Head: Partnerships at Hollard Insurance

 Advert Summary

• The Head: Partnerships is accountable for the incubation and scaling of new partnerships, including those that are new to Hollard as well as those that are new to both Hollard and the insurance industry.   The role ensures that such new partnerships are grown in a way that delivers sustainable profitability, market relevance, and strategic value to Hollard.
• Further this role retains accountability for the commercial performance, sustainability and optimisation of the existing fee-based and run-off partnerships portfolio. The role ensures disciplined margin management through rigorous control of cost-to-serve, explicit pricing of services, and recovery of development and servicing costs.
• The incumbent owns the portfolio P&L, drives retention and renewal outcomes, and ensures that all partner engagements are commercially sound, scalable and aligned to strategic objectives. The role is expected to actively optimise the books of business through ongoing service redesign, and portfolio interventions to protect margin and improve operational leverage over time.

Key Objectives

• Own these partnerships portfolio performance (P&L, profitability, capital efficiency) and translate Partnerships strategy into clear portfolio outcomes, targets and decision rules per commercial construct.
• Design, implement and continuously refine the portfolio architecture and servicing model, including partner segmentation and service tiers model to ensure favourable economics.
• Lead joint business planning with existing partners with a focus on retention and renewals: set annual commercial budgets, remediation priorities (and delivery milestones; ensure plans are executable through aligned internal capacity and governance) as well as portfolio interventions for underperforming partners (diagnose root causes, agree turnaround plans, and make recommendations to standardise, reprice, restructure, migrate or exit partners in line with economics and strategic fit).
• Work closely with the new business team to drive economic value optimisation for new partnerships by developing partnership structures, business models, and growth plans that enable new ventures to move from concept to scalable commercial delivery. Ensure that partnerships are built to achieve sustainable profitability, expand market reach, and remain relevant in evolving customer and industry landscapes.
• Foster a forward-thinking approach by continuously identifying opportunities to innovate, adapt, and grow partnerships in line with future business needs and market trends.
• Ensure margin discipline by actively managing cost-to-serve, service levels and operational efficiency.
• Own and maintain senior and executive partner relationships with a bias to retention and commercial outcomes; operate as a trusted counterpart to partner executives, challenging constructively and aligning incentives, renewal plans and delivery.
• Chair/lead agreed governance cadences (monthly/quarterly): performance reviews, joint steering forums and issue escalation; manage partner conflicts and ensure decisions are documented, tracked and executed.
• Continuiosly build on the Partnerships distribution team capability framework and team competencies (portfolio owners / KAMs / support roles), setting clear role expectations aligned to the tiered model and ensuring the right capability to deliver on the business objective.
• Provide first-line risk ownership for the partnerships portfolio (third-party risk, conduct, operational, underwriting and reputational risks), ensuring early identification of downside risk and timely mitigation actions to protect value and capital.

Required Knowledge and Experience    
What you'll bring

• 8+ years’ experience in financial services, including accountability for commercial outcomes in a distribution, partnerships or portfolio role.
• Proven experience leading and optimising an existing book/portfolio (P&L, margin, loss ratios, persistency/retention, cost-to-serve), and managing senior and executive stakeholder relationships.
• Proven experience in building and growing new partnerships from concept to sustainable, scalable commercial delivery.
• Experience in commercial structuring and contract negotiation
• Deep understanding of the insurance industry, including distribution economics, underwriting and claims fundamentals, and the competitive landscape; regulatory exams/FAIS/RE requirements remain advantageous where applicable.

Critical Competency and Skill Requirements:

• Commercial & financial acumen: ability to diagnose and improve partnership economics and to make trade-offs that protect long-term shareholder value.
• Executive partner engagement: builds credibility with senior partner stakeholders; influences with evidence; balances relationship strength with outcome discipline.
• Analytical insight: interprets financial, actuarial and operational data; identifies value leakage; translates insight into clear actions and partner narratives.
• Portfolio strategy & optimisation: segments partners, prioritises management attention and investment, and drives renewal, standardise, reprice, reshape or exit decisions in line with Partnerships 2.0.
• Value chain thinking: understands end-to-end drivers across product pricing, distribution, servicing and retention; designs cross-functional interventions that deliver measurable economic impact.
• Execution & governance: sets clear cadences, decision rights and accountability; drives delivery; ensures forecast accuracy and robust first-line risk management.
• Execution drive: Drives execution of agreed initiatives that deliver on ROC and new business margins through the team and support functions.
• Clear communication: communicates complex commercial and technical concepts simply and credibly; produces partner-ready narratives, business cases and governance packs.
• Resilience & change leadership: manages ambiguity, drives portfolio change (service tier shifts, repricing, exits), and leads teams through pressure while maintaining standards.

Educational Requirements    
Qualifications

• University Degree (Business/Finance/Commerce or similar)

Deadline:29th May,2026