Head of Operations Strategy, Operational Excellence & Change

Strategy , Planning, Operational Excellence & Risk Management

• Support the development and shaping of the Operations Strategy, Goals and Change Portfolio aligned with Executive Governance & Strategy, Underwriting and Transformation & Technology

• Lead planning, tracking and implementation of initiatives to deliver on the Operations Strategy.

• Support Operations teams, Operations leadership team and senior stakeholders across the Division to align and articulate the operations strategic priorities and bring together as a plan for delivery.

• Support the development and shaping of the Operational Excellence strategy for the International division, promoting lean process engineer best practices, tools and training across the division.

• Support the QBE modernisation agenda including the identification of business priorities both across Operations & Underwriting agreeing prioritisation, definition, benefits, sponsorship ,  execution & proving benefits achieved.

• Create and own the Risk agenda across the Services team including development of RCSA’s, input to BCP and creation of a regular risk management review across the Services function.

Deliver

• Creation of a centralised Operations Change team delivering agreed Change initiatives and promoting & embedding project management & change management skills and capabilities across Operations

• Provide oversight and/or guidance for all change initiatives impacting Operations & Underwriting, whether initiated by Operations or elsewhere. E.g. Blueprint 2, new Bermuda office

• Monitor and ensure execution of overall Operations strategic, operational, continuous improvement and change plans/initiative, raising issues in a timely manner, ensuring rigorous structure for assigning prioritisation, accountability and responsibilities.

• Creation of a centralised Operational/Service Excellence team supporting both Operations and the Division and delivering on agreed initiatives, promoting & embedding lean process engineer best practices, process business partners, service excellence managers and tools and training across the Division.

• Partner with the Service Excellence Underwriting Managers within Operation to understand their change portfolio and ensure alignment with the overall Operations Change Portfolio. Identify opportunities for synergies or greater alignment between and across teams.

• Ensure a culture of customer focus, continuous improvement, operational excellence, and innovation across all of Operations.

General Responsibilities 

• Build strong relationships with key stakeholders across the division, especially Underwriting, Transformation & Technology, People, Risk and Resilience and Exec Governance & Strategy, to align, contract on rules of engagement / terms of reference and to understand / resolve issues.

• Maintain regular communication with peers across QBE globally, as appropriate to ensure consistency, transfer of knowledge and promotion of “best in class” methodology, delivery, and ideas.

• Motivate and develop hybrid and matrix team members to ensure the required standards of performance and support the continuing personal and professional development of all team members.

About You:

• Proven recent experience in establishing, leading & developing high performing matrix teams delivering end to end change and operational excellence

• In depth understanding & recent experience of leading, shaping & delivering large Underwriting division wide modernisation programmes inc but not limited to change management  & continuous improvement strategies and techniques – must have underwriting transformation/modernisation experience

• In depth understanding of modernisation programmes inc change management & continuous improvement strategies and techniques

• Strategic thinking with the ability to navigate complex issues and drive impactful change.

• Ability communicate & influence at all levels within the organisation, up to and including Board level.

• Project & Program management skills to plan, motivate and achieve required deadlines especially within and Underwriting environment

• Business & People Change management skills to be able to identify and put into place new approaches to drive business and cultural organisational change

• Operational Excellence skills to be able to identify Continuous improvement/Process Improvement opportunities and implement agreed opportunities

• Digital savvy with strong analytical skills and a data driven mindset

• Experience in dashboard creation & maintenance using Power BI

Why QBE? At My Best  

At QBE, we want our people to feel rewarded and inspired to perform at their best, that’s why we have created “At My Best”. It’s our connection, our way of showing we have your back. We understand that one size doesn’t fit all and that priorities can change depending on your life stage. That is why our blend of wellbeing initiatives and benefits offer flexibility to suit what matters most to you. It’s in the culture of our business, our QBE DNA, to support our people. Everything we do is underpinned by our QBE DNA - because we know it’s not just what we do that matters, it’s how we do it that makes the difference.  In addition to this, we also offer flexible parental leave for both parents and have several employee network groups that support and empower our diverse workforce.

At QBE, we view our people as our most precious asset. We understand the importance of fostering a work environment that is responsive to the changing needs of today's workforce. QBE aims to build a workplace that is fair and inclusive because we want to attract and retain the best people to do the job, we have adopted flexible working across the company and welcome this conversation (https://qbeeurope.com/careers/flex-qbe/).

We are proud to have partnerships with organisations such as Stonewall and Working Families, and our commitment to the Women in Finance Charter, the UN Women’s Empowerment Principles and Race at Work charter helps keep us accountable and transparent

Inclusion of Diversity 

We are striving to create a workplace culture where all our people feel included, and we are committed to building a diverse workforce that is reflective of the communities we operate in.

We know that diversity of thought, background and experience enables better decision making, improves the quality of our delivery and helps us to meet the needs of our customers.

ESG & Sustainability 

At QBE, we believe that integrating sustainability into our business helps us deliver on our purpose of enabling a more resilient future.  Our three key focus areas include fostering an orderly and inclusive transition to a net-zero economy, enabling a sustainable and resilient workforce and partnering for growth through innovative, sustainable and impactful solutions. For further information regarding QBE’s sustainability targets, including our net-zero pledges and inclusion of diversity targets, and our award-winning impact investment initiative ‘Premiums4Good’, please visit our Sustainability homepage and read our latest Sustainability Report (Link).

About QBE 

We can never really predict what’s around the corner, but at QBE we’re asking the right questions to enable a more resilient future – helping those around us build strength and embrace change to their advantage.

We’re an international insurer that’s building momentum towards realising our vision of becoming the most consistent and innovative risk partner.

And our people will be at the centre of our success. We’re proud to work together, and encourage each other enable resilience for our customers, our environment, our economies and our communities.

With more than more than 11,000 people working across 27 countries, we’re big enough to make a real impact, but small enough to provide a friendly workplace, where people are down-to-earth, passionate and kind.

We believe this is our moment – what if it was yours too?

Your career at QBE — let’s make it happen!

To find out more about why you should work for QBE, visit our careers website.

What next? 

If you have a passion to contribute to QBE’s vision of enabling a more resilient future for our customers and the community, we encourage you to apply! Simply click the “apply” button to submit your CV and other relevant documents, and a member of our friendly Talent Acquisition team will be in contact to discuss your interest further if you meet the requirements of the role.

Please make the Talent Acquisition aware should there be any reasonable adjustments that may need to be made for the interview and the remainder of the recruitment process.

Equal Employment Opportunity: 

QBE is an equal opportunity employer and is required to comply with equal employment opportunity legislation in each jurisdiction it operates.