Head of Risk Control

Who Are We? Taking care of our customers, our communities and each other. That’s the Travelers Promise. By honoring this commitment, we have maintained our reputation as one of the best property casualty insurers in the industry for over 170 years. Join us to discover a culture that is rooted in innovation and thrives on collaboration. Imagine loving what you do and where you do it.

What Is the Opportunity? Travelers Insurance is looking for a Head of Risk Control to join our team in London. As part of the Leadership Team for Business Enablement Europe, you will execute the Risk Control Target Operating Model and organisational strategy aligned to local Business objectives. You will drive the shift towards earlier risk engagement through pre-bind surveys and improve risk selection through enhanced data insights and prioritisation. You will build a scalable RC function with the right capabilities and capacity to meet current and future business demands and lead organisational change and capability development in a matrixed environment across the UK and Ireland operations. Travelers Europe currently offers flexibility to employees who wish to work on a hybrid basis in accordance with our Hybrid Work Arrangements Policy. This entails full‑time employees working three days a week in the office and two days at home (or pro rata for part‑time employees). This policy may be changed at the Company’s discretion.

What Will You Do?

• Strategic Leadership & Change Delivery: Own and operationalise the Target Operating Model (TOM) for UK/Ireland RC, including resourcing requirements, role clarity, and performance expectations. Translate the Europe BI business plan into actionable RC strategies that drive new business conversion, improved risk selection, loss reduction, and customer retention. Lead strategic projects that strengthen the RC value proposition. Work collaboratively with Europe Underwriting Leaders to implement and refine survey guidelines and trigger processes, ensuring RC capability is embedded early in underwriting workflow. Champion data capability development in partnership with enterprise or centralised resources, translating best practices to a UK context and ensuring RC‑relevant insights drive decision‑making.
• Operational Excellence & Resource Management: Ensure RC resources are sufficiently and strategically allocated to meet business needs across UK and Ireland, with visibility into geographical distribution and skill gaps. Manage survey workload inventory proactively—collaborate with UW teams to refresh priorities at least quarterly, optimise throughput, and prioritise getting the right eyes on the right risks at the right time. Set clear parameters for work prioritisation, distinguishing value‑added survey activity from non‑value‑added work, escalating lower‑value activity for leadership approval. Monitor and report on productivity metrics, survey turnaround times, and activity tracking; use data insights to optimise RC deployment and demonstrate business value. Establish time‑bound expectations for performance improvement; act decisively and transparently when improvements are not demonstrated or sustained.
• Talent Development & High‑Performing Teams: Attract, recruit, and retain top RC talent in a competitive market; develop clear career paths in both technical expert and leadership roles. Manage staff performance through regular documented 1:1s, annual and half‑yearly reviews, and continuous feedback. Provide mentoring, coaching, and educational support to develop and maintain skill/knowledge levels required for organisational success. Design and deliver a structured capability development programme to continually upskill Risk Control staff, ensuring the team can provide expert, market‑leading risk control services to clients and brokers. Coordinate training programmes aligned to general, specialist or regional initiatives and identified capability gaps.
• Business Partnering & Relationship Management: Build and maintain productive, trust‑based relationships with Europe Underwriting Leaders, distribution, brokers, claims, and key clients. Develop specific strategies with underwriting and business partners for using RC resources to improve acquisition, retention, and overall profitability of books of business. Communicate RC value and results proactively; assist in troubleshooting complex, sensitive accounts. Represent the company with insurance associations and professional bodies.
• Regulatory & Governance: Ensure Risk Control operations are compliant with all Travelers policies, procedures, and controls, including audit requirements. Perform other duties as assigned.

What Will Our Ideal Candidate Have?

• Leadership Experience: demonstrated success in leading and managing teams, including in a matrix environment with geographically dispersed staff.
• Business Insurance Acumen: deep understanding of commercial insurance, underwriting processes, risk evaluation criteria, and insurance financials.
• Strategic Thinking & Change Leadership: demonstrated ability to use leadership transitions as strategic inflection points; experience translating organisational strategy into operational delivery.
• Data‑Driven Decision‑Making: comfort interpreting and using data insights, analytics, and performance metrics to optimise operations and inform strategy.
• Talent Development: track record of building high‑performing teams, identifying talent gaps, and creating development pathways in specialised technical domains.
• Customer‑Centric Mindset: experience positioning risk control as a value‑add service to brokers and underwriters; proven ability to improve customer acquisition and retention outcomes.
• Excellent Communication Skills: strong written and verbal communication skills; ability to communicate effectively at all organisational levels and manage stakeholder expectations.
• Organisational & Planning Skills: ability to prioritise, adapt, and execute in a matrixed, fast‑moving environment.
• Credibility with Stakeholders: ability to establish credibility quickly with diverse stakeholders including underwriters, business partners, external brokers, and regulators.
• Collaborative Approach: comfort working across functions and geographies to drive outcomes.
• Resilience & Decisiveness: proven ability to address performance issues and manage change effectively.
• Professional Designations: Chartered Insurance Institute, Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, Institute of Risk Management or Institute of Fire Engineers or equivalent recognised credentials.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office: (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) and core business systems.

What Is in It for You?

• Private Medical Insurance: Eligible for single cover provided by Travelers on commencement of employment, with the option to add cover for dependents at your expense through payroll deduction.
• Retirement: Travelers will make a core contribution of a percentage of salary to your Pension Plan. Additionally, if you decide to contribute to the plan, you will receive an increased company contribution.
• Holiday Entitlement: Minimum of 25 days holiday entitlement annually, plus the opportunity to purchase additional days to allow for up to a total of 35 holidays per year.
• Wellness Programme: The Travelers wellness programme is comprised of tools, discounts and resources that empower you to achieve your wellness goals and caregiving needs. Our mental health programme provides access to free professional counselling services and other resources that support your daily life needs.
• Volunteer Encouragement: We have a deep commitment to the communities we serve and encourage employees to get involved. Travelers has a Matching Gift and Volunteer Rewards programme that enables you to give back to the charity of your choice.

Employment Practices: Travelers is an equal opportunity employer. We value the unique abilities and talents each individual brings to our organisation and recognise that we benefit in numerous ways from our differences. If you are a candidate and have specific questions regarding the physical requirements of this role, please send us an email so we may assist you. Travelers reserves the right to fill this position at a level above or below the level included in this posting.