing and implementing policies
  • Interested party relations
  • Financial management skills, including developing and managing budgets
  • Adapting communication and presentation styles for diverse audiences

• Supervisory Experience: Five years of experience in a public sector management position that includes the supervision of supervisors and/or other managers, performance management, sharing an organizational vision, and providing leadership in a changing environment.
• Education: involving a major study in business administration, public administration, law, finance, economics, statistics, or public policy, or a related field. Education must be from an accredited institution whose accreditation is recognized by the U.S. Department of Education or the Council of Higher Education Accreditation or a foreign equivalent.

All experience and education combinations that meet the requirements for this position:

Additional Required Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Intermediate proficiency using Microsoft Office products including Word, Excel, and Outlook; ability to create, edit, modify, save, and delete documents and spreadsheets; including locating and accurately modifying existing files and templates for reuse.
• Demonstrated ability to plan, prioritize, and organize workloads to meet deadlines.
• Demonstrated ability to be on the job and a be a productive team member in a busy unit with deadlines and seasonal workload issues.
• Basic computer skills with Acrobat Adobe.

Demonstratable experience for the following Executive Management competencies:

Ethics and Integrity: Earn the trust, respect, and confidence of coworkers and customers through consistent honesty, forthrightness and professionalism in all interactions. Avoid inappropriate situations and actions which present the appearance of a conflict of interest. Use the public’s funds and resources appropriately. Keep promises and commitments made to others. Meet goals and deadlines.

Accountability: Accept personal responsibility for the quality and timeliness of work. Achieve results with little need for oversight. Understand, communicate and measure goals accurately in relation to the agency’s strategic direction and related priorities. Effectively use available time and resources to balance quality of work to meet deadlines. Address issues and face up to problems with people quickly and directly.

Strategic thinking: Use strategic thinking to evaluate proposed actions and timelines against organizational mission and values. Make final decisions on acceptability, pertinence, and large-scale value of the plan.

Fiscal responsibility: Responsibly and accurately manage the public’s money when committing fiscal and human resources. Responsibly allocate and account for use of resources, evaluating alternatives and weighing their benefits.

Performance leadership: Create and nurture a performance-based culture that supports efforts to accomplish the organizational mission and goals. Articulate the agency mission/vision/values and priorities so staff are able to recognize how their everyday work helps the agency succeed. Create credibility and confidence in agency leadership by listening, thinking ahead and responding to issues. Ensure all employees are given regular, timely feedback on performance. Adapt leadership style to various situations and individuals.

Inclusiveness: Actively contribute to a work environment that embraces diversity and uses diverse perspectives to enhance the attainment of organizational goals. Treat everyone with respect. Respect the talents and contributions of all individuals.

Political and organizational awareness: Use knowledge and understanding of the organizational and political climate to make decisions and take actions that satisfy diverse interests and contribute effectively to organizational goals.

Understand and share the vision, mission, functions, resources, values, culture, and business strategies of the organization and appropriately align resources to achieve the agency mission and related priorities. Ensure staff understand how their work supports the agency mission and priorities.

Demonstrable experience for the following position specific competencies:

Results orientation and initiative: Focus on results and desired outcomes and how best to achieve them. Think proactively and make timely decisions to effectively align the resources needed to achieve results. Delegate appropriately to get the job done through others. Be open to feedback about your own performance and work to improve.

Budget development: Experience preparing budgets for approval, including those for funding and implementation of programs. This includes directing and monitoring expenditures of department funds.

Program & policy development: Develop and implement strategies, policies, procedures, guidelines, and other resources for various initiatives

Political process: Experience with the political/legislative process. This experience may include researching and providing information as testimony before a legislative or other government committee.

Planning: Logically integrate various ideas, intentions, and information to form effective goals, objectives, timelines, action plans, and solutions. Clearly identify risks and potential tasks, activities, and timelines necessary to achieve the strategies that support agency mission and priorities. Identify action items that are most pertinent, critical, and time sensitive and establish priorities to sequence activities accordingly. Accurately assess the resources necessary to carry out planned actions and to mitigate risks. Understand and plan for the impacts to staff, customers, and other stakeholders.

Customer focus: Build and maintain internal and external customer satisfaction with the products and services offered by the organization. Put the customer first, making excellent customer service a high priority. Anticipate, assess and respond timely to changing customer needs. Consistently go beyond basic service expectations to help customers implement complete solutions. Consistently help customers achieve desired outcomes. Emphasize team approach to providing excellent customer service.

Interpersonal influence: Influence others within the organization to be excited, enthused, and committed to furthering the organization’s objectives. Set clear, reasonable expectations and follow through. Empower others to take appropriate action. Display a positive attitude and optimism about the work, co-workers, customers, and employer policies. Facilitate development of shared mission, vision, and key values and use those principles to guide actions.

Address problems and issues in an open, constructive, professional manner.

Communication effectiveness: Convey clear, timely, persuasive messages that positively influence the thoughts and actions of others. Clearly and effectively communicate with individuals and groups within and outside of the organization. Listen well to others, test for understanding, accurately convey information and ideas to others, and look for opportunities to remove communication barriers. Be responsive to various styles and needs based on the individual or audience.

Analysis: Use data and information in a clear and rational thought process to assess and understand issues, evaluate options, form accurate conclusions, and make decisions. Judge or infer appropriate responses to a set of information on the basis of clear guidelines or procedures. Form accurate conclusions regarding actions to be taken. In the absence of clear guidelines or information, use judgment and critical thinking to infer appropriate meaning and form conclusions necessary to resolving the problem or issue.

Coaching and mentoring: Actively partner with staff to provide information, technique, instruction, feedback and encouragement to maximize their success on the job. Support risk-taking by encouraging staff to stretch outside of comfort levels to gain new skills. Identify and mentor possible candidates to assume leadership positions within the agency.

Attendance: Takes personal responsibility to demonstrate regular, punctual, and reliable attendance necessary to perform duties of a full-time position at the scheduled work location. The use of leave must comply with standards outlined in agency policies. Leave requests should be accurate and submitted timely for approval.

Confidentiality: Ability to maintain confidentiality by safeguarding sensitive information, adhering to privacy standards, and avoiding unauthorized disclosure.

Preferred/Desired Education, Experience, and Competencies

• A Masters degree in public or business administration, or related field.
• Direct experience managing a large program responsible for implementing changes in laws, policies, and/or business practices.
• Experience in the public sector managing or responding to public disclosure requests. 
• Direct experience developing business plan strategies and related performance measures.
• Experience coaching and mentoring staff to help them overcome performance challenges and/or achieve growth and development goals.

Ready to join us?

Learn more about the OIC by visiting our website. We encourage you to check out our video below and listen to what our employees have to say about working here! 

Welcome to the OIC

Submit your application today and take the first step towards a rewarding career at the OIC!

• State law (RCW 48.02.090[5]) prohibits employees of the OIC from having any interest, directly or indirectly, in an insurance company other than as a policyholder. This prohibition includes the receipt of renewal commissions. If employment is accepted with this agency, you agree to abide by this state law.
• If a degree or other credentials are listed by the candidate, proof will be required at the finalist stage. Candidates are encouraged to pre-plan for this. University degrees must be recognized by the U.S. Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) or foreign equivalent.
• If a degree was awarded outside the United States, candidates must provide a credential evaluation report.
• Prior to a new hire, a background check including criminal record history will be conducted. Information from the background check will not necessarily preclude employment but will be considered in determining the applicant’s suitability and competence to perform in the position.
• At the OIC, honoring diversity, equity, and inclusion means that as an agency, and as individuals, we are committed to ensuring that all employees and volunteers enjoy a respectful, safe, and supportive working environment. Only by fostering the inclusion of people from all backgrounds, cultures, and attributes, can OIC employees and volunteers achieve their fullest potential and best advance the goals and mission of the agency.
• The Office of Insurance Commissioner is an equal opportunity employer, does not discriminate on the basis of age, sex, marital status, sexual orientation, race, creed, color, national origin, honorably discharged veteran or military status, or the presence of any sensory, mental, or physical disability or the use of a trained service animal by a person with a disability. Persons requiring reasonable accommodation in the application process or requiring information in an alternative format may contact the recruitment team at Recruitment@oic.wa.gov. Those with a hearing impairment in need of accommodation are encouraged to contact the Washington Relay Service at 1-800-676-3777 or www.washingtonrelay.com. 
• If you are having technical difficulties creating, accessing (log in, password or email issues) or completing your application (error messages), please call toll-free at (855) 524-5627.
• For general questions regarding applying for jobs, contact the recruiter or Recruitment@oic.wa.gov. 

How to Apply: 

1. Create an online account: Go to the job posting and click the big green “Apply” button. You’ll need to set up an account if you haven’t already.
2. Complete your application: Be sure to answer all the questions fully and honestly. Avoid vague answers like “see resume.” This may result in disqualification.

3. Attach your cover letter and resume. Applications that do not include a cover letter and resume or are incomplete will be automatically disqualified.

Your application will be evaluated based on how closely your qualifications and experience meet the required and/or preferred qualifications of the position.  Applications missing the requested information or containing incomplete responses may be disqualified and removed from further consideration. 

General suggestions for creating a good application:

• Read the job posting very carefully. Find out as much as you can about the position.
• Make sure you are very diligent in following all the application instructions.  Include all requested documentation. 
• Make sure your application and supplemental question responses address how you meet each of the required and desired qualifications. 

• Carefully read each of the supplemental questions and respond completely to each one. Pay attention to each component of the question, providing examples, and thoroughly describing when and where you achieved the experience. Detail the types of work you performed, the work products, etc., to demonstrate 'how'. 

• Specifically include all your work experiences doing the same or similar work, especially if you reference work in these jobs in describing when/where you gained experience or skills. 
• Make sure your application reflects your best writing.

Wage/salary depends on qualifications or state rules of compensation (if currently a state employee).

Contact us: For inquiries about this position, please contact us at recruitment@oic.wa.gov. 

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