Portfolio Manager

From day one, our mission has been to create an independent business with a unique culture – one that is controlled by the people who work for it. Finding the most talented and entrepreneurial people has always been key to our success.

People come to Howden for lots of different reasons, but they stay for the same one: our culture. That's what sets us apart, and why we nurture and retain the best talent in the market. Whatever your priorities – work/life balance, career progression, sustainability, volunteering - you'll find like-minded people driving change at Howden.

The Howden Markets Placement Advisory team operates within Howden Group to execute the Group Placement Strategy. Howden Markets provide the infrastructure, advice and business support to deliver sustainable, best in class placement solutions and drive carrier / market engagement to ensure best outcomes for Howden and its clients.

What will this person do?

The individual will work with senior members of the department to develop, deliver and manage specific portfolio solutions for Howden UK&Ireland 'UK&I', Howden Specialty and International – in line with the Howden Markets strategy to build and maintain strategic insurer relationships, grow and retain profitable business whilst ensuring that budget/targets are met or exceeded.

They will act as a supervisor/role model to other members of the team and as the team grows in size, are likely to be given staffing responsibilities, particularly related to the development and build-out of strategic data and reporting.

To be a driving force for Placement Advisory planning, management and execution, in liaison with business stakeholders and to deliver exceptional Portfolio management, meeting agreed goals on time and within budget.

Additionally, they are responsible for ensuring that day to day activities operate in accordance with applicable Company and/or Group policies to achieve targets, develop the business and deliver an excellent and comprehensive service.

What does the day to day look like?

Planning and Strategy:

• Helps to define Placement Advisory plans, scope and objectives, involving all relevant stakeholders and ensuring technical feasibility
• Deliversassigned projectsandalsocontributes to otherprojects and initiativesasrequired
• Supports wider business strategy by contributing expertise and advice to the team
• Supports the overall growth of new business through executing appropriate strategies; developing and maintaining insurer relationships.
• Contributes to strategy development and prioritises operational deliverables.
• Provides support to others to achieve positive results in line with strategy
• Contribute to overall product, channel and technical strategy across the global business
• Manages assigned projects and contributes to other project, as required
• Provides relevant management information to senior management, as required

Technology and Portfolio Management:

• Owns and manages operations of the Portfolio, designs the plan of work for each phase of the project from idea, design, execution and management.
• Creates good practices, tools and processes for Portfolio management and helps ensure that indicated standards are being followed
• Identifies risks, highlighting these to relevant parties in good time and ensuring mitigating action is taken
• Creates and maintains comprehensive Portfolio documentation (e.g. PIDs, business cases, KPIs etc.)
• Measures Portfolio performance using appropriate systems, tools and techniques
• Creates Portfolio reports against indicated key performance metrics to support data-driven decision making process
• Adopts industry best practices
• Is a referral point, providing technical input and expertise to advise/coach others and to ensure that actions/decisions taken are appropriate.
• Execute/deliver Master Service Agreements (MSA's) with strategic insurers and deliver against key performance indicators (KPI's) in accordance with service schedules.
• Acts as an escalation point for queries raised by key clients (Insurers) in order to ensure these are handled efficiently and effectively; and a positive image of the company is presented.

Policy, Process and Procedures:

• Ensures up to date records are maintained at all times on the Group systems
• Keep informed of all legal and regulatory developments relevant to the Company/Group
• Interprets instructions and issues arising, and then implement actions according to policies and procedures

Environment, Contacts & Relationships:

Clients

• Builds and maintains strong relationships with internal stakeholders (e.g. Regional Offices, Business Producers, Brokers, Legal Counsel, Compliance, Audit, Accounts, Claims and Administration) and external contacts (e.g. Clients, Professional Bodies, Regulators, Brokers, and Insurers) to ensure delivery meets expectations and is compliant.
• Acts as a point of contact for client requirements, Portfolio issues and queries (internally & externally)
• Through networking, introduces business to other divisions, acting as a key contact in order to grow relationships.
• Resolves client issues relating to Portfolio and escalates them to Divisional Director if needed
• Maintains relationships with third party solution providers
• Remains aware of the market e.g. competitors, potential changes/risks to ensure practices and outputs are of a sufficiently high standard and contribute to the identification of opportunities and business growth.

Other

• Consistently delivers an excellent and comprehensive service
• Promotes company values and contributes to a positive culture within Howden Group

P eople Management/Personal Development:

• Acts as a role model by demonstrating a positive attitude and promoting continuous improvement
• Displays and instils a positive, highly-collaborative agile mindset and customer-centric culture
• Actively undertakes personal development to ensure up to date knowledge and understanding of best practices
• Remains aware of external, industry, legal and regulatory developments to ensure practice and outputs are of a sufficiently high standard

So, what do we need from you?

• Experience of working as a Portfolio Manager or similar role (at least 2 years)
• Experience in market engagement, presentation and high impact documents.
• Experience in analysing large datasets to assess their profitability, scalability, viability and scope of opportunity.
• Demonstrable experience of Portfolio delivery throughout the whole lifecycle (from start-up to benefits realisation)
• Understanding general principles of insurance
• Understanding of London Market operations
• Awareness of the regulatory environment and requirements including e.g. FCA rules, data protection, money laundering, specific standards of insureds' professional bodies
• Consultative and collaborative
• Highly organised, with good planning/prioritisation/time management skills
• Analytical and able to solve problems
• Able to spot opportunities and be enterprising
• Customer focussed approach
• Strong inter-personal skills
• Able to work flexibly to achieve tight deadlines/targets
• Able to positively react to change
• Able to work effectively in a team
• Overseeing colleagues and offering help when required to resolve issues
• GCSEs or equivalent including English and Maths essential
• Educated to degree standard (desirable, but not essential)
• Technically relevant or Industry recognised qualifications (e.g. Prince2, AMP, PMP, MSP, CII Certified etc.) would be beneficial
• Likely to have Dip CII and have started to study for ACII

Our Culture: People First

We've travelled far since opening our first office in 1994. Back then we were local experts – based in London, with direct access to the world's biggest insurance market. We're still locals, and we still deliver the right advice and the right insurance to our clients. But now, we're local all over the world. With 15,000 global colleagues and a partner network spanning more than 100 territories, we are the largest independent insurance broker in the world. But our values haven't changed since day one, when we set out to create a company grounded in:

• An employee-ownership model

• Aligned external investors

• The trust and integrity born of friendship

• Expertise

• Independence

Our focus on being a people-first business has always been at the very heart of Howden. Our vision was to create an independent business with a unique culture; one that would survive and thrive as a business controlled by the people working for it. Our employee ownership model sets us apart in the market. It's created a culture of collaboration and innovation, where we're driven to think bigger and empowered to challenge convention.

Our flat structure and entrepreneurial spirit help us attract the best people and empower them to be the best version of themselves. And when we bring in and nurture great talent, more follows. That makes us better – and that's better for everyone.

Diversity & Inclusion

At Howden we consider our people our chief competitive advantage and as such we treat colleagues, candidates, clients, and business partners with equality, fairness and respect, regardless of their age, disability, race, religion or belief, gender, sexual orientation, marital status or family circumstances.

Howden began in 1994, as just three people and a dog. Now there are 17,000 of us, and we're a leading global insurance group, managing $38bn of premiums for our clients.

Our largest shareholder group is us – the people who work in the business – supported by three long-term, minority growth-equity partners who share our vision to build a business to last, one that will never be sold.

The owner's mindset is something that's embedded in our culture; our people readily take ownership of their decisions, their actions, and their outputs. They're invested in every sense. And we all know that by working together to drive the business forward, everyone will benefit from the extraordinary results we can achieve.