Senior Actuary - Life Insurance and Pensions Risk Division – Insurance Supervision Directorate
Full time or part time
Location: Leeds
We currently have other actuarial opportunities across our team - so if this role isn't the right fit for you, we'd encourage you to explore what else is available:
- General Insurance Actuary
Insurance Directorate
The PRA’s Insurance Supervision Directorate supervises over 500 UK Insurance companies and branches of international insurers. Its six divisions work together in pursuit of the PRA’s primary objectives for safety and soundness and policyholder protection; and to support our secondary objectives for competition, competitiveness and growth.
This is an exciting time to work in Insurance. The UK is the third-largest insurance market globally, with a large domestic life and general insurance market and a significant international dimension through the specialist London Market. The availability and provision of insurance protection is crucial to the functioning of the economy by providing financial protection and security to individuals, households and businesses in good times and bad. Across both life and general insurance, the sector is evolving to meet new risks and opportunities, and our work is evolving to reflect this.
We are committed to the Insurance Directorate being a great place to work, with a high-performance culture that values development, wellbeing, and inclusion, and where people are empowered to learn and to build fulfilling and enduring careers. We continue to build an inclusive culture where everyone can be their whole selves and produce their best work. Our focus on inclusion is intended to build greater diversity to reflect the society we serve.
Job Description
We are recruiting for a Senior Actuary in LIPRD. The senior actuary would lead and contribute to mixed experience teams of life actuaries, pensions risk and other specialists.
LIPRD is a hub of technical excellence providing, specialist support to deliver high-quality firm-specific and horizontal supervision, insights in key risk areas, and targeted thought leadership. It works together with wider Supervision and Policy divisions to support achievement of the PRA’s objectives as they apply to insurers.
The Senior Actuary will report to a Senior Manager, who is a member of the divisional management team, which is responsible for ensuring high-quality specialist delivery across the division’s work as well as ensuring that specialist insights are appropriately embedded in wider decision-making. The Senior Actuary will also work closely with LIPRD’s Senior Technical Specialists, who are the division’s technical leaders, driving our priorities and ensuring ongoing technical excellence.
The role holder will be expected to role-model the Bank’s behaviours, supporting a positive feedback culture and helping to foster an inclusive, supportive and high-performing environment to support strong and consistent delivery.
Role Requirements:
The senior actuary, working with peers, Senior Technical Specialists, and the Senior Management Team, is expected to:
- Perform, and develop others to perform, proportionate risk-based assessments and oversight (e.g. Solvency UK reviews) and apply well-reasoned judgement to identify risks to the PRA’s statutory objectives and to identify potential mitigations for these risks.
- Develop the knowledge, skills and experience of others in specialist areas.
- Perform in-depth research in key risk areas (e.g. credit risk, longevity, dependencies) to develop PRA views of best practice.
- Conduct thematic projects by carrying out quantitative analysis, and producing conclusions and recommendations, highlighting key issues and emerging risks.
- Support the division and wider Insurance directorate in the delivery of effective, risk-based prudential supervision of firms.
- Create, and take part in, initiatives across the Division, Directorate and wider Bank.
- Contribute positively to the overall tone and standards of the division – role-modelling Bank behaviours, promoting a respectful, high-performing culture; and setting an expectation of similarly high standards from others.
- Support a positive feedback culture giving clear feedback to help colleagues develop and address any areas of underperformance, and role-modelling positive behaviours when receiving such feedback in return.
- Ensure high-quality judgments and outputs on work for which they are accountable, including that there is rigorous, evidenced-based and data-driven analysis aligned to PRA frameworks.
- Support the Bank’s DEI strategy by creating or taking part in initiatives across the Division, Directorate and wider Bank.
Minimum Criteria
- A strong understanding of the life insurance market in the UK, including key industry issues and risks.
- A good understanding of the key life insurance risk areas for insurers, and the actuarial controls needed to ensure these are prudently managed.
- A clear understanding of the prudential regulatory capital regime for insurers (UK Solvency II).
- Strong analytical skills, the ability to analyse and interpret financial information independently, exercise judgement and draw and present clearly reasoned conclusions.
Good communication and interpersonal skills, including the ability to explain and present technical issues and solutions to a less technical audience, using a range of communication approaches.
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Essential Criteria
- Strong stakeholder management skills, with experience of building and maintaining relationships both internally and externally and influencing and challenging where appropriate.
- Ability to lead a team: prioritising effectively, supporting and developing others, and ensuring the right outcomes are achieved.
- Self-motivated, with an outcomes focussed and proportionate approach to work. Takes responsibility for tasks, outcomes and targets allocated, consistent with the achievement of PRA objectives.
An ability to give and receive constructive feedback and to manage others with a view to improving their/own performance.
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Desirable Criteria
- Knowledge and understanding of the PRA regulatory framework and supervisory approach
- Knowledge of PRA rules and wider professional guidance.
- A breadth of experience across roles and organisations.
An ability to build credibility with key stakeholders/partners, including at a range of levels of seniority.
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Our Approach to Inclusion
The Bank values diversity, equity and inclusion. We play a key role in maintaining monetary and financial stability, and to do that effectively, we believe we need a workforce that reflects the society we serve.
At the Bank of England, we want all colleagues to feel valued and respected, so we're working hard to build an inclusive culture which supports people from all backgrounds and communities to be at their best at work. We celebrate all forms of diversity, including (but not limited to) age, disability, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, race, religion, sexual orientation and socioeconomic status. We believe that it’s by drawing on different perspectives and experiences that we’ll continue to make the best decisions for the public.
We welcome applications from individuals who work flexibly, including job shares and part time working patterns. We've also partnered with external organisations to support us in making adjustments for candidates and employees in the recruitment process where they're needed.
For most roles where work can be carried out at home, we aim for colleagues to spend half of their time in the office, with a minimum of 40% per month. Subject to that minimum requirement, individuals and managers should work together to find what works best for them, their team and stakeholders.
Finally, we're proud to be a member of the Disability Confident Scheme . If you wish to apply under this scheme, you should check the box in the ‘Candidate Personal Information’ under the ‘Disability Confident Scheme’ section of the application.
Salary and Benefits Information
We encourage flexible working, part time working and job share arrangements. Part time salary and benefits will be on a pro-rated basis as appropriate.
In addition, we also offer a comprehensive benefits package as detailed below:
- Currently a non-contributory, career average pension giving you a guaranteed retirement benefit of 1/80th of your annual salary for every year worked. There is the option to increase your pension (to 1/65th) or decrease (to 1/105th) in exchange for salary through our flexible benefits programme each year. The Bank has the discretion to vary standard accrual rates and dial up and dial down rates at any time and to withdraw dial up and dial down options at any time.
- A discretionary performance award based on a current award pool.
- An 8% benefits allowance with the option to take as salary or purchase a wide range of flexible benefits.
- 26 days’ annual leave with option to buy up to 12 additional days through flexible benefits.
- Private medical insurance and income protection.
National Security Vetting Process
Employment in this role will be subject to the National Security Vetting clearance process (and typically can take between 6 to 12 weeks post offer) and the passing of additional Bank security checks in accordance with the Bank policy. Further information regarding the vetting and security clearance requirements for the role will be provided to the successful applicant, and information about how the Bank processes personal data for these purposes, is set out in the Bank's Privacy Notice .
The Bank of England welcomes applications from all candidates, but as a UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) approved sponsor, we have a responsibility to comply with the Immigration Rules and guidance. As such, our ability to employ individuals who require sponsorship for immigration purposes is limited. The Bank cannot guarantee that you and / or the role you are applying for will be eligible for sponsorship and that any application made to UKVI will be successful. Eligibility will therefore be considered on a case by case basis.
The Application Process
Important: Please ensure that you complete the ‘work history’ section and answer ALL the application questions fully. All candidate applications are anonymised to ensure that our hiring managers will not be able to see your personal information, including your CV, when reviewing your application details at the screening stage. It’s therefore really important that you fill out the work history and application form questions, as your answers will form a critical part of the initial selection process.
The assessment process will comprise of two interview stages.
This role closes on 9th August
Please apply online, ensuring that you complete your work history and answer ALL the application questions fully and in detail as your application will not be considered if all mandatory questions are not fully completed.
