Senior Actuary (Actuarial Function Oversight team)

Location: London. Canada Life UK looks after the retirement, investment and protection needs of individuals, families and companies. We help to build better futures for our customers, our intermediaries and our employees by operating as a modern, agile and welcoming organisation. Part of our parent company Great-West Lifeco, Canada Life UK has operated in the United Kingdom since 1903. We have hundreds of respected and supported employees committed to doing the right thing for our customers and colleagues. Canada Life UK is transforming to create a more customer-focused business by providing our customers with expertise on financial and tax planning, offering home finance and annuities propositions, and providing collective fund solutions to third party customers.

As an experienced qualified actuary at Canada Life you will be responsible for leading actuarial, statistical and financial insight and analysis to senior management, overseeing analysis and insight produced by other actuaries where appropriate and leading small to medium sized teams of qualified and part-qualified actuaries and analysts. Using your significant specialist technical expertise and solid commercial understanding you will take a lead within the team and function to advise the business and influence decisions, ensuring that we are managing risk to the business in line with Canada Life’s risk appetite, complying with our statutory responsibilities and meeting the needs of our policyholders and regulators.

This role is within the Actuarial Function Oversight team. This team works closely with the Chief Actuary and provides actuarial input and oversight across a wide range of actuarial activities across Canada Life including Reinsurance, Pricing, Financial Reporting and Internal Model activities. We are seeking a technically strong actuary with excellent communication and reviewing skills who is naturally curious and an effective problem solver, to join our team.

Key Accountabilities

• Accountable for providing accurate modelling, financial analysis, advice and support to a range of areas of the business, taking ownership for making considered and commercially astute recommendations.
• Utilising your subject matter expertise in your actuarial discipline to analyse risk factors to demonstrate understanding and management of risk exposure to the organisation, taking accountability for appropriate action to manage and, where appropriate, mitigate risk exposure.
• Leading risk analysis activity within your discipline, you will be responsible for effectively operating cross-functionally across the business on BAU and project activities, where the key to success will be demonstrating initiative combined with your ability to collaborate and influence senior stakeholders across different teams and disciplines within the Canada Life group.
• Communicate to senior executives (Executive Director Individual Business, CFO, Head of Actuarial Function and other Heads of function and Director level stakeholders), in an appropriate manner, the impact, financial and otherwise, of the various actuarial investigations, reports, recommendations and analyses and provide recommendations to senior executives to ensure successful business operation.
• Initiating and overseeing the production of regular reports and annual/longer term plans undertaken by other actuaries, taking accountability for leading the continuous review and improvement of department processes and procedures.
• Oversee and implement actuarial control frameworks, initiating regular review of appropriate actuarial controls and analysis.
• Manage, coach, develop and motivate qualified and part-qualified actuaries in order to optimise the performance of the team in line with the Divisions objectives.

Desired Knowledge / Experience / Skills

• Technical Expertise

• Strong commercial awareness and understanding of the needs of the business.
• Understand complex statistical and financial models across a range of actuarial disciplines.
• Significant experience in the life insurance industry and is a subject matter expert in a number of disciplines within the function.
• Proven ability to lead on high-profile projects, utilising experience in project management techniques to deliver complex projects on-time, in-full.
• Experience in IFRS17 and Solvency II financial reporting, particularly in the context of annuity products.

• Strong communication skills, demonstrating a clear and articulate standard of written and verbal communication in a complex environment.
• Strong influencing skills, with experience of engaging with Boards and senior management.

• The ability to develop and maintain strong relationships across the actuarial function and the wider business.

• Exceptional problem solving skills and attention to detail.
• Self-motivated, well-organised, pragmatic and able to perform tasks independently.

• Strong skills and experience in managing and motivating a team from a diverse range of professional backgrounds.
• Strong coaching ability in technical, and non-technical skills.

Qualifications

• Fellow of Institute of Actuaries (or equivalent).

Benefits Of Working At Canada Life

We believe in recognising and rewarding our people, so we offer a competitive salary and benefits package that’s regularly reviewed. As a Canada Life UK colleague, you’ll receive a competitive salary and comprehensive reward package including a generous pension and bonus scheme, along with income protection, private medical insurance and life assurance.

How We Work At Canada Life

Our culture is unique and incredibly important to us. We care about doing the right thing for our people, customers and community and helping others to build better futures.

Diversity and inclusion

Building an inclusive workplace with a diverse workforce where everyone can feel they belong and achieve their potential regardless of gender, ethnicity or any other characteristic is a key commitment for us.