Description

Who are we?

Howden is a global insurance group with employee ownership at its heart. Together, we have pushed the boundaries of insurance. We are united by a shared passion and no-limits mindset, and our strength lies in our ability to collaborate as a powerful international team comprised of 23,000 employees spanning over 56 countries.

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 headhunters for years. Whatever your priorities – work / life balance, career progression, sustainability, volunteering – you’ll find like-minded people driving change at Howden.

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 20,000 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 Howden’s Group Risk Team, supporting implementation of the Risk Framework across the Group, driving transparency and consistency in risk reporting across this high-growth international Group at a really exciting time for the organisation.

The Group Risk team is a 2Lod risk team within Howden and is highly visible, requiring interaction with senior stakeholders across all business divisions globally in both 1st line roles (e.g. Division CEOs / COOs) and 2nd line roles (e.g. Division CROs). Responsible for Enterprise Risk, we work closely with colleagues in Internal Controls, Compliance and Internal Audit.

The individual must be an independent, self-starter who is able to lead initiatives and collaborate with senior management constructively and effectively with a strong foundation in enterprise risk management practices and knowledge. The individual will support the Group Risk team, divisional Chief Risk Officers and local Risk and Compliance teams globally to develop and embed the Group risk management framework and methodologies for identifying, assessing and reporting risks.

Please note that this is a full-time, permanent role based in our Central London office.

What will you be doing?

• Support the development and embedding of the risk management framework across the Group, including the firm's risk statements, tolerance, etc.

• Facilitate and lead risk and control assessments across the Group engaging appropriately with senior management.

• Lead analysis of current mitigation to key risks and emerging risks, ensuring adherence to entity risk appetite statements / tolerance.

• Lead and contribute to reviews of risk management framework, leveraging expertise in practical risk management implementation in financial services / insurance intermediaries / insurance carriers.

• Lead and contribute to risk reporting for Group and Division risk committees as required.

• Lead and contribute to risk analysis providing second line challenge to reported risk positions, working closely with Risk Owners and Group Risk colleagues.

• Lead the processes for monitoring risk events and root cause analysis for any control failures / control weaknesses identified.

• Knowledge of strategic and regulatory environments relevant to insurance intermediaries, in particular UK and US regulatory frameworks (e.g. US SOx Compliance, DORA, Operational Resilience, Third Party Risk Management, Financial Crime etc).

• Promote a strong risk culture throughout the organisation by fostering awareness and understanding of risk management principles.

• Work collaboratively with the business to challenge and improve processes, including as required represent Group Risk on relevant working groups tasked with successfully delivering solutions where gaps identified.

• Attend Divisional risk committees as required and represent Group Risk.

• Evidence people and line management expertise to develop team members.

• Ability to work in a fast paced organisation and respond to ad hoc tasks from the Group CRO as required.

What are we looking for?

• Proven experience in enterprise risk management within the insurance industry (preferred) or financial services sector. In depth knowledge and experience of enterprise risk and control frameworks and practical implementation within growth businesses.

• A strong record of academic or business achievement that evidence depth and variety of learning and development (e.g. University degree), with relevant experience in Risk Management training preferred (e.g. IRM certificate in financial services risk management).

• Strong interpersonal skills to develop and maintain relationships with other risk managers and key stakeholders across all functions, providing valuable second-line risk input and challenge. A high degree of professionalism required.

• Strong analytical, written communication and presentation skills to identify risk trends, root causes and mitigations with attention to detail and communicate effectively with different stakeholders across the Group.

• An inquisitive personality, who is keen to learn and develop both professionally and personally contributing to their own personal success, but importantly also to the success of the team and the organisation (e.g. by undertaking continued professional development).

• The ideal candidate will be able to evidence experience of successfully managing:​ people, projects, budgets.

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.

What do we offer in return?

A career that you define. At Howden, we value diversity – there is no one Howden 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

Reasonable adjustments

We're committed to providing reasonable accommodations at Howden to ensure that our positions align well with your needs. Besides the usual adjustments such as software, IT, and office setups, we can also accommodate other changes such as flexible hours* or hybrid working*.

If you're excited by this role but have some doubts about whether it’s the right fit for you, send us your application – if your profile fits the role’s criteria, we will be in touch to assist in helping to get you set up with any reasonable adjustments you may require.

*Not all positions can accommodate changes to working hours or locations. Reach out to your Recruitment Partner if you want to know more.