Commercial Longevity Actuary

Description:

The Longevity Actuary has a key role in helping the Longevity team secure new business by acting as a pricing and process expert. They will help ensure our approach to pricing longevity risk is market appropriate, and that our product offerings and processes are optimised.

The Longevity Actuary will be an experienced resource that supports the wider team with the checking and review of new business quotes, as well as supporting the wider Longevity team with technical and modelling aspects across the range of actuarial work we complete. They will also support the development of our international (non-UK) market capabilities.

This is a great opportunity for a technically strong and ambitious individual to join a highly successful, friendly and growing team in an exciting, challenging and rewarding environment.

Key Responsibilities:

Lead and support new business tenders both for UK and non-UK quotes by acting as a checker or reviewer
Develop an in-depth understanding of our pricing approach and models used, such that they can be a “go to” person who supports the wider team with their technical and modelling capabilities 
Assess new data (internal and external) and modelling approaches such that the Longevity team’s processes remain competitive, market appropriate and efficient 
Support the development of systems (mainly Excel and R based), to optimise processes/tools and to provide fresh insights on how our pricing process can remain competitive and efficient 
Support longevity basis development both for the UK and non-UK markets
Support UK proposition development
Supporting overall longevity strategy
Support Head of Longevity with appropriate ad-hoc tasks as required
Providing guidance / support / knowledge sharing to longevity team members 

General Duties and Tasks:

The Longevity Actuary is primarily responsible for supporting the Longevity team in delivering profitable new business, by leading or supporting the quote process for both UK and non-UK quotes.

Deal origination & the pricing process (50%)

Supporting the Senior Longevity Actuary in assessment of deal attractiveness 
Leading or supporting new business quotes as part of quote teams
Supporting other quote teams in terms of best practice, and acting as a technical and modelling expert 
Supporting transactions on the actuarial side – contractual aspects, model reviews etc
Working alongside Senior Longevity Actuary to further enhance our relationship with clients 
Review and challenge pricing assumptions in tenders and wider basis related discussions 
Proactively develop and train up others on the pricing process and modelling approaches used

Lon Longevity system & process development (20%)

Optimise current longevity pricing and basis systems and lead/support the development of new systems
Seek to improve efficiencies in current systems by increasing speed and automation
Recommend and investigate new tools and modelling techniques to support basis development and pricing analysis 
Introduce R, or other programs/databases as necessary, to develop systems and processes that boost the team’s centre of competence role in non-UK markets

Basis and proposition development (20%)

Support the Senior Longevity Proposition and Basis Actuary in deriving international bases for specified markets
Support enhancements to the UK basis, proposition and market offering
Ensure that Munich Re’s approach to pricing longevity business is appropriate, suggesting and embedding enhancements to basis processes as necessary

General Longevity team (10%)

Work in conjunction with colleagues to coordinate & facilitate various internal processes
Use desktop and other research to track developments in the market
Proactively develop talent through knowledge sharing on market developments and practices
Promote Longevity within the UK office and aid the Head of Longevity in the development of the UK’s Global Centre Of Competence role including working with international clients and colleagues
Provide guidance and support for inforce monitoring activity within the Longevity team
Work with colleagues to manage material operational risk failures, data/accounting issues, etc. 
Support wider branch as required. Plus any additional duties and responsibilities that may reasonably be expected to be undertaken in accordance with the role

Key Skills and Attributes:

Essential

Directly relevant experience of the bulk annuity industry and longevity swap pricing
Strong analytical and modelling skills, with the ability to work independently and apply judgement
Technically strong, with the ability to develop models in Excel, VBA, R, or other programming languages
Able to grasp new concepts and technical issues quickly, and communicate them effectively to others
A team player who will step up and take responsivity when required
Good people development and training skills
Willing to challenge the status quo
Strong written and oral communication skills