Associate Director

Howden is a global insurance group with employee ownership at its heart. 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 24,000 employees spanning over 56 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 Role

To grow and retain profitable business, acting as a key representative of the Company. They will be called upon to assist with complex placements and to deal with high value accounts requiring advanced expertise. To liaise with clients and/or producing brokers and placing brokers to ensure new business, renewal and mid-term requirements are fully understood and best met through the provision of suitable cover, appropriate pricing and excellent service. Whilst the jobholder has no direct line management responsibilities, as a more senior member of the team they may be expected to mentor or guide others, where appropriate.

What You’ll Do

• Contributes to the execution and development of Team strategy, aligned to the Team’s business plan and objectives.
• Assists in the preparation and implementation of the Team’s tactical plan to ensure this is in line with wider business strategy and reflects key priorities.
• Seeks opportunities to grow the book of business by actively monitoring the market and seeking opportunities to meet/exceed business goals and targets.
• Monitors and forecasts renewal and new business activity to aid effective planning and resourcing.
• Determines own (and others’ as appropriate) work priorities/activities in line with agreed plans to ensure business objectives are best met or exceeded.
• Participates in team meetings as required, reporting on business progress within their area of expertise.
• Manages assigned projects and contributes to other projects as required.
• Provides relevant management information to the management team.
• Formulates innovative and profitable insurance structures and marketing strategies appropriate for allocated clients to ensure placement is effective and meets stakeholder requirements.

Technical

• Works with their fellow Team members to plan the most appropriate broking solutions for the client’s demands and needs.
• Negotiates with markets to provide the best balance of quality, service and price.
• Assists with the creation of comprehensive client and broking documents, where appropriate.
• Provides reports to Team and Division management team which contain accurate, timely and clear information.
• Works with other members of the Team/Business Unit as required to assist with the development of new business opportunities.
• Analyses requirements of Requests for Proposals (RFPs) and contributes to the creation of content for RFP responses.
• Participates in in-person / online presentations to clients and prospects.
• Shares their technical knowledge with more junior members of the Team.
• Reviews wordings and gathers appropriate market intelligence to ensure the company’s product offering is up to date and relevant to current/respective market conditions/requirements.
• Supports a positive risk management culture.
• Analyses and advises on insurance aspects of client contractual documents (e.g. construction agreements, loan agreements).

Policy, Process and Procedures

• Works within agreed parameters and uses relevant systems to ensure documentation / communications adhere to company procedure / compliance requirements and provide an adequate audit trail.
• Ensures that measures are in place to ensure adherence to policies and procedures.
• Contributes to the administrative processes of the Team and liaises with/responds to Operations as appropriate, to ensure workflows, processes and systems are compliant and meet agreed service levels.

Environment, Customer Focus and Relationships

• Behaves with all clients fairly and ethically, providing high service levels to clients and other business partners, and promotes a positive image of the company at all times.
• Deals with client requirements as appropriate, undertaking client visits as required.
• Builds and maintains strong relationships with stakeholders to ensure service delivery best meets expectations and is compliant.
• Maintains close links across the company, working with other Teams, to share information, and to identify risks and business opportunities.
• Works with underwriters in a collaborative manner to ensure positive results for the business and for clients.
• Develops and maintains a good understanding of market dynamics and related cycles, to ensure work activities are effective.
• Shares information that could be beneficial to the Operating Entity/Group.

People Management/Personal Development

• Supports the recruitment process, when requested.
• Mentors more junior members of staff to assist with their technical development.
• Actively undertakes personal development to ensure up to date knowledge and understanding of best practice.
• Remains aware of external, industry, legal and regulatory developments etc. to ensure practice and outputs are of a sufficiently high standard.
• Keeps informed of all legal and regulatory developments relevant to the Operating Entity/Group.

Regulatory and Compliance

• Complies with all applicable, legal, fiscal and regulatory obligations in the form of policies and procedures.
• Ensures correct authorisation is obtained and processes followed when required by the Operating Entity and/or Group.
• Ensures performance, HR and T&C records are up to date and meet the Operating Entity and/or Group’s requirements (which will include those of direct reports if any).
• Maintains accurate records and deals with correspondence appropriately.
• Operates in an honest, professional and ethical manner.
• Strictly adheres to the Group Employee Code of Conduct.
• Completes all relevant regulatory training.
• Ensures competence of self.

Who We’re Looking For

Knowledge/Experience

• Solid experience as an account executive or similar client facing/broking role in insurance.
• Advanced understanding of general and legal principles of insurance.
• Advanced knowledge of the market including an awareness of competitors, specific territory knowledge, cultural awareness.
• Advanced understanding of the relevant regulatory environments and their requirements.
• Specific Product area knowledge and in depth understanding of related wordings.
• Good understanding of Team objectives and how own role contributes to these.
• Specific systems’ knowledge.
• Strong understanding of company policies.

Skills/Behaviours

• Customer focussed approach.
• Management skills – coaching and mentoring.
• Consultative and collaborative.
• High level of numeracy and literacy.
• Is confident and has good communication skills.
• Good negotiation and influencing skills.
• Highly organised, with good planning/ time management skills.
• An attention to detail.
• Able to work flexibly to achieve tight deadlines.
• Able to react to change in a positive way.
• Networks and builds sustainable relationships.
• Analytical and able to solve problems.
• A team player.
• Calm and resilient under pressure.
• GCSE Maths and English (or equivalent).
• A levels.
• Tertiary (degree) level and/or relevant professional qualification.
• ACII qualified or significant progress towards or they can demonstrate equivalent knowledge through experience/attainment of the LLMIT (the Lloyd’s and London Market Introductory Test), where relevant to the role.

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:

• Our successes have all come from someone brave enough to try something new.
• We support each other in the small everyday moments and the bigger challenges.
• 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.