Business Development Manager - Networks

Business Development Manager - Networks
National / Hybrid | Leeds, Manchester, Birmingham or London Areas Preferred
Salary + Quarterly Bonus + Excellent Benefits

Looking to move from Underwriting or Broking into Business Development?

This could be the career opportunity you've been waiting for!

At Markel, we're looking for an ambitious insurance professional to join our Networks team as a Business Development Manager. This role is designed for someone who enjoys building relationships, spotting opportunities and influencing outcomes, but hasn't yet had the chance to step into a dedicated distribution or business development career.

Whether you're a broker looking to move insurer-side, or an underwriter with strong broker relationships and trading skills, this is a genuine opportunity to learn, develop and build a long-term career in distribution.

In fact, the previous incumbent was promoted into a Regional Business Development Manager role after just 12 months.

The Opportunity:

You'll join our specialist Networks team, supporting strategic partnerships across Bravo Networks and Hedron Network, helping to grow Markel's presence and strengthen relationships with broker partners nationwide.

Unlike a traditional BDM role, this position combines:

• Relationship building

• Broker profiling and discovery

• Account development

• Opportunity generation

• Telephone and virtual engagement

• Face-to-face broker meetings

You'll be responsible for engaging with a portfolio of network brokers, understanding their businesses, identifying growth opportunities and helping them access the right Markel solutions.

This is very much a consultative role. Success comes from building trust, understanding broker needs and creating opportunities over time.

What You'll Be Doing:

• Develop relationships with broker partners across Bravo and Hedron Networks

• Profile broker businesses to understand their markets, placement strategies and growth plans

• Create and develop new business opportunities

• Build and manage a strong sales pipeline

• Promote Markel's commercial insurance products and appetite

• Work closely with underwriting teams to convert opportunities into business wins

• Arrange and attend broker meetings, both virtually and face-to-face

• Maintain high-quality CRM and pipeline management

• Contribute to the continued growth of Markel's network distribution strategy

You'll be given the autonomy to build relationships your way, whilst receiving support, coaching and mentoring from an experienced team of distribution professionals.

Who We're Looking For:

We're much more interested in attitude, relationship-building ability and potential than years of BDM experience.

You might currently be:

A Broker

• Account Executive

• Commercial Broker

• Development Executive

• Relationship Manager

• Client-facing insurance professional

and looking to move insurer-side into a business development career.

An Underwriter

• Trading Underwriter

• New Business Underwriter

• Development Underwriter

who enjoys broker engagement and wants to move out of a purely technical role into something more commercial and relationship-focused.

We'd love to hear from you if you are:

• Naturally curious and commercially minded

• Confident building new relationships

• Resilient and persistent

• Organised and proactive

• Comfortable engaging with people over the phone, online and in person

• Motivated by growth and opportunity creation

Commercial insurance experience is preferred, but we’ll also consider candidates from Personal Lines, High Net Worth or specialist classes who can demonstrate strong broker engagement and trading skills.

Why Join Markel?

At Markel, you'll be joining a business that genuinely invests in its people.

You'll work alongside experienced Account Directors and Business Development Managers who are passionate about coaching and developing future talent.

What Makes This Opportunity Different?

• Genuine route into a Distribution career

• Previous incumbent promoted within 12 months

• Exposure to senior broker relationships

• Opportunity to learn from experienced BDMs and Account Directors

• Mix of relationship management, sales and development activity

• National strategic partnerships with Bravo and Hedron

• Flexible hybrid working

• Collaborative and supportive culture

Reward & Benefits:

• Salary + Quarterly bonus scheme & great benefits package

• Private medical cover

• Dental cover

• Life assurance

• Income protection

• 25 days holiday plus bank holidays

• Holiday buy and sell scheme

• Flexible hybrid working

• Ongoing learning and career development opportunities

Ready for Your Next Step?

If you're a broker or underwriter who enjoys building relationships and wants to develop a successful career in business development, we'd love to hear from you.

Apply today and start your journey with Markel.

Markel celebrates the value of a diverse workforce that brings experience and expertise from a wide variety of backgrounds and life circumstances. Whatever your background, if you feel you meet the requirements of this role then we want to hear from you. We are also happy to consider candidates who are looking for flexible working patterns.

We are an equal-opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, colour, national origin, sex, gender, gender expression, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.

We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided with all reasonable accommodations to be able to participate in the job application or interview process and to perform essential job functions if successful. Please contact us via email at rec@markel.com or call us at 0161 507 5827 to request any accommodations that may be needed. This includes any alternative formats of any documents or information on how to apply offline.

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