Lead Client Markets & New Business

About the Role

We are looking for an experienced and commercially minded reinsurance professional to lead our client market and new business activities across Sub-Saharan Africa.

This is a senior role within the P&C Reinsurance Sub-Saharan Africa Market Unit, spanning client strategy, business development, new business origination and the development of transactions and solutions. Working closely with the Market Head and underwriting teams, you will play a key role in shaping and executing our market strategy and driving sustainable, profitable growth across the region.

You will lead the development of our most important client relationships, identify opportunities beyond our existing portfolio and bring together expertise from across Swiss Re to develop solutions to our clients' most important challenges.

The role requires someone who can move comfortably between strategic discussions with senior client executives, identifying and developing new opportunities, and mobilising cross-functional teams to turn opportunities into business.

Key Responsibilities

Client Strategy & Relationship Management

• Lead and coordinate client strategies for key accounts, ensuring a holistic understanding of each client's business, strategic priorities and opportunities for Swiss Re.


• Develop and foster senior relationships across clients, including C-suite and executive management, while broadening Swiss Re's relationships beyond traditional reinsurance contacts.


• Bring the full breadth of Swiss Re's capabilities to clients across treaty, facultative, transactions, solutions and relevant specialist areas.


• Act as a senior point of connectivity between clients and Swiss Re, bringing together appropriate expertise from across the organisation.


• Build and maintain a strong external network across clients, brokers, insurance associations and other market participants.

New Business & Origination

• Lead new business development for the Sub-Saharan Africa Market Unit, identifying opportunities to grow both our core reinsurance portfolio and business beyond traditional treaty renewals.


• Develop and maintain a structured pipeline of new business opportunities, ensuring clear prioritisation, ownership and follow-through.


• Identify emerging client needs and translate these into actionable commercial opportunities.


• Originate opportunities across new clients, existing clients, products and markets, working closely with Client Underwriters and specialist teams.


• Monitor market developments, competitive activity and changing client needs to identify future areas of growth.

Transactions & Solutions

• Act as the Market Unit focal point for P&C transactions and structured solutions, working closely with P&C Structured Solutions and other specialist teams.


• Originate transactional opportunities by understanding clients' strategic, capital, earnings and risk-management objectives.


• Lead the commercial development of opportunities and bring together cross-functional deal teams to develop and execute solutions.


• Support the positioning and negotiation of significant transactions, ensuring alignment between client needs, commercial objectives and Swiss Re's risk appetite.


• Build transactional capability within the Market Unit by helping colleagues identify opportunities through their own client relationships.

Market Strategy & Growth

• Partner with the Market Head in developing and executing the Sub-Saharan Africa market strategy and go-to-market approach.


• Translate Swiss Re's broader strategic priorities into tangible commercial opportunities within the region.


• Identify attractive markets, client segments and areas of opportunity and help determine where Swiss Re should deploy resources and capabilities.


• Provide insights on competitor activity, market trends, client strategies and evolving industry dynamics.


• Represent Swiss Re externally at relevant industry events, conferences and client forums.

Cross-functional Leadership

• Lead cross-functional teams around key clients and strategic opportunities, creating clarity on objectives, responsibilities and execution.


• Connect colleagues across the Market Unit, CUO, P&C Structured Solutions, Specialty, Facultative and other relevant areas of Swiss Re.


• Drive opportunities from initial idea through evaluation, proposition development and execution.


• Promote collaboration, knowledge sharing and a One Swiss Re approach to clients.


• Coach and support colleagues in client management, origination and business development.

About the Team

The Sub-Saharan Africa P&C Market Unit is responsible for developing and managing a sustainable and profitable reinsurance portfolio across Southern, East and West Africa.

Our team combines deep market knowledge, underwriting expertise and strong client relationships and works closely with colleagues across Swiss Re globally. We collaborate extensively with P&C Structured Solutions, Specialty, Facultative, Claims, Underwriting and other specialist teams to bring the best of Swiss Re to our clients.

The role will be based in South Africa, report to the Market Head Sub-Saharan Africa and work closely with Client Underwriters, Property and Casualty Practice Leads and specialist teams across Swiss Re.

About You

You are a commercially driven and entrepreneurial reinsurance professional who combines strong client instincts with the ability to turn ideas into executable business opportunities.

You think strategically but are equally comfortable driving execution. You are curious about clients and their businesses and can identify needs that may not yet have translated into formal reinsurance opportunities.

You build credibility with senior stakeholders, communicate complex issues clearly and can mobilise people across organisational boundaries.

Essentials

• Significant experience in the insurance or reinsurance industry, with a strong understanding of P&C insurance and reinsurance.


• Demonstrated experience in client management, business development, origination or a comparable commercially focused role.


• Strong understanding of treaty reinsurance and the commercial and financial drivers of insurance companies.


• Proven ability to develop and maintain relationships with senior client stakeholders, including executive management.


• Strong commercial judgement and the ability to identify, prioritise and develop profitable business opportunities.


• Ability to understand and articulate complex reinsurance, capital and risk-management solutions, working with technical specialists where required.


• Demonstrated ability to lead cross-functional teams and influence stakeholders across organisational boundaries.


• Strong negotiation, communication and presentation skills.


• Ability to operate effectively across diverse markets, cultures and business environments.


• Willingness to travel regularly across Sub-Saharan Africa and internationally as required.

Advantageous

• Qualified Actuary, MBA or relevant qualification.


• Experience originating or executing structured reinsurance transactions or other complex reinsurance solutions.


• Experience across multiple P&C lines of business.


• Strong network across the African insurance, reinsurance and broking markets.


• Experience working with facultative, specialty or alternative reinsurance solutions.


• Previous experience leading strategic client or market initiatives.

What Success Looks Like

Success means deeper and broader relationships with our most important clients; a strong pipeline of new opportunities; increased origination of transactions and solutions; greater connectivity between our clients and Swiss Re's specialist capabilities; and disciplined conversion of opportunities into sustainable, profitable business.

You will help position Swiss Re not simply as a capacity provider, but as a strategic partner to our clients across Sub-Saharan Africa.

Compensation & Work Model

For South Africa, the base salary range for this position is between R1 430 000 and R2 380 000 for a full-time role.

The specific salary offered considers:

• the requirements, scope, complexity and responsibilities of the role


• the applicant's own profile including education/qualifications, expertise, specialisation, skills and experience

In addition to your base salary, Swiss Re offers an attractive performance-based variable compensation component, designed to recognise your achievements. Further you will enjoy a variety of global and location specific benefits.

Eligibility may vary depending on the terms of Swiss Re policies and your employment contract.

Our company has a hybrid work model where the expectation is that you will be in the office at least three days per week.

Please note, that preference will be given to designated applicants as per the employment equity act.

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