Standard Chartered—Director, Insurance Advisory and Due Diligence

Job description

Description: Job Summary The role is accountable for leading and overseeing end to end insurance product due diligence, with a strong focus on evaluating product design, features, pricing, value proposition, and suitability across the insurance value chain. This includes responsibility for the governance and execution of due diligence on both insurance products and providers, working closely with internal stakeholders and external partners to support the implementation, enhancement, and ongoing oversight of insurance offerings. The ideal candidate will bring expert level knowledge of insurance products across life, health, and general insurance, supported by extensive experience in product advisory and due diligence. They will demonstrate a deep, practical understanding of evolving market trends, regulatory developments, and the competitive landscape, enabling them to assess product competitiveness, innovation, and sustainability. Strong project and stakeholder management capabilities are essential, alongside a rigorous approach to governance and risk management. The role requires the ability to deliver strategic insights, challenge product design and positioning, and ensure that all due diligence processes are robust, efficient, and aligned with regulatory expectations and best practice standards. Key Responsibilities • Leading and managing the end to end due diligence process for insurance products and providers, with primary accountability for product assessment, governance, and ongoing oversight. • Conducting comprehensive insurance product due diligence, including evaluation of product design, features, pricing, value proposition, and suitability, to ensure the bank maintains a strong competitive position in the insurance market. • Applying expert level knowledge of insurance products and an in depth understanding of market trends, regulatory developments, and competitor offerings to provide strategic input into product selection, enhancement, and positioning. • Overseeing insurance advisory activities, including ownership of advisory frameworks, management of publications for frontline staff and clients, and coordination of relevant Learning & Development initiatives to support product understanding and advisory quality. • Collaborating closely with country and group level stakeholders, both internal and external, to implement, enhance, and consistently apply robust product and provider due diligence standards. • Continuously enhancing due diligence and advisory processes to improve efficiency and effectiveness, while strengthening the overall governance and risk management framework. • Leading and delivering projects related to insurance advisory and product and provider due diligence, ensuring high quality outcomes, stakeholder alignment, and timely execution. Manage Insurance Advisory Activities: • Oversee all insurance advisory-related tasks including publications and process • Manage the creation and dissemination of publications and informational materials to keep frontline staff well-informed about insurance products and industry trends. • Oversee the development and distribution of client-facing publications with the goal of raising awareness about insurance. • Responsible for the development, implementation, and integration of the Insurance Advisory Framework, ensuring it is effectively embedded within the client journey. • Coordinate and manage Learning & Development (L&D) initiatives, ensuring that training programs and educational resources are effectively delivered to enhance the knowledge and skills of employees in the insurance domain. Provider / Broker Due diligence and Governance • Assist in designing and overseeing the implementation of the due diligence process for providers and brokers, focusing on the Bank’s new and strategic partnerships with Insurance providers and brokers across all markets. • Perform due diligence on both new and existing insurance providers and brokers according to the Bank's procedures and offer recommendations for approval as appropriate. • Maintain and manage relationships with providers and brokers across the franchise. Product Due diligence and Management • Conduct thorough due diligence on both new and existing insurance products in accordance with the Bank's procedures and provide recommendations for approval as appropriate. • Ensure the Bank offers best-in-class, competitive products that adhere to "Client First" and "Doing the Right Thing" principles, while ensuring suitability and affordability for the target client segment • New Product Development: Actively collaborate with strategic partners and key stakeholders to create and develop innovative products. • Engage with several group stakeholders for product approvals related approvals: • Liaise with Group WM Risk for getting LTV limits approved for lending against insurance products • Liaise with Group Compliance for onboarding offshore products (for Private Banking) to ensure the product meets all required guidelines • Liaise with Group Banca life insurance team to • Support Group Banca Life Insurance team and Country Banca teams for yearly roadmap of new products and agree on a product calendar to ensure timely launch of new products in each market. • Engage the Country Banca Team as well as the product providers to streamline product structure, processes and documentation to ensure the product is aligned with the overall bancassurance strategy and requirements. • Identify product gaps and overlaps in each country by developing and maintaining inventory of all insurance products sold in each market across GCNA, ASA and AME. • Oversee the reporting of insurance metrices on products Process • Continuously improve on current processes and standards where appropriate. • Maintain and update the Group Bancassurance Manual, Insurance Product Program Guide (PPG) and ensure that Country Addendums are maintained and comply with the PPG. • Identify any deviations from approved sales or operational processes in country and ensure that such deviation is either duly regulated and approved or is remediated • Work with control functions / COO teams and compliance to ensure strict adherence to standards and requirements while onboarding new provider and products. • Support rollout of ERMF, including BANCA ORF agendas. Group Strategic Initiatives • Support the Bank’s digital strategy of launching insurance online. Provide support to countries as Product Owner and lead the team to launch life insurance products to be sold online. • Provide support to other strategic initiatives driven at the group level as and when required Governance • Identify and analyse the implication of emerging themes of the Insurance industry, including regulatory requirements and significant events affecting products, providers and/or brokers • Ensure business and product related processes are fit for purpose • Work with Legal, Compliance, Risk and other related control functions to ensure adherence to regulatory as well as internal standards and requirements. • Support ongoing control monitoring across the BANCA network • Continuous improvement of the operational effectiveness of processes to improve business efficiency Others • Support Global BANCA Head and COO PvB & WM to establish optimal control and operating infrastructure aligned to business objectives • Work with COO team / control functions to comply with the highest standards of conduct and compliance standards as defined by internal and external requirements. Embed Group Conduct Management Framework in BANCA across the Global and Country BANCA teams. • Support and strengthen first line operational risk management in BANCA • Support audit readiness and support zero audit overdue findings and maintenance of Advanced or Established MCA ratings for all Bancassurance audits Regulatory & Business Conduct • Display exemplary conduct and live by the Group’s Values and Code of Conduct. • Take personal responsibility for embedding the highest standards of ethics, including regulatory and business conduct, across Standard Chartered Bank. This includes understanding and ensuring compliance with, in letter and spirit, all applicable laws, regulations, guidelines and the Group Code of Conduct. • Achieve Conduct Principles Goals: Work diligently to meet the Bank’s ethical and compliance standards, fostering trust and sustainable practices • Effectively and collaboratively identify, escalate, mitigate and resolve risk, conduct and compliance matters. Key stakeholders • Partner and stakeholder management: • To manage and promote partners towards achieving annual performance targets, with special focus on preferred/exclusive partners • Proven ability to manage relationships with a diverse range of senior stakeholders • To manage key internal stakeholders like Channel and Segment Heads, Group Banca, Risk and Compliance, Technology and Operations etc. • Health eco-system partners • Manage key stakeholders across Insurance partners • Manage key internal stakeholders like finance, country business teams, analytics teams, risk, compliance, etc Other Responsibilities • Track record of successful implementation of product variants and innovative customer offerings. • Ability to successfully manage various stakeholders • Track record of successfully managing key third party business providers. • Ability to successfully manage complex projects • Extensive knowledge on insurance products and services. • Demonstrated ability in business planning relating to sales, distribution and service. • Strong communication and negotiation skills with the ability to influence outcomes. • Ability to manage and implement change initiatives by taking ownership and working with all stakeholders • Strong inter-personal skills and leadership ability, which encourages and promotes enthusiasm and team spirit. Skills and Experience • Insurance product Management • Financial Market Analysis • Project Management and Process Automation • Data Analytics and Modelling • Good knowledge of Excel/PowerPoint/ Confluence/ Trello/ Jira/ Mural Qualifications • Graduate / Postgraduate in Business/Commerce preferred • Industry recognised certifications including statutory or regulatory certification in the field of Insurance • Strong analytical mind • Excellent presentation, communication, and stakeholder management skills. • Self-starter and should be comfortable operating independently • An ability to apply strong leadership, and assertiveness to deliver projects on time and within stakeholder expectations. About Standard Chartered We're an international bank, nimble enough to act, big enough for impact. For more than 170 years, we've worked to make a positive difference for our clients, communities, and each other. We question the status quo, love a challenge and enjoy finding new opportunities to grow and do better than before. If you're looking for a career with purpose and you want to work for a bank making a difference, we want to hear from you. You can count on us to celebrate your unique talents and we can't wait to see the talents you can bring us. Our purpose, to drive commerce and prosperity through our unique diversity, together with our brand promise, to be here for good are achieved by how we each live our valued behaviours. When you work with us, you'll see how we value difference and advocate inclusion. Together we: - Do the right thing and are assertive, challenge one another, and live with integrity, while putting the client at the heart of what we do - Never settle, continuously striving to improve and innovate, keeping things simple and learning from doing well, and not so well - Are better together, we can be ourselves, be inclusive, see more good in others, and work collectively to build for the long term What we offer In line with our Fair Pay Charter, we offer a competitive salary and benefits to support your mental, physical, financial and social wellbeing. - Core bank funding for retirement savings, medical and life insurance, with flexible and voluntary benefits available in some locations. - Time-off including annual leave, parental/maternity (20 weeks), sabbatical (12 months maximum) and volunteering leave (3 days), along with minimum global standards for annual and public holiday, which is combined to 30 days minimum. - Flexible working options based around home and office locations, with flexible working patterns. - Proactive wellbeing support through Unmind, a market-leading digital wellbeing platform, development courses for resilience and other human skills, global Employee Assistance Programme, sick leave, mental health first-aiders and all sorts of self-help toolkits - A continuous learning culture to support your growth, with opportunities to reskill and upskill and access to physical, virtual and digital learning. - Being part of an inclusive and values driven organisation, one that embraces and celebrates our unique diversity, across our teams, business functions and geographies - everyone feels respected and can realise their full potential.