Head of Actuarial at Prudential Kenya

Job Description

Role Context

As a result of PLAKs current and projected growth and development, we are seeking to recruit a senior actuary to provide actuarial services to the business, and at the same time offer leadership, coaching and mentoring to our team of young and aspiring actuaries. The Head of Actuarial will be responsible for proactively partnering and taking lead in finding solutions to grow the business, balance costs and risks, conducting regular rate analysis, researching, and pricing of products and insurance products development.

Principal Accountabilities

• Actuarial Valuation & Financial Reporting.
  Assist the finance department with all regulatory reporting (quantitative and qualitative) on a quarterly and annual basis, including regulatory technical provisions and regulatory capital requirements.
• Lead team to perform quarterly and annual calculations of the company’s minimum and solvency capital requirements as per the regulatory requirements.
• Ensure appropriate documentation is kept for internal needs as well as those of external stakeholders (external auditors, actuarial control function and regulators)
• Provide PLAK with specialist support of the valuation process and provide insights on PLAKs risk financial results and performance while ensuring appropriate controls.
• Actuarial reporting for financial and regulatory compliance, which includes actuarial reserving, IFRS17 modelling, financial condition reporting, solvency, and risk based capital reports.
  Strategic involvement
• Contribute to the creation of the organization’s long-term strategy and short-term business plan.
• Shaping the organization’s risk culture by ‘setting the tone from the top’ not only through words but actions and reinforcing commitment.
• Assess the impact that the company’s strategy and corresponding financial projections will have on the company’s solvency over the business planning horizon (Risk Budget).
• Business Focused Collaboration
• Contribute to the successful achievement of the organization’s vision, strategy, and business plan, by assisting with the resolution of problems that pose a threat to the Company of not achieving its vision, strategy, and business plan.
• Responsible for considering key risks and broad-based solutions for several key projects / issues within the organization.
• Engage and facilitate discussions between commercial/business development, underwriting, claims, finance & Investments, risk & compliance departments providing insight into trends emerging from reserving and capital modelling activities among others.
• Balance Sheet Management
  Reinsurance Management: carry out reinsurance analysis for the business to explore ways to optimize reinsurance arrangements. Responsible for reinsurance arrangement with Reinsurers and getting regulatory approval.
• Solvency Management: Coordinating timely calculation of current and projected solvency positions and providing recommendations on ways to best manage solvency.
• Planning/Budgeting: support the planning process by providing actuarial projections of liabilities, premiums, claims, investment income, customer numbers, Value of New Business/New Business Profit etc.
  Lead in oversight of risk modelling and oversight of technical pricing, pricing modeling governance and management of accumulation risk
• Plan, design, and implement a suitable schedule of stress tests and scenario analysis, to reflect regulatory and business requirements and industry good practice.
  Product Development, Pricing & Product Review
  Leads in product line evaluations by coordinating analysis of product line financials, pricing, reserve, valuation, cash flow and analysis, and making product investment strategies; and making recommendations based on product line performance, risk and assumptions used in product development.
• Participating in development, (re)pricing and enhancement of individual life and group life products. Help administer life insurance related plans, including but not limited to individual and group products, determining financial soundness, and calculating premiums.
• Monitor market for current prices and products and prepare competitive analysis reports.
• Actuarial compliance management in line with regulatory requirements
• People and Stakeholders Management
  Influence senior business partners by translating complex actuarial constructs into actionable recommendations; and initiating actuarial and financial advice in compliance with the Actuarial Standards of Practice; and coaches and develops staff while ensuring business needs or requirements are met.
• Demonstrates continuous learning and maintains a highly skilled and engaged workforce by aligning resource plans with business objectives; motivating teams, staying currents with industry strengths, benchmarks, and best practices; providing guidance when difficult decisions need to be made.
• Planning and coordinating the actuarial strategy for the Company in line with the company strategic objectives as defined by the board.
• Developing and maintaining comprehensive documentation relating to the actuarial process
• Development and implementation of Actuarial process maps and operations management.
• Stakeholders’ management through explanation of complex technical matters (executives, regulators, shareholders, policyholders, and customers)
• Determine policy contract provisions for each type of insurance.
• Provide expertise to help PLAK manage risks and maximize returns associated with investment products or credit offerings.

Core Competencies & Skills Required

• Strong analytical and modeling skills.
• Great interpersonal communication skills.
• Adaptable with a great learning agility and a growth mindset.
• Leadership and people management skills.
• Creative and a problem-solving orientation
• In-depth knowledge and understanding of databases, spreadsheets, and actuarial software (BASYS, PROPHET, etc.).
• Strong attention to detail and ability to break complex information in a manner that can be understood across all business levels.
• A deep understanding of the legislation relating to financial & insurance services.
• Demonstrated leadership potential and a high level of dependability.
• Able to effectively analyze & visualize data to address business questions.
• Proven experience in the life insurance business. Financial planning, strategy, and projects management experience.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Actuarial Science or Mathematics, Statistics, Engineering, Finance, or related discipline.
• Minimum of 8 years actuarial experience
• 4 years’ experience in team leadership and management
• Understanding of all functions of Actuarial – Capital Management and reporting, Valuations, product design and Management
• Minimum of 10 papers from the Institute & Faculty of Actuaries (IFoA) or equivalent
• Subject matter expert in IFRS 17 implementation