Head of Division - Research and Development
St. James's Place (SJP) works in partnership to plan, grow and protect our clients’ financial futures. We deliver personalised, face-to-face financial advice to our clients, who trust us to manage their money to reach their goals. We provide this service via the Partnership, a network of qualified, expert advisors. We put financial wellbeing and responsible business choices at the heart of everything we do. We believe in the value of difference and know that diverse teams can help us problem solve and innovate for clients.
We look for people to join SJP to make an impact and to contribute to our culture which is based around long term relationships, doing the right thing, and being the best version of ourselves.
Location: Cirencester Office
Workplace Type: Hybrid
Employment Type: Permanent
Seniority: Mid-Senior Level
This person will provide actuarial expertise to deliver business objectives as part of the Research & Development division. The Research & Development division is responsible for product development/pricing, strategic projects, providing tools and calculations to support growth in new business and technical actuarial support across SJP including to the Partnership (SJP advisers).
What you’ll be doing:
- In line with Business Plan and corporate objectives, contribute to the research, design and development of profitable new products providing fair client outcomes, and making recommendations where these will contribute to the SJP brand.
- Ensure that the product design and pricing of SJP products and services aligns with all relevant regulations and legislation.
- Represent Research and Development on a range of cross-business projects, acting as SME and monitoring resource to ensure successful implementation.
- Provide actuarial support to various stakeholders including the Partnership, third-party administrators and internal teams across a range of business areas including pricing concessions, product functionality, illustrations and other calculations.
- Liaise and manage relationships with teams across the business and with a range of third-party providers.
- Provide figures, analysis and recommendations to support business decisions.
- Ensure accuracy of illustrations, terms and conditions and product documentation.
- Lead, direct and motivate team members, providing guidance and support.
Who we’re looking for:
- Qualified actuary with several years post qualification experience in a product development, pricing or commercial function.
- Excellent knowledge of UK FS marketplace and consumer needs relating to financial products.
- Understanding of regulations and legislation relevant to SJP products.
- Awareness of both UK and International products.
- Good understanding of the core products open to new business with SJP with particular focus on charges and terms and conditions.
- Good understanding of processes owned by the team, such as Key Features Illustrations, Capital Gains reports and Critical Yield calculations.
- Excellent IT skills including Excel.
- Capable of understanding complex problems and independently finding creative solutions.
- Able to balance needs of multiple stakeholders and find pragmatic solutions when faced with a range of numerical and regulatory constraints.
- Excellent analysis skills.
- Able to effectively communicate technical content to a variety of audiences.
- Strong interpersonal skills – able to deal with colleagues at all levels.
What's in it for you?
- Private Medical paid for by Company.
- Meaningful protection benefits with real value, such as 10X life cover, PHI, and critical illness.*
- Non-Contributory Pension – 10% (increasing with length of service up to 15%) with further pension matching.
- Parental leave – 6 months full pay
- 28 days holiday entitlement plus bank holidays (based on full-time equivalent) with the option to buy up to an additional 5 days holiday
*Not applicable to Fixed-Term Contracts (standard uplift applies in lieu of the protection benefits)
Flexible Working
We know that everyone works best in
different ways, at different times and in different environments. We have
introduced a hybrid working policy to provide greater flexibility for part-time
work, job-sharing, remote working, and flexibility on hours. Our people are
encouraged to work in a flexible way that suits their lifestyle, so please ask
the question and start a conversation!
Research tells us that applicants (especially those from underrepresented groups) can be put off from applying for a role if they do not meet all the criteria or have been on an extended career-break. If you think you would be a good match for this role and can demonstrate some transferable experience please apply, regardless of whether you tick every box.
Reasonable Adjustments
We're an
equal opportunities employer and want to ensure our recruitment process is
accessible and inclusive for all, if you require reasonable adjustment(s) at
any stage please let us know by emailing us at [email protected]
What's next?
Our team will be in touch. As a business regulated by the FCA we would advise you to familiarise yourself with the conduct regulations and in particular consumer duty obligations prior to an interview with SJP.
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