Actuarial Manager

Imagine a world where people live healthier, more enhanced and protected lives… A world in which each organisation is a powerful influencer and responsible corporate citizen, committed to being a force for social good. As a leading innovator in healthcare, wellness, insurance, investments, financial and life planning, Discovery works ceaselessly to make this vision a reality. Fuelled by our passion for enhancing lives and our desire to innovate, Discovery consistently sets global standards, creating shared value through shared intellectual capital. A testament to this is our Vitality programme, which is both a platform to incentivise people to live healthier lives as well as a channel through which shared value is delivered. We are a proudly South African-born, global company with health, life and short term insurance operations in South Africa and the United Kingdom, and a presence in Germany, France, the United States, Canada, Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, China and Japan through our Global Vitality Network. One way in which we uphold our promise of shared value is by being a positive disruptor that focusses on bringing about sustainable change in the lives of the people and communities we serve across the globe. Our values of leadership, honesty, innovation and fairness act as our compass, directing our business practices to take advantage of every opportunity while looking for ways to dazzle clients. Key Purpose The successful candidate will form part of the Vitality Actuarial team responsible for analytical analysis and modelling of the Vitality programme to answer key business questions, inform the business strategy, understand the exposure to key risks, and ensure that the business remains financially stable. Areas of responsibility may include but not limited to: Develop actuarial or statistical models to aid in strategic business decision-making. Prepare short-term and long-term financial projections used in setting the Vitality budgets, pricing new benefits, and calculating the Vitality embedded value. Monitor the emerging financial experience against budgets and stress testing the resilience of the Vitality business as part of the ORSA process. Model out the commercial implications of contracts in place with Vitality rewards partners, assisting executives with the optimization of existing contracts and the negotiation of new partnerships. Identify and understand key business and data trends, assess the impact, and identify possible courses of action to mitigate or capitalize on these opportunities. Conduct ad-hoc investigations and analyses including quantifying the financial and business impact of strategic projects, working with executives to craft and implement key strategic projects. Extracting and analysing large datasets to yield rich insights and communicating the results to a wide variety of stakeholders including the Vitality SA Executive Committee. Compilation of reports and presentations for the Vitality Exco, Vitality Board, Actuarial Committee, Discovery Board and Group Exco. Develop and leverage key working relationships with various stakeholders across the business to support the aims of the organization. Mentor, support and train junior analysts. Behavioural Skills & Competencies The following competencies and behavioural indicators are relevant to the position: Strong analytical skills with the ability to collect, organize, analyse, and disseminate information simply and effectively. Strong ability to work with, analyse and communicate findings from data (top-down verbal and written communication). A passion for delivering results with a sense of urgency for rapid action. Excellent time-management skills with the ability to prioritize deliverables and manage stakeholder expectations. Well-versed in the ability to disaggregate issues and problem-solving. A critical thinker who is curious and eager to know 'why.' Creative and innovative. Comfortable adapting and responding to change and a fast-paced environment. Strong abilities in dealing with unstructured problems and complex environments. Excellent attention to detail. Good writing and reporting skills. Good people skills and situational awareness. Ability to cope with business pressures and setbacks. Ability to think with a commercial and growth mindset. Good sense of materiality with the ability to put things into perspective. Qualification & Experience Bachelor of Science degree in Actuarial Science, Statistics or Data Science, with an Honours degree would be advantageous. Nearly or recently academically qualified actuaries 2 - 4 years' worth of relevant work experience Advanced proficiency in MS Word, MS Excel, MS PowerPoint and MS Outlook and SQL Advanced experience in Actuarial Modelling, Problem Solving, Data Analysis Ability to communicate technical complexity to a non-technical audience. An interest in Behavioural Science and analysing large datasets. Desire to teach and grow more junior members. Keen to pursue a career outside of a traditional actuarial environment whilst applying actuarial and statistical principles in a non-traditional way.