OUTsurance Broker General Manager: Commercial Sales (Western Cape) at OUTsurance

The incumbent of this position will head up a team of Regional Managers including OUTsurance Brokers located in their designated region/s.

The key outputs for this role are as follows:

• Sales target achievement
• Business development
• Coaching
• Target Setting and Business Management
• People Development and Management
• Risk management
• Portfolio Management
• Customer Relationship Management

The OUTsurance Broker General Manager must align themselves with the OUTsurance culture and values of Awesome Service, Passionate, Honest, Human, Dynamic and Recognition.

Responsibilities:

Targets and Business Management

• Support the achievement of OUTsurance Brokers by giving input on all strategic initiatives within the company in order to enhance sales volumes
• Facilitate target setting between the region and relevant strategic partners by presenting targets to the OUTsurance Brokers and managing their relevant relationships within the regions in order to provide support
• Facilitate the communication of agreed targets to OUTsurance Brokers and strategic partners within the regions
• Communicate the necessary expectations of all parties involved in order to meet collaborative goals
• Report, to the OUTsurance Brokers, changes in strategic direction, structures and operating models in order to ensure transparent communication and effective operation within the region
• Explain and agree targets with individual OUTsurance Brokers, communicate to all levels and take accountability for the overall achievement of performance objectives in the business area in terms of employee satisfaction, customer experience, cost performance and return on investment
• Provide clear direction to team members on the OUTsurance Brokers strategic plan and key focus areas and ensure their understanding and buy-in by explaining their expected contribution to achievement of business objectives
• Manage and drive the turnaround time in terms of targets to ensure a high sales performance within the region
• Manage the delivery of deviance reporting to the Head of Sales monthly/as and when requested in order to provide recommendations and mitigating solution to deviances that have occurred (e.g. sales targets not met etc.)
• Re-balance resources between different areas e.g. reallocating headcount or budgets, but within overall allocated resources for the year
• Manage regional budgets including signing off of invoices and quotes within mandate. Escalate out of budget items to the Head of Sales for approval
• Review performance against balanced score card components as prescribed by the Head of Sales , discuss gaps and agree action plans to close gaps
• Benchmark productivity of the region against industry standards and create measures to improve productivity
• Assist OUTsurance Brokers, as necessary, by interacting with clients in order to facilitate sales and/or client concerns/complaints

Coaching

• Coaching all OUTsurance Brokers within the region to promote a productive sales environment to ensure sales targets are reached
• Meet with OUTsurance Brokers in the regional team on a regular basis in on a one on one basis to coach them on best practice sales processes
• Coach the OUTsurance Brokers on issues and challenges they are experiencing in the region and provide guidance to them on resolving the issues by e.g. brainstorming around the issues / challenges or creating support network for the OUTsurance Brokers to align to

People Management

• Actively participate in the recruitment and selection process of all OUTsurance Brokers by interviewing new team members including determining appropriate compensation levels per the relevant remuneration model for OUTsurance Brokers
• Establish and maintain a succession plan for the regional team of OUTsurance Brokers by seeking and attracting OUTsurance Brokers on an ongoing basis
• Create effective workforce plans and recruitment demand plans for own region to ensure that current and future business requirements can be met. Plans should be revised at least twice a year or as and when required
• Work with OUTsurance Brokers in the team to achieve excellent business results through continuous people development and mentoring activities
• Conduct meaningful performance development discussions with OUTsurance Brokers and ensure that agreed action plans are implemented
• Determine and analyze training and development needs for OUTsurance Brokers. Ensure that identified training is budgeted for and executed
• Motivate OUTsurance Brokers in allocated regions and ensure that their efforts are recognized

Risk management

• Communicate processes, control requirements and risk management frameworks that impact the sales process in own region and provide documented support to ensure understanding and for reference by OUTsurance Brokers
• Coach team members on all the processes and controls that they have to execute in their daily work and ensure that they understand the reasons for the controls and the consequences for failing to adhere to the prescribed processes
• Own and agree corrective action items arising from Compliance, Internal Audit and / or Management assurance findings related to the functional area under management
• Ensure that OUTsurance Brokers in own region complete all required compliance exams and attestations within specified timeframes. Do not allow OUTsurance Brokers to work until they have completed pre-requisite compliance training
• Ensure team understands all compliance requirements and call for the area’s Compliance Officer to conduct briefing sessions if gaps are identified
• Ensure that all regulatory requirements are adhered to by facilitating knowledge acquisition by OUTsurance Brokers. Provide information on all changes to policies, processes and procedures that are being planned and ensure that team members read circulars that are relevant to the area and answer questions they may have

Identify Business Opportunities

• Identify and manage the creation of new business opportunities for the region in order to expand the market size for OUTsurance Brokers and support the OUTsurance Brokers with new sales opportunities
• Identify new business offerings for the OUTsurance Brokers in order to provide additional sales opportunities

Competencies

• Self-starter
• Influential, concise, rational and practical communicator
• Creative flair and innovative thinker
• Sound understanding of business
• Incredibly well spoken with strong interpersonal and negotiation skills
• Relationship management
• trategy and project management skills
• he ability to manage multiple projects within tight deadlines
• Self-motivated team player, able to inspire colleagues and display leadership by example
• Discretion, judgment and high levels of trust

Qualifications

Essential

• Relevant B Degree and/or equivalent NQF7
• Higher Certificate / Diploma in the insurance industry
• RE 1 / RE 5 / FAIS qualifications
• Minimum 5 years’ experience as a key stakeholder/manager in insurance Sales and Business Development
• Minimum of 3 years’ experience in a Sales Management role with emphasis on people management
• Strong flair for numbers and an ability to augment business rationale with supporting calculations
• Strong understanding of the Face to Face Distribution model in a direct insurer/ tied agency environment
• Excellent people management skills, including a track record of successfully leading large sales teams
• Solid Business Development understanding with specific focus to sales optimization as well as performance drive of the OUTsurance Brokers.