Cape Town: Operational Executive (Insurance) posted by Be Different Recruitment

In order to be considered the following is required:

• Bachelors degree in business, operations or IT (MBA or relevant postgraduate qualification preferred)
• 8+ years experience in operations leadership, preferably within insurance or financial services
• Deep experience within insurance, financial services or a similarly regulated environment ideally across both life and non-life portfolios
• Demonstrated experience owning or overseeing policy administration platforms and technology ecosystems
• Proven track record of driving large-scale process improvement, automation and digital transformation initiatives
• Strong vendor management and negotiation experience, including holding technology partners accountable to performance
• Experience operating in a group or multi-entity business structure is advantageous

Responsibilities:

Technology and Systems Management:

• Take full executive ownership of the OWLS policy administration platform, including development roadmap, upgrades, maintenance and vendor performance management
• Identify, evaluate and drive technology optimization opportunities across the business, with a clear focus on improving client outcomes, reducing friction and enabling seamless service delivery
• Bridge the gap between business requirements and technical delivery, translating complex operational needs into clear system specifications
• Lead IT vendor relationships and hold partners accountable to delivery standards, SLAs and strategic alignment
• Stay ahead of emerging technologies and platforms relevant to insurance operations and position the business to adopt them advantageously

Governance and Risk:

• Ensure all operational activities are aligned with internal control frameworks and relevant regulatory requirements
• Review and sign off on client-facing documentation, operational templates and communications to governance standards
• Proactively identify and mitigate operational and technology risk, escalating appropriately within the executive team

Process Design and Continuous Improvement:

• Architect and implement end-to-end process improvements that drive scalability, reduce costs and eliminate operational friction
• Apply a rigorous, data-informed lens to identify bottlenecks and design solutions that endure beyond the immediate fix
• Embed a culture of operational excellence and continuous improvement across all teams within the function

Executive Leadership and Cross-Functional Influence:

• Lead, develop and inspire the operations and IT teams, setting high standards and building genuine capability
• Drive effective cross-functional collaboration with finance, marketing, distribution and compliance
• Operate with executive presence and credibility, contributing meaningfully to collective leadership decisions and representing the operational function with clarity and commercial insight
• Maintain an unwavering focus on client-centric outcomes across all cross-functional work, ensuring the client experience is never a downstream consideration but a primary design principle

Strategic Operations Leadership:

• Own and drive the operational strategy across policy administration, claims, onboarding, servicing and benefit management
• As a member of the executive team, contribute to business strategy and ensure operational decisions are always anchored in commercial reality and client impact
• Champion a client-centric operational philosophy, ensuring that every process, system and team decision is evaluated through the lens of client experience and service excellence
• Build and maintain an operational environment that is resilient, scalable and positioned to support the business through growth phases
• Lead the operational implementation of new product launches across life and non-life portfolios from inception through to delivery

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Please consider your application as unsuccessful if you have not received a response within 14 days of submitting your application.