Senior Manager - Partnering & Insights, Europe

Purpose Of The Role
This is a 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 and Return on Equity. 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
  In conjunction with the Senior Manager – Reporting & Planning, develop and maintain Europe‑level planning frameworks, templates and guidance that link strategy, business plans, expenses and earnings outcomes. Work with the Senior Manager – Reporting & Planning to ensure consistent understanding and operation of robust budgeting, forecasting and business planning and MI processes for expenses and earnings across Europe. Oversee the production and presentation of standard MI on the aggregated Europe‑level expense base, earnings drivers and business plan metrics, ensuring data is accurate, insightful and timely. Lead the production of Finance‑owned slides and information for key governance and reporting forums (e.g. ELT, CLG Board), clearly articulating expense, earnings and business plan implications.
• Expense, earnings and business plan management
  Oversee the preparation of the annual operating expense budget for CLG (the Europe level legal entity), ensuring it coherently supports the multi‑year business plan and earnings targets. Review and challenge the preparation and consolidation of market‑level plans into a coherent Europe‑level business plan, ensuring assumptions are realistic, consistent and aligned to strategy. Oversee in‑year tracking and review/challenge of actual expenses (run and change) and earnings against budget and business plan, including variance analysis and forward‑looking forecasts. Ensure the construct, maintenance and use of balance sheet provisions to fund strategic initiatives are appropriate, controlled and aligned with business policy, strategy, earnings objectives and business plan commitments.
• Business cases, efficiency and plan alignment
  Oversee an accountant in the review and challenge of Europe‑level business cases and funding requests to ensure alignment with strategy, financial plans and expense targets. Work with Executive and Operational Sponsors and steering groups to validate and, where necessary, challenge budget, forecast, benefit realisation and earnings impact assumptions. Lead ad‑hoc reviews and projects to identify cost savings, efficiency opportunities and options to improve the commercial performance of the expense base, earnings and delivery of the business plan.
• Stakeholder management and collaboration
  Build and maintain strong relationships with Europe leaders, Change, CFO, Financial Performance Director, Senior Manager – Operations & Reporting, Risk, and market (UK, Ireland, Germany) leadership and FP&A teams. Collaborate with these stakeholders to set, challenge and validate expense, earnings and business plan targets, ensuring budgets and forecasts remain aligned to the Business Plan and strategic priorities. Collaborate with actuarial and finance stakeholders to input into periodic cost allocation methodology reviews that influence liabilities, earnings and business plan assumptions.
• Data, governance, risk and reporting obligations
  Collaborate with the Senior Manager – Reporting & Planning to develop and maintain the Europe datastore and support the deployment of technologies (e.g. AI) to enhance insights and analytics. Produce and submit sufficient and relevant expense, earnings and business plan commentary to support statutory, market and management reporting at a Europe level. Ensure familiarity with and adherence to risk management programmes and processes, and compliance with company policies, regulatory, professional and legal requirements.
• Leadership and people management
  Lead and develop a small but high‑performing team of accountants and financial analysts to support a cost and earnings focus across the Europe business and its markets. Provide constructive feedback, coaching and development opportunities to team members and stakeholders (as part of the Europe ‘FP&A community’), building capability in business planning, expense and earnings analysis, and strategic insight.

What You’ll Bring To The Role

• Technical Expertise
  Qualified Accountant with extensive and wide‑ranging experience of European financial services (ideally in the insurance industry). Demonstrable track record of operating in a Finance oversight role in a financial services organisation. Strategic understanding in a European financial services context (ideally in the insurance industry). Experience working with investor relations would be 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/company and external networks. Strong ability to collaborate with experts and interested parties across the business to influence, obtain input and buy‑in. Excellent stakeholder management skills at all levels up to and including C‑Suite.
• Taking Initiative
  Proactively identifies and manages risks.
• Developing Self and Others
  Strong leadership and team development skills. Ability to provide constructive feedback and share opinions to line manager, team members and other colleagues in a timely and constructive manner.

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

Benefits Of Working At Canada Life
We offer a competitive salary and comprehensive reward package, including a generous pension and bonus scheme, income protection, private medical insurance and life assurance, along with a range of other benefits and support services.

Flexible Working
We appreciate that everyone has different work and life responsibilities and are happy to discuss flexible working arrangements, including part‑time options, for any of our roles.

Diversity and Inclusion
Canada Life is committed to building an inclusive workplace where everyone can feel they belong and achieve their potential. We continue to prioritise diversity, equity and inclusion in our hiring and workplace practices.