Insurance Senior Manager

Thistle Group is a multi-award-winning organisation which offers a range of services and products to financial services firms, helping our clients through the twists and turns of the ever-changing regulatory landscape.

Thistle Initiatives, our regulatory consultancy, provides expert compliance advice and support right across the financial services sector. Our clients range from niche start-ups to long-established market leaders covering the following verticals: Investments, Payment Services, Financial Crime, Credit, Mortgages, Insurance and Digital Assets.

The Senior Manager role will be within our Credit and Insurance team, which provides services for those firms regulated by the FCA. Whilst the role is for a Senior Manager in the Credit and Insurance team, the successful candidate will have a strong insurance background, with any other experience in credit and/or mortgages not being mandatory.

This role offers a fantastic opportunity to elevate your career in financial services. The Senior Manager will be responsible for managing and delivering a range of compliance solutions to the teams’ clients. The right individual will need to demonstrate an ability to successfully manage projects from beginning to end, have a professional manner, provide an excellent client experience and be adaptable to change in this diverse role.

This is a combined business development and delivery role. The Senior Manager will need to apply both FCA and PRA rules and guidance to firms across the insurance market. The individual will also need to be able to promote and sell the services of Thistle Initiatives to both new and existing clients, as well as attend and participate at conferences, webinars and other marketing functions.

Key responsibilities

Responsibilities are wide-ranging and varied, given the exciting projects we work on. We are keen to speak to people with a passion for problem solving, building products, mentoring and growing success teams, and delivering high quality outputs.

Technical Competencies

• Application of regulation: must provide and maintain a working knowledge of the FCA Handbook, the Financial Services and Markets Act, the operational workings of the insurance market and be able to apply this to the business requirements of our client firms.
• Extensive working knowledge of ICOBS, SYSC and other relevant sourcebooks and their application to insurance products, with exposure to both retail and commercial lines of insurance.
• The Senior Manager must be able to link back to the Regulated Activities Order, relevant Directives (as applicable) and the Money Laundering Regulations.
• PRA Rulebook experience is also desirable, with the right candidate being able to consider and advise clients on the Rulebook.

Client Delivery

• Self-starter attitude to completing client work and delivering high-quality client service levels, as well as mentoring junior team members to do the same.
• Supporting the Partner in the delivery of client projects, including oversight, task delegation and quality assurance.
• Responsible for the oversight of the team and for the smooth running of client projects in the absence of the Partner.
• Undertaking client audits, including reporting and making recommendations relating to address any areas of concern.
• Support the Partner to build, manage and motivate a team of highly skilled compliance professionals to ensure delivery of compliance solutions to the Group’s clients
• Multitasking and managing multiple client projects at any given time.
• Ability to work under pressure, with tight turn arounds and with consideration for regulatory or client deadlines.
• Understanding the principles of utilisation, working on client projects as efficiently as possible within the scope provided. Being accountable for own time management and that of the junior staff on a project.
• Strong client relationship and key account management, becoming their trusted insurance advisor.

Sales and Marketing

• Driving client sales and upselling to contribute to the team financial targets.
• Attend networking seminars and discussion groups to promote the Group’s services to other businesses.
• Support the Partner in implementing the division’s business plan, actively contributing to the Team’s revenue growth through project sales.
• Support the Partner in building and driving a marketing plan for the Team.
• Understand and seek opportunities to further develop the Insurance offering for new and existing compliance clients, creating new business opportunities, holding pitch calls, delivering proposals to clients and concluding sales.
• Respond to client and sales enquires, co-ordinating responses with the senior management team and converting leads to new business.
• Attend seminars, discussion groups and promote the groups services to other businesses.
• Analyse new regulation and legislation, identifying impact on target market and ideas for potential client offerings.
• Contributing to developing the market for our services across all sectors and identify sales opportunities.
• Proactively identify upselling and cross-selling opportunities with existing clients and mentoring junior staff on how to do the same.
• Proactively maintain and build your network within the insurance industry.

Team Management

• Training and mentoring junior staff and assisting with the performance management/development of team members
• Proactively identify opportunities for shared learning and support the Partner in upskilling junior staff members.
• Support the Partner to manage and motivate a team of highly skilled compliance professionals to ensure delivery of compliance solutions to the Group’s clients.
• Support the Partner in maintaining a positive team culture, focused on high-quality customer service and outputs.

Relationships with external and internal stakeholders

• Participate in business development initiatives and become a spokesperson for Thistle’s Insurance division, through targeting and pitching to external clients, attending industry conferences, and speaking engagements.
• Interlink relationships within Thistle Group to support insurance requirements across the firm.
• Liaising with industry bodies and regulators.
• Become a key point of contact for questions from both client and team members and reply accordingly.

This role is not limited to the above duties, due to the nature of the market you will need to be adaptable and open to change in this position.

Behavioural Competencies

• Excellent communication skills to communicate openly and effectively, both internally and externally, to deliver the requirements of our client firms, with the ability to adapt to different audiences.
• Commercial awareness to be mindful of the commercial objectives of the firm when delivering compliance assistance.
• Commitment and enthusiasm with the desire to see the firm succeed.
• Ability to embrace change and be adaptable to the changing requirements of the regulations and be keen to develop new skills accordingly.
• Personal credibility with ability to establish and maintain trusting relationships with others.
• Team working skills that foster effective and productive working relationships to be considerate to the needs and opinions of others.
• Proactive attitude to actively seek new tasks and have a growth mindset.
• Self-driven with the ability to act as a team player.
• Determined attitude with the resilience and tenacity to manage projects from start to finish.
• Must be able to work autonomously and take initiative, identifying when referral needs to be made.
• Excellent written communication skills with the ability to draft written communications and documentation in an articulate way and to a high standard.

Experience/Qualifications

• Recent and relevant experience in a senior role at either a financial services firm or consultancy, including managing a team and/or advising at a senior level.
• Exposure to business development and public speaking.
• Broad base of compliance knowledge.
• Specific understanding/knowledge of the rules surrounding insurance regulation.
• Educational attainment at degree level desirable but not essential.
• Be numerate, articulate, and analytical and competent with all Microsoft packages.
• Intermediate MS Excel, MS Word and PowerPoint.
• Demonstrate an ability to solve problems in a rational manner.
• Ability to demonstrate an awareness of the immediate and the wider implications when applying regulation in practice.
• Ability to conduct thorough research and analyse data.

We offer

• Competitive salary and the ability to grow your career within the Thistle Initiatives Group
• 25 - 30 days holiday entitlement depending on length of service
• Company pension scheme
• Private Medical Insurance
• Gym membership contribution
• Fantastic City of London location and working environment
• Working with dynamic teams with regular social events

If you are looking to springboard your career to the next level and would like to be part of a supportive and dynamic culture, then please apply.