Role Purpose
The Manager – Planning will be responsible for driving financial planning, budgeting, and forecasting for the life insurance business, with a strong focus on cost management, Value of New Business (VNB), and profitability. The role partners closely with Actuarial, HR, and Business teams to provide actionable insights, ensure financial discipline, and support strategic decision-making in a regulated environment.
Key Responsibilities
- Operating Expense (Opex) Planning & Control
- Lead the preparation of the annual Opex plan for the life insurance business, aligned with business growth plans, distribution strategy, and regulatory requirements.
- Track and monitor Opex on a monthly basis, comparing actuals with budgets and forecasts.
- Analyze expense movements across acquisition, maintenance, employee costs, and overheads to identify key cost drivers.
- Drive monthly variance analysis, highlight risks and saving opportunities, and work with stakeholders to ensure cost optimization without compromising business growth.
- Budgeting – Actuarial & Human Resources
- Own the annual budgeting process for Actuarial and HR functions, ensuring accuracy and completeness of assumptions.
- Coordinate with Actuarial teams on expenses relating to valuation, experience studies, modeling, consultants, and regulatory submissions.
- Partner with HR to budget manpower costs including hiring plans, incentives, variable pay, training, and employee benefit expenses.
- Ensure alignment of people costs and actuarial expenses with the company's long-term business and profitability objectives.
- Expense Analytics & Outlier Management
- Perform detailed analysis of expenses across channels and functions to identify outliers, anomalies, and inefficient spend.
- Establish early-warning indicators to flag unusual trends on a timely basis.
- Present clear, data-backed insights to senior management, enabling prompt corrective action.
- Strengthen cost governance through improved MIS, standardization, and analytical frameworks
Stakeholder Engagement
- Act as a key finance partner to Actuarial, HR, Distribution, and Senior Management teams.
- Facilitate planning and review discussions with functional heads, ensuring alignment between financial plans and business strategy
Key Skills & Competencies
- Strong understanding of life insurance business economics, VNB, and profitability drivers
- Expertise in budgeting, forecasting, and variance analysis
- High level of analytical rigor with attention to detail
- Ability to work in a regulated and dynamic business environment
- Excellent stakeholder management and presentation skills
