Portfolio Manager - Howden Markets

Howden Group Holdings; London; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job description

Who are we?

Howden is a collective – a group of talented and passionate people all around the world. Together, we have pushed the boundaries of insurance. We are united by a shared passion and no-limits mindset, and our strength lies in our ability to collaborate as a powerful international team comprised of 18,000 employees spanning over 100 countries.

People join Howden for many different reasons, but they stay for the same one: our culture. It’s what sets us apart, and the reason our employees have been turning down headhunters for years. Whatever your priorities – work / life balance, career progression, sustainability, volunteering – you’ll find like-minded people driving change at Howden.

The Howden Markets Placement Advisory team operates within Howden Group to execute the Group Placement Strategy. Howden Markets provide the infrastructure, advice and business support to deliver sustainable, best in class placement solutions and drive carrier / market engagement to ensure best outcomes for Howden and its clients.

What will this person do?

The individual will work with senior members of the department to develop, deliver and manage specific portfolio solutions for Howden UK&Ireland ‘UK&I’, Howden Specialty and International – in line with the Howden Markets strategy to build and maintain strategic insurer relationships, grow and retain profitable business whilst ensuring that budget/targets are met or exceeded.

They will act as a supervisor/role model to other members of the team and as the team grows in size, are likely to be given staffing responsibilities, particularly related to the development and build-out of strategic data and reporting.

To be a driving force for Placement Advisory planning, management and execution, in liaison with business stakeholders and to deliver exceptional Portfolio management, meeting agreed goals on time and within budget.

Additionally, they are responsible for ensuring that day to day activities operate in accordance with applicable Company and/or Group policies to achieve targets, develop the business and deliver an excellent and comprehensive service.

What does the day to day look like?

Planning and Strategy:

1. Helps to define Placement Advisory plans, scope and objectives, involving all relevant stakeholders and ensuring technical feasibility.
2. Delivers assigned projects and also contributes to other projects and initiatives as required.
3. Supports wider business strategy by contributing expertise and advice to the team.
4. Supports the overall growth of new business through executing appropriate strategies; developing and maintaining insurer relationships.
5. Contributes to strategy development and prioritises operational deliverables.
6. Provides support to others to achieve positive results in line with strategy.
7. Contributes to overall product, channel and technical strategy across the global business.
8. Manages assigned projects and contributes to other projects, as required.
9. Provides relevant management information to senior management, as required.

Technology and Portfolio Management:

1. Owns and manages operations of the Portfolio, designs the plan of work for each phase of the project from idea, design, execution and management.
2. Creates good practices, tools and processes for Portfolio management and helps ensure that indicated standards are being followed.
3. Identifies risks, highlighting these to relevant parties in good time and ensuring mitigating action is taken.
4. Creates and maintains comprehensive Portfolio documentation (e.g. PIDs, business cases, KPIs etc.).
5. Measures Portfolio performance using appropriate systems, tools and techniques.
6. Creates Portfolio reports against indicated key performance metrics to support data-driven decision making process.
7. Supports continuous improvement in Portfolio delivery practice.
8. Adopts industry best practices.
9. Is a referral point, providing technical input and expertise to advise/coach others and to ensure that actions/decisions taken are appropriate.
10. Executes/delivers Master Service Agreements (MSA’s) with strategic insurers and delivers against key performance indicators (KPI’s) in accordance with service schedules.
11. Acts as an escalation point for queries raised by key clients (Insurers) in order to ensure these are handled efficiently and effectively; and a positive image of the company is presented.

Environment, Contacts & Relationships:

Clients

1. Builds and maintains strong relationships with internal stakeholders (e.g. Regional Offices, Business Producers, Brokers, Legal Counsel, Compliance, Audit, Accounts, Claims and Administration) and external contacts (e.g. Clients, Professional Bodies, Regulators, Brokers, and Insurers) to ensure delivery meets expectations and is compliant.
2. Acts as a point of contact for client requirements, Portfolio issues and queries (internally & externally).
3. Through networking, introduces business to other divisions, acting as a key contact in order to grow relationships.
4. Resolves client issues relating to Portfolio and escalates them to Divisional Director if needed.

Suppliers/Markets

1. Maintains relationships with third party solution providers.
2. Remains aware of the market e.g. competitors, potential changes/risks to ensure practices and outputs are of a sufficiently high standard and contribute to the identification of opportunities and business growth.

So, what do we need from you?

1. Experience of working as a Portfolio Manager or similar role (at least 2 years).
2. Experience in market engagement, presentation and high impact documents.
3. Experience in analysing large datasets to assess their profitability, scalability, viability and scope of opportunity.
4. Demonstrable experience of Portfolio delivery throughout the whole lifecycle (from start-up to benefits realisation).
5. Understanding general principles of insurance.
6. Understanding of London Market operations.
7. Awareness of the regulatory environment and requirements including FCA rules, data protection, money laundering, specific standards of insureds’ professional bodies.
8. Consultative and collaborative.
9. Highly organised, with good planning/prioritisation/time management skills.
10. Analytical and able to solve problems.
11. Able to spot opportunities and be enterprising.
12. Customer focused approach.
13. Strong inter-personal skills.
14. Able to work flexibly to achieve tight deadlines/targets.
15. Able to positively react to change.
16. Able to work effectively in a team.
17. Overseeing colleagues and offering help when required to resolve issues.
18. GCSEs or equivalent including English and Maths essential.
19. Educated to degree standard (desirable, but not essential).
20. Technically relevant or Industry recognised qualifications (e.g. Prince2, AMP, PMP, MSP, CII Certified etc.) would be beneficial.
21. Likely to have Dip CII and have started to study for ACII.

What do we offer in return?

A career that you define. At Howden, we value diversity – there is no one Howden type. Instead, we’re looking for individuals who share the same values as us:

1. Our successes have all come from someone brave enough to try something new.
2. We support each other in the small everyday moments and the bigger challenges.
3. We are determined to make a positive difference at work and beyond.

Reasonable adjustments

We're committed to providing reasonable accommodations at Howden to ensure that our positions align well with your needs. Besides the usual adjustments such as software, IT, and office setups, we can also accommodate other changes such as flexible hours or hybrid working.

If you're excited by this role but have some doubts about whether it’s the right fit for you, send us your application – if your profile fits the role’s criteria, we will be in touch to assist in helping to get you set up with any reasonable adjustments you may require.

*Not all positions can accommodate changes to working hours or locations. Reach out to your Recruitment Partner if you want to know more.

Permanent