Role summary:
The role is responsible for overseeing and optimizing the company's insurance operations. This role involves negotiating insurance policies with brokers, securing higher limits when necessary, and leading advanced discussions with insurers in critical scenarios. The Director will train and develop commercial teams on insurance needs and processes, continually improve operational processes, and maintain a deep understanding of credit insurance products and market trends. The ideal candidate will possess negotiation skills, advanced knowledge of insurance products, and proven leadership abilities to manage a team.
Responsibilities:
The role entails the following responsibilities:
(1) Policy Negotiation
- Ongoing Negotiation on New Policies: Lead negotiations with insurers and brokers to establish and update policies in line with commercial objectives.
- Client Engagement: Maintain a client-facing role, speaking directly with funders to understand their policies and requirements.
- Internal Liaison: Regularly communicate with the origination team to understand their constraints and support them with new opportunities.
- Co-Insured Policies: Set up co-insured policies with funders to expand coverage and mitigate risks.
- Critical Discussions: Lead advanced negotiations with insurers to secure favorable terms and conditions in complex scenarios.
(2) Ongoing Broker Management
- Relationship Building: Develop and maintain strong working relationships with credit insurance brokers and insurers to ensure continuous support and favorable terms.
- Insurance Support: Collaborate with brokers to secure higher limits when needed to meet commercial objectives.
- Claims Management: Oversee claims and manage protracted defaults with credit insurers through brokers, ensuring smooth and timely resolution.
- Reporting: Work with brokers to manage regular reporting on premium calculations and overdue accounts.
(3) Process Ownership
- Process Improvement: Act as the owner of all insurance-related processes, continuously improving them for operational efficiency and risk reduction
- Oversight & Compliance: Ensure that all insurance operations adhere to relevant regulations and internal standards, including accurate documentation and policy management.
- Team Training: Train internal teams on insurance needs, processes, and best practices to ensure consistency and expertise across the board.
Role specific technical competencies:
- Client-Facing Experience: The role demands significant external interaction and requires prior experience in handling clients, especially in negotiations and stakeholder management.
- International Exposure: The role requires global experience. The candidate must be comfortable working in an international environment and dealing with global insurers and brokers.
- Leadership Skills: Proven track record in leading and mentoring teams.
- Process Improvement: Strong skills in operational efficiency, process improvement, and risk reduction.
- Communication: Excellent communication and collaboration skills, with the ability to present complex ideas clearly to both internal teams and external stakeholders.
Qualifications (training, licences, memberships and certifications):
- Bachelor’s degree in finance, business, or a related field
- The ideal candidate will have 10+ years of experience working for a combination of credit insurers, trade finance within banks, credit insurance brokers, fintech companies involved in trade finance, and export credit agencies (ECAs).
Note:
Olea is committed to diversity and inclusion. By providing equal opportunities we foster a work environment which embraces diversity and gets the best out of the broadest spectrum of people to sustain business performance and competitive advantage. We build an inclusive culture by demonstrating respect for each other’s unique strengths and perspectives to enable every employee to develop a sense of belonging and have the opportunity to maximise their potential.
