Director of Lead Management

Company Description

At Neilson, we're dedicated to helping families secure financial protection for their loved ones with a range of life insurance options. Neilson is a leading provider of innovative, simple and great-value direct life insurance products. We have evolved from our origins in the UK, where the business was launched in 2012, to become an award-winning international operation and leader in the global life insurance market. Today, we have offices in the UK, USA, Canada, Ireland, and Australia.

Job Description

Location: Windsor Hybrid - 3 days in the office, 2 from home

We are seeking a commercially-minded and strategic Director of Lead Management to be responsible for lead management in the business, generating optimized business outcomes, such as through the application of BI/Analytics insights and models into optimized business processes, as well as by making existing lead management processes more robust and scalable, and expanding these across different markets. Specific areas of focus would include workflow optimization and also overseeing and optimising lead nurturing, reharvest and upsell campaigns.

This role will encompass leadership, strategy development, technical oversight of development and analysis work, close collaboration with IT and the BI and analytics teams, as well as overall commercial accountability for the success of the business's reharvest campaigns. The ideal candidate will bring a blend of strategic vision, technical acumen, and leadership capabilities, ideally with experience as an actuary or a similar role that requires strong analytical and decision-making skills.

Key Responsibilities:

• Strategic Leadership: Develop and execute a comprehensive strategy to enhance lead management processes and application of business intelligence capabilities across the organization. Lead initiatives to improve lead management, lead nurturing, and reharvest campaigns, ensuring alignment with business goals. Drive the integration of predictive models and advanced analytics into operational workflows to optimize business outcomes.
• Process Ownership and Optimisation: Take ownership of all code bases and documentation related to workflow optimisation and related analytics, providing clear guidance and strategic direction to the team while ensuring best practices in coding and deployment. Ensure that all existing and new processes are documented, standardised and optimized, including adding relevant comments to scripts, parameterising elements and ensuring a consistent, scalable design that can be easily deployed across different markets. Ensure that all models and analytics solutions used within lead management are implemented through robust, maintainable code and streamlined workflows. Oversee the continuous improvement of these processes to maintain high-quality outputs and alignment with business objectives.
• Team Management: Oversee the Workflow Business Analyst and SQL Analyst Developer teams, ensuring that their efforts align with broader business objectives. Provide mentorship and guidance to junior team members, fostering a collaborative and growth-oriented environment. Evaluate team performance and drive continuous improvement initiatives to enhance efficiency, effectiveness, and innovation.
• Technical Oversight: Work closely with IT and development teams to ensure the seamless integration of business intelligence models into production systems. Oversee the development and optimization of SQL queries, procedures, and scripts that support business intelligence needs.
• Commercial Focus: Leverage analytical insights to drive profit growth, customer retention, and operational efficiency. Collaborate with sales, marketing, and operations teams to ensure that lead management and data initiatives directly contribute to business profitability. Develop and deliver the relevant key performance indicators (KPIs) to assess the impact of lead management and BI improvements on the bottom line.
• Stakeholder Engagement: Engage with senior leadership and cross-functional teams to align lead management and BI strategies with the overall business strategy. Communicate complex technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders, ensuring understanding and buy-in for strategic initiatives. Act as a liaison between the business and IT departments to ensure seamless collaboration and project delivery.

Qualifications and Skills:

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Business Administration, Information Systems, Computer Science, or a related field strongly preferred.
• Significant experience in a strategic, analytical, or technical leadership role, preferably with a background in actuarial science, lead management optimization, or business intelligence.
• Strong technical expertise in SQL and business intelligence tools such as Power BI.
• Proven experience in leading teams, managing projects, and driving strategic initiatives in a fast-paced environment.
• Excellent problem-solving skills and the ability to think critically about complex business challenges.
• Strong commercial acumen with a demonstrated ability to drive business growth through strategic planning and execution.
• Exceptional communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to influence and lead cross-functional teams.
• Preferred: Experience in the financial services or insurance industry. Actuarial certification or experience in a role requiring a high degree of analytical rigor. Familiarity with cloud platforms (AWS, Azure) and data integration tools.

This role is pivotal to the organization's success, offering a unique opportunity to shape and influence business strategy, drive operational excellence, and lead a team of talented professionals in a dynamic and innovative environment.