Role – Group Financial Risk Manager

Who are we?

Howden is a collective – a group of talented and passionate people all around the world. Together, we have pushed the boundaries of insurance. We are united by a shared passion and no-limits mind-set, and our strength lies in our ability to collaborate as a powerful international team comprised of 24,000 employees spanning over 100 countries.

Our people are our biggest asset as well as our largest shareholder group and are everything that makes us unique; our inclusive culture, the quality service we offer our clients, and our continued growth, all come from our people-first approach. There’s no such thing as individual success. We all need to play our part, contributing our skills and experience to make a true difference. That’s Howden.

Why work at Howden?

We have always been employee-owned and driven by entrepreneurial spirit. Right from the beginning, we've focused on employing talented individuals and empowering them to make a real difference to the company, whilst building successful and fulfilling careers at the same time. Simply put, we hire talented specialists and give them what they need to make a difference for clients. Always have, always will.

People join Howden for many different reasons, but they stay for the same one: our culture. It’s what sets us apart, and the reason our employees have been turning down disappointed head-hunters for years. Whatever your priorities – work/life balance, career progression, sustainability, volunteering – you’ll find like-minded people driving change at Howden.

What is the role?

We are looking for a Group Financial Risk Manager to join our growing team. The role is based in London, reporting to the Group Risk Director, within the Group Risk function.

The successful candidate will take responsibility for and support the team’s objectives to drive greater transparency and consistency in the management and oversight of financial risks across the group. This role is highly visible requiring interaction with senior stakeholders across all business divisions globally.

What will you be doing?

Your primary role will be to support the Group Risk team to deliver independent second-line risk management oversight of the Group’s financial risks. This is a developing discipline for the Group and so the candidate must be someone who is comfortable contributing to the development of technical processes as well as delivering on the day to day work requirements of the role.

The individual will be responsible for working closely with Group stakeholders to review, analyse and report on the financial risks the business is taking in pursuit of it’s strategic objectives.

The individual will be responsible for monitoring the Group’s risk appetite with regard to financial risks and would be expected to support the annual or as required ad hoc update of the Group’s Risk Appetite Framework such that deliverables meet the required timeline.

The individual would be expected to contribute to design and review of the Group Risk Framework and the oversight of its effectiveness. The individual would be responsible for developing and progressing the Group’s current methodologies for oversight of financial risks to cover areas such as scenario analysis and stress tests, thematic reviews, and risk monitoring.

The individual will contribute to how the Group Risk team supports and partners with divisional Chief Risk Officers and Group Risk Owners to implement the risk management framework globally.

The individual will be responsible for presenting the outcomes and any recommendations of any risk analysis they complete to appropriate stakeholder groups including senior management in the Group and where required at Risk Committee(s).

What are we looking for?

This is a technical role which would suit someone who has experience of financial risk oversight in the insurance industry, including experience or involvement in supporting organisations to meet their financial risk regulatory requirements. Whilst the candidate would be someone who is likely to have specialised to date in financial risk, we are looking for someone who can combine this expertise with taking an enterprise view of risk in a global group.

The individual would be expected to have a quantitative risk background, and to ensure success in the role they must be able to combine this technical ability with excellent communication skills, so that complex and technical topics can be clearly explained to management.

As an insurance intermediary Howden’s regulated businesses are required to follow certain practices when it comes to the management of financial risk. The candidate would be expected to work closely with existing teams and leadership responsible for Howden’s regulatory capital requirements to support existing, and develop new, techniques as appropriate.

The successful individual is likely to be someone who has a good level of knowledge regarding technical scenario analysis and stress testing.

This role would suit someone who has developed a good grounding in risk management, and who is looking to take the next step in their risk management career.

The successful candidate would have the opportunity to contribute to how the Group risk team develops its capabilities now and into the future at an exciting time for the Group. The successful applicant must be willing to work in a team environment, attend the office, and build relationships with colleagues to effectively contribute to the culture of the Group Risk function. We are looking for someone who is therefore willing to participate in shaping the direction of the team, to help us achieve our goals, and ultimately to support our purpose of helping the group grow safely.

What do we offer in return?

A career that you define.

Our business succeeds by allowing our people to make a mark in the areas they care about most: personal development, volunteering, and fundraising for charity, or creating new insurance products that address society’s greatest challenges.

And we know that separate home and work lives don't really exist. If you're happy and healthy at home, you're more likely to be happy and fulfilled at work – and vice versa. That's why we do our best to support our people in every aspect of their lives.

Diversity and Inclusion

At Howden we value diversity - there is no one Howden ‘personality type’. Instead, we’re looking for individuals who share the same values as us:

• Our successes have all come from someone brave enough to try something new
• We support each other, in the small everyday moments and the bigger challenges
• We are determined to make a positive difference, at work and beyond

We consider our people our chief competitive advantage and as such we treat colleagues, candidates, clients, and business partners with equality, fairness, and respect – regardless of age, disability, race, religion or belief, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, or family circumstances.

Our sustainability promise

We’re on a life-long journey to become an ever-more sustainable group. It's a commitment to taking care of our people and the world we live in, to doing good business, and to making a positive impact wherever we can. Our governance processes, company policies, and review systems are all geared towards our goal of making a positive impact in the world. You can read more about our sustainability work here.