Position Summary

The Director, General Agency Services is a strategic leader responsible for building, optimizing, and expanding Higginbotham’s internal General Agent (GA) operations. This role leads a high-performing service team that supports groups up to 100 lives and works closely with carrier partners, producers, and account management teams to ensure a seamless quote-to-onboarding experience.

The Director will define and drive standardized processes, cultivate carrier relationships, identify technology and workflow improvements, and establish performance metrics to ensure scalability, compliance, and service excellence. This leader will also play a critical role in evaluating growth opportunities and overseeing the expansion of GA services to additional carriers and markets.

Key Responsibilities

Team Leadership & Operations

Recruit, develop, and retain a team of GA professionals with expertise in quoting, submissions, and group onboarding.

Design scalable processes to manage increased volume and complexity without sacrificing service quality.

Lead regular team performance reviews using KPIs and operational metrics to optimize workflows and service delivery.

Foster a culture of collaboration, accountability, and continuous improvement.

Identify workflow gaps and collaborate cross-functionally to implement solutions. Carrier Partnership Management

Act as the senior operational liaison with all GA carrier partners, initially focused on BCBS TX with future expansion.

Develop and maintain strategic relationships with carrier representatives to ensure alignment on business goals, service expectations, and escalation protocols.

Lead strategic conversations to enhance service agreements, workflow integrations, and turnaround expectations.

Ensure timely internal communication of carrier updates and process changes.

Proactively identify issues and escalate with carriers to protect service standards and timelines.

Negotiate and formalize service-level agreements (SLAs), performance metrics, and reporting structures to ensure carrier accountability and transparency.

Collaborate on technology integrations and enhancements to streamline quoting and enrollment workflows. Quoting & Implementation Oversight

Own end-to-end oversight of the quoting and implementation lifecycle for groups up to 100 lives.

Ensure the accuracy and completeness of all proposal packages by auditing rates, plan options, and eligibility criteria.

Maintain a comprehensive understanding of carrier-specific quoting tools, submission requirements, and timeline expectations.

Coordinate internal workflows to manage quote delivery, submission, underwriting follow-up, and final approval before effective dates.

Monitor onboarding progress to confirm that new group installations are completed correctly and on time, minimizing disruption to the client or internal teams.

Analyze quoting and implementation metrics to improve turnaround time, identify recurring issues, and drive continuous improvement initiatives.

Ensure process compliance with all carrier requirements and internal documentation standards. Producer & Account Manager Collaboration

Serve as a consultative partner to producers and account managers, helping them navigate GA processes and carrier nuances.

Provide training and resources to ensure alignment on quoting tools, submission standards, and onboarding steps.

Collect feedback from internal stakeholders to continuously refine support strategies.

Promote a unified service model by building trust and reliability across teams.

Balance team workloads to meet deadlines and prioritize high-impact opportunities. Qualifications

10+ years of experience in employee benefits or general agency operations.

Strong working knowledge of small and mid-sized group quoting and onboarding processes.

Previous experience leading teams or overseeing operations in a client-facing environment. Preferred Qualifications

Experience with groups up to 100 lives across BCBS TX, UHC, and other major carriers.

Familiarity with carrier portals, enrollment platforms, and quoting software.

Ability to work cross-functionally and adapt quickly in a growth-driven environment.