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.

What Is the Opportunity? Travelers Insurance are 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.

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, customer retention. Lead strategic projects which strengthen the RC value proposition.
• Operational Excellence & Resource Management: Ensure RC resources are sufficiently and strategically allocated to meet business needs across UK and Ireland. 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Regulatory & Governance: Ensure Risk Control operations are compliant with all Travelers policies, procedures, and controls, including audit requirements.

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: On commencement of employment, you are eligible for single cover provided by Travelers, with the option to add cover for your 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: Start your career at Travelers with a 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.
• Volunteer Encouragement: We have a deep commitment to the communities we serve and encourage our employees to get involved.

Employment Practices: Travelers is an equal opportunity employer. We value the unique abilities and talents each individual brings to our organization and recognize that we benefit in numerous ways from our differences.