Title:  Senior Actuary (ALM Reporting team)

Job Purpose

We are looking for an Actuary to join the Asset & Liability Management (ALM) Reporting Team, a strong team of four actuaries, two actuarial trainees and an actuarial analyst.  Your role be to lead the production of Matching Adjustment reporting, embedding of Solvency UK initiatives, as well as to support European ALM reporting across the Great-West Life group, including diverse portfolios of bond, finance lease, real estate and commercial and equity release mortgage investments, and individual/bulk annuities, protection and wealth products.

The successful candidate will possess strong inter-personal, communication and analytic skills as well as a strong technical background.

The key stakeholder relationships include: Finance leadership team, Reinsurance Division (CLRe) and Irish Life actuarial leadership teams including Chief Actuary, Investment Reporting, Front Office Actuarial and fund management teams.

Key Accountabilities

 1) Provide accurate financial analysis, advice and support to a specific area of the business, making recommendations with support from more senior colleagues. 
You will analyse risk factors to demonstrate understanding and management of risk exposure to the organisation, supporting appropriate action to manage and, where appropriate, mitigate risk exposure. 
Operating cross-functionally across the business on BAU and project activities, where the key to success will be demonstrating your ability to collaborate and influence senior stakeholders in the function.

2) Producing regular reports and reviews, providing insight and commentary for senior managers to ensure that they comply with legislation and our own internal control requirements.
Supporting the analysis for regular reports taking into account up-to-date industry developments and issues to help inform decision making by senior managers across the business. Support the continuous review and improvement of department processes and procedures, implementing recommendations and taking ownership for their implementation

3) Make considered and commercially astute recommendations to immediate line management about the pricing, valuation and/or design of new and existing products, to ensure that new business is written on profitable terms/current and new business is appropriately valued and managed, and that all activities comply with the relevant corporate and regulatory standards. You will also be required to review work performed by your (actuarial) colleagues, providing feedback and mentoring as part of their development.
Supporting, and leading where appropriate, continuous reviews and improvements of department processes and procedures, taking into account up-to-date industry developments and issues to ensure to ensure the provision of a timely, accurate, commercial and efficient actuarial service to the business and key stakeholders.

4) Mentor and coach part-qualified actuaries and other actuarial support colleagues to support their development, role modelling our values at all times, acting with integrity and representing the function with pride and passion.

Desired Knowledge / Experience / Skills

Technical Expertise
•    Developing expertise in 1 or more areas within the function, demonstrating sound understanding of complex statistical methods and models with the ability to interpret financial information and controls to accurately advise stakeholders to inform their decisions.
•    Validating the work of non-qualified and other recently qualified actuaries 
•    Good knowledge of a variety of actuarial models and controls and their commercial application/implication.
•    Advanced MS excel skills demonstrating efficient use of spreadsheets and basic data manipulation skills

Communication: 
•    Excellent analytical and report writing/drafting skills 
•    Can explain complexities in a straightforward and accurate way to audiences of differing levels of understanding, with some coaching or support from senior managers.
•    Proven communication, influencing and negotiation skills whereby they can adapt their message to the audience, demonstrating their ability to share knowledge with the business in a format that is easily understood, balancing the need for required detail where this is necessary and higher level information.
 

Relationship Building:
•    The ability to develop and maintain strong relationships across the actuarial function, acting with integrity and role modelling the company values at all times, in order to support the organisation in achieving its goals and mitigating the organisations’ exposure to risk. 
•    Being able to flex their style and approach to different individuals, with occasional support, in order to achieve a successful outcome.

Planning and use of initiative:
•    Willing and capable of taking decisions independently in order to progress issues, and able to exercise sound judgement and commercial sense to understand the importance of different issues and assess when matters need to be escalated.
•    Able to effectively plan, organise and execute their own work with minimal supervision, using their sound judgement to spot conflicting priorities and readjust their workload accordingly, with escalation to management only when appropriate.
•    Identify opportunities for improving processes and propositions and competently analyse and communicate these to line management

Developing Self 
•    An interested and inquisitive individual who is committed to their own ongoing professional and personal development.
•    Strong commercial awareness and understanding of the needs of the business. Will be able to apply technical actuarial techniques and understand business/commercial implications.

•    Fellow of Institute of Actuaries (or equivalent).