Let's Write Africa's Story Together!

Old Mutual is a firm believer in the African opportunity and our diverse talent reflects this.

Job Description

Job Purpose and Responsibilities:

Managing coordinating and administering key enabling operational functions across Elite business accountable for providing overall leadership for the sustainable growth and strategic direction of Elite.
To foster sustainable growth balanced with underwriting probability and fostering a culture that promotes customer focus, ethical practices, integrity, positive work climate, and fosters high performance.
Responsible for achieving results through stringent business planning and understanding of market segment, industry competitors, and suppliers to develop organisational capability and improve position in relation to actual and potential competitors. To work seamlessly across the business, influencing pricing, product, and claims functions to drive the growth and profitability of Elite, and ensure that appropriate quality controls are in place to deliver excellent customer service.

Develop and lead the implementation of the Elite strategy to support growth and business development.

• Drive the achievement of business profitability and growth targets by ensuring that services and solutions provided to customers meet or exceed defined service level agreements across the product/s lifecycle as measured in a performance metrics plan.
• Leverage off and provide support, where needed, with the Distribution Channels on offer within OMI to help Elite achieve their Gross Written Premium Objectives.
• Develop and execute strategic business plans to facilitate achievement by planning cost-effective market development activities that support revenue and profitability targets.
• Deliver new business opportunities in the identified market in support of the overall strategy.
• Communicate and maintain a trust relationship with the business partner
• Work closely with Internal Stakeholders within OMI that provide a service to Elite and always endeavor to find operational efficiencies/excellence in ensuring the Customer always has the Elite experience.  
• Act as the public speaker and public representative of Elite in ways that strengthen its profile in the marketplace
• Define and lead the implementation of measures that monitor the quality and speed of services provided to brokers/customers.

Risk Management

• Ensure that risk is always managed optimally and consistently through effective risk management, compliance, and management of an optimal control environment
• Work closely with the Profitability, Underwriting, Pricing Teams within OMI to allow Loss Ratio objectives to be met.
• Drives the implementation of controls in Elite to ensure an effective risk and control environment.
• Lead change initiatives for the Elite business.

Claims management

• Ensure that all Elite claims are handled in accordance with standard operating procedures and within the agreed service promise.
• Oversee all claim escalations.
• Engaging internal and external stakeholders on complicated claims matters.
• Managing claim rejections where needs be with Brokers, Tied Agents and/or Customers

Deliver Customer Service and Quality to support achievement of business plan & ensure customer satisfaction

• Maintain service, quality, and desired outputs across the business process by ensuring compliance with tactical policies, procedures, and standards.
• Establish productive operational relationships with key stakeholders in the various channels and administrative teams.
• Manage and oversee the claims function to ensure the target NES score is achieved
• Ensure that the Service and Operation strategy and products are effectively operationalized through other managers and their teams.
• Ensure that the performance of the Services and Operations function is in line with customer expectations.
• Builds and maintains key stakeholder relationships.
• Ensure adherence to organisational policies, practices, and procedures.
• Identify solutions to enhance cost control, increase operational efficiency, and manage operating budget goals.

Ensure cost efficiency through financial and corporate governance

• Direct company operations to meet budget and other financial controls.
• Direct short-term and long-term planning and budget development to support strategic business goals.

Accountable for the design and development of a technical underwriting framework and end-to-end management of a portfolio of wealthy personal lines customers.

• Work closely with the Underwriting and Product teams, to design, develop, and implement an underwriting model that enables the efficient and effective management of changes to policies within the portfolio and service future customer needs.
• Assist in developing and overseeing the implementation of the underwriting strategy to ensure the underwriting processes support the achievement of the business strategy.
• Assist in developing policies and procedures for use to ensure the availability of guidelines that support the delivery of services.
• Direct the development and implementation of strategic initiatives that support growth, profit, and retention objectives.
• Assist, where necessary, developing and establishing quality control measures to improve profitability of the portfolio across the business by identifying pricing and risk gaps within underwriting, claims, or sales mandates and/or policies across the value chain.
• Aide in the development and implementation of a product management framework that identifies and corrects loss trends and problem areas and provides remedial solutions for implementation by sales and underwriting teams.
• Perform audits across the business to understand capabilities within the underwriting and claims teams, adherence to agreement terms, coverage grants and exposures, pricing techniques and changes, claims trends and issues to ensure continued acceptable performance of the portfolio.

Nurture a culture of high performance

• Align own behaviour with the organisation's culture and values.
• Drives the achievement of transformation targets.
• Promotes learning and innovation.

Experience, knowledge & skills required

• Bachelor’s degree and/or equivalent NQF Level 7 qualification
• 8-10 years’ experience in operations management, preferably in a related industry.
• 5-8 years’ experience leading a team of specialists in the insurance industry

Competency Descriptors

• Strategic
• Customer
• Execution
• Leading with Influence
• Innovation
• Collaboration
• Innovation:
• Personal mastery

Skills

Action Planning, Agile Project Management, Change Management, Data Compilation, Executing Plans, Legal Practices, Occupational Safety and Health, Oral Communications, Policies & Procedures, Professional Presentation, Project Delivery Management, Safety Management, Servant Leadership

Competencies

Builds Effective Teams

Communicates Effectively

Customer Focus

Directs Work

Drives Engagement

Drives Vision and Purpose

Ensures Accountability

Financial Acumen

Education

NQF Level 9 – Masters

Closing Date

05 February 2026 , 23:59

The appointment will be made from the designated group in line with the Employment Equity Plan of Old Mutual South Africa and the specific business unit in question.

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