Senior Manager - Partnering & Insights, Europe - Canada Life Limited

Purpose of the role: Senior role within the Financial Performance, Europe team responsible for driving a cost conscious, commercially minded culture and ensuring that the story of the Europe expense base, earnings profile and business plans are clearly and accurately articulated and fully aligned to the Europe Strategy and business priorities.

What you'll do:

• Insight, reporting, quarter end and plan tracking: Provide high quality expense and earnings insights and reporting throughout the year to the Europe CFO and Financial Performance Director, Europe, explaining cost drivers, earnings drivers, risks, trends and variances versus prior quarter, prior year, and business plan. At quarter end, own the aggregated Europe level earnings and expense narrative and provide integrated analysis and commentary versus budget, prior quarter and prior year, articulating the impact on key business metrics such as Base Earnings, Expense Efficiency Ratio, Return on Equity, etc. Translate financial results and forecast updates into clear insight on business plan achievability, highlighting gaps to plan and proposing corrective actions.
• Processes, systems, MI and planning frameworks: Develop and maintain Europe-level planning frameworks, templates and guidance linking strategy, business plans, expenses and earnings outcomes. Ensure consistent understanding and operation of robust budgeting, forecasting and business planning controls for expenses and earnings. Oversee production and presentation of standard MI on the aggregated Europe-level expense base, earnings drivers and business plan metrics, ensuring data accuracy, insight and timeliness. Lead production of Finance owned slides and information for key governance and reporting forums (e.g. ELT, CLG Board).
• Expense, earnings and business plan management: Oversee preparation of the annual operating expense budget for CLG (Europe-level entity) ensuring alignment with multi-year business plan and earnings targets. Review and challenge preparation of market level plans into a coherent Europe-level business plan, ensuring realistic, consistent assumptions aligned to strategy. Oversee in-year tracking and review of actual expenses and earnings against budget and business plan, including variance analysis and forward-looking forecasts. Ensure appropriate balance sheet provisions are maintained, controlled and aligned with business policy, strategy and earnings objectives.
• Business cases, efficiency and plan alignment: Oversee accountant reviews of Europe-level business cases and funding requests to ensure alignment with strategy, financial plans and earnings ambitions. Challenge budget, forecast, benefit realisation and earnings impact assumptions with Executive and Operational Sponsors to meet expense and earnings targets. Lead ad hoc reviews and projects to identify cost savings, efficiency opportunities and improve commercial performance.
• Stakeholder management and collaboration: Build and maintain strong relationships with Europe leaders and FP&A teams to ensure a joined-up view of expenses, earnings and business plans. Set, challenge and validate expense, earnings and business plan targets, ensuring in-year and multi-year budgets and forecasts remain aligned to the Business Plan and external guidance. Collaborate with actuarial and finance stakeholders on cost allocation methodology reviews.
• Data, governance, risk and reporting obligations: Oversee development and maintenance of the Europe datastore and support deployment of technologies (e.g. AI) to enhance analytics. Produce relevant expense, earnings and business plan commentary for statutory, market and management reporting at Europe level. Adhere to risk management programmes and regulatory compliance across expense, earnings and planning activities.
• Leadership and people management: Lead and develop a small but high-performing team of accountants and financial analysts, providing constructive feedback, coaching and development opportunities. Build capability in business planning, expense and earnings analysis within the Europe FP&A community.

What you’ll bring to the role:

• Technical Expertise: Qualified Accountant with extensive experience in European financial services, ideally in the insurance industry. Track record operating in a Finance oversight role within a financial services organisation. Strategic understanding of European financial services context. Experience with investor relations advantageous. Excellent quantitative business analytical skills. Strong financial and risk management skills.
• Communication: Excellent communication skills, able to address technical and non-technical audiences in formal and informal settings.
• Relationship Building: Experience building and leveraging internal and external networks. Strong ability to collaborate with experts and stakeholders at all levels, including C‑Suite.
• Taking Initiative: Proactively identifies and manages risks.
• Developing Self and Others: Strong leadership and team development skills. Provides constructive feedback and shares opinions with line manager, team members and colleagues in a timely manner.

Qualifications (For The Job And Not The Person): FCA / ACA / CIMA or equivalent.

Benefits Of Working At Canada Life: Competitive salary and comprehensive reward package including a generous pension and bonus scheme, along with income protection, private medical insurance and life assurance. Additional benefits and support services, regular personal and professional development, flexible working and opportunities to grow.