Deputy Manager - Actuarial - Prophet/Stochastic/ALS - Insurance

Hiring for a Deputy Manager Role into Actuarial for an Insurance Organisation.

Role Purpose (overall high level summary of the role) :

Prophet Modelling The person would report into AVP - Actuarial modeling and will be responsible for development of actuarial models (Prophet, Stochastic, ALS etc.) for reserving, reporting, profitability investigation, analysis of earnings, risk management and business planning exercises as well as other models used by the team such as NAV Guarantee model.

- Further, this role will also be responsible for implementing the model governance standards as defined in HSBC IFIM B 13 for all the actuarial models as well as liaising with and supporting the HSBC Independent Model Review Team in its review of the models.

- In addition, the role holder will be required to help the AVP support other teams such as IT, Finance, Investments etc. in implementing the model governance standards for non actuarial models such as benefit illustration models, asset valuation models etc.

- This role also involves training the interns and assistant managers of the Modeling Team.

- This role would require being responsible for setting-up new products and refining existing actuarial models along with developing the stochastic / ALS model for EC / CoG framework. In addition, this role requires assisting AVP in managing the peer reviewer in carrying out the peer review of the actuarial models as well as liaising with SunGard (provider of softwares for actuarial models) for all models related discussions and negotiations.

Principal Accountabilities :

- Key activities and decision making areas Typical Targets and Measures

Impact on the Business / Function [COMPLETE 3-4 AREAS] :

- Sound financial and risk management

- Financial metrics of the Company

- Business planning

- With-Profits Management

- Regulatory Compliance and Reporting

- Embed high standards of Model Governance and best practices

- Ensure that models for new products are set-up before the launch date, supported with adequate documentation and testing so that the financial metrics with regards to the same can be calculated.

- Develop/refine the existing actuarial models in line with user requirements, supported with adequate documentation and testing so that the reporting, business planning, wp management, analysis of earnings and risk management verticals can accurately carry out their relevant calculations and report accurate information to SMT so that appropriate decisions can be taken.

- The user requirements will not be typically well defined and the role holder will be required to use past experience as well as carry out research to understand the best possible methodology for modeling so as to meet the users- expectations.

- The complexity of the business is continuously increasing as Day 2 items are now required to be handled such as modeling existing paid-up policies, settlement options, other re-structuring of existing models to allow for development of day 2 items.

- Further, the newer products being launched by the Company are also getting more complex as well as spanning a wider range of lines of business (such as par and annuities) as opposed to the earlier products which were plain vanilla in nature and hence increased amount of thinking and research and higher understanding of actuarial concepts is required to be able to carry out modeling.

- Manage the development and maintenance of other models currently being used by the team (e.g. NAV Guarantee model).

- Ensure that adequate testing has been undertaken before releasing the model workspace in production environment so as to prevent any material errors in the calculations of financial information.

- This is also increasing in importance as the financial impact of such mistakes could be huge given the increase in the size and complexity of business.

- In addition, there are regulatory concerns here especially where par business is concerned as these mistakes can affect the policyholders- benefits.

- Help in implementing the model governance framework as per HSBC IFIM B 13 for the actuarial models as well as supporting other departments in implementing the framework for non actuarial models.

- This is likely to be a significant project on its own to start with (after which it is likely to become BAU) and will potentially involve assessing, establishing and updating (as the case may be) processes, documents and controls to meet HSBC global standards.

- In addition, this would involve constant interaction with the model standards experts in Group Insurance. Further, this will also involve interacting with the IMR (Independent Model Review) team of HSBC when they come over to review the models being used by CHOICe vis-- -vis the global standards.

Customers / Stakeholders [COMPLETE 3-4 AREAS] :

Internal clients : Reporting, Statutory Valuation, Earnings Analysis & WP Management Team, Business Planning Team, Risk Management/Reporting & Experience Analysis Team, Pricing Team

External : Regional Office; Peer Reviewer, Group Insurance, IMR

- Requirements of internal clients should be well understood and changes made to actuarial models in a manner which addresses the requirements in an appropriate way. This is particularly complex as the user requirements will not be typically well defined and it is the responsibility of the role holder to devise solutions to the requirements being faced by the users.

- Assess time lines for various model related development and ensure development of the actuarial models within agreed timelines so that the internal clients are able to plan their tasks appropriately.

- Ensure that the release of new model workspaces is accompanied by adequate documentation and training to the internal clients.

- Maintain the Library resources on the Actuarial Team server to ensure that the team has direct and easy access to useful pieces of information like IRDA data, regulatory reports etc.

- Liaise with the regional office and the local peer reviewer so that the regional models audit and the local model peer review can be carried out smoothly.

- Liaise with Regional Office regarding discussions and negotiations on future versions of softwares used for actuarial models as India is now part of the Regional Master Agreement with SunGard.

- Liaise with Group Insurance model governance standards experts for guidance and feedback when implementing HSBC model governance standards

- Liaise with and support IMR when they come over for carrying out the assessment of CHOICe's models against HSBC standards.

Leadership & Teamwork [COMPLETE 3-4 AREAS] :

- Liaise with other verticals within the corporate actuarial and pricing team to ensure that modeling is carried out in the most appropriate manner which addresses the requirements of these verticals.

- Provide support and develop the junior staff in the vertical and the wider team in both work and study related areas.

- Implement regular requirement gathering and development project management meetings with team members

- Being the SPOC for the actuarial team in liaising with SunGard/ CHOICe IT on support needed by the team.

- Necessary support provided to the other verticals, providing input regarding the modeling approaches that may be feasible to be incorporated in actuarial models for various requirements that these teams may have.

- Support provided to junior staff to ensure that they develop both technical and wider business skills. Provide comprehensive training to model users on each new workspace development so that the users appreciate the changes and understand their impact.

- Provide ongoing support to users, both peers and juniors, on model and IT queries.

- Regular log of requirements with resolution actions to be maintained and regular updates provided to VP regarding progress on the model development work currently being carried out.

- Keep in touch with SunGard, understand the upgrades available for softwares used in actuarial models as they are developed by SunGard and assess their use within the Company's business and accordingly keep the in house version of the softwares in line with the recent upgrades available, supported with adequate testing where required.

- Interaction with IT to make them aware of the IT requirements of the actuarial team including the IT support needing for running actuarial models as well as providing actuarial inputs to the ATP. All issues faced by the actuarial team vis-- -vis IT are to be managed by the role holder

Operational Effectiveness & Control [COMPLETE 3-4 AREAS] :

- Ensure all activities within the team are carried out in a controlled manner with the necessary documentation thereby ensuring that no high risk points are raised in internal/external audits.

- Identify areas of actuarial model improvements and drive the necessary changes, with the objective of improving quality and efficiency in the team.

- Lead liaison with peer reviewer/auditors/IMR.

- Implement best practices in the team in terms of usage of IT resources

- Ensure no high risk or material findings in audit and internal controls reviews and that any audit issues are closed in a timely manner.

- Reduction in timescales for carrying out tasks without compromising on quality.

- No high risk findings, all audit issues are closed in a timely manner.

- Keep a tab on server space being used by the team and identify ways for the team to use space efficiently. Ensure that team follows the proper folder naming convention ensuring that audit trails can be easily established

Major Challenges (The challenges inherent in the role that require a continual test of the role holder's abilities)

The most significant challenges of the role will be :

- Developing and maintaining actuarial models to project complex cash flows taking into account the modeling constraints.

- Comprehensive understanding of the business needs and be able to transform these into the design of the actuarial models particularly when the needs/requirements of the business may not be well defined.

- Manage completion of tasks on time, accurately, and to desired standards, including producing necessary documentation and audit trails taking into account requirements of model governance framework.

- Ensure adequate support via robust actuarial models is provided to end users so as to ensure that all the business decisions are actuarially sound.

- Education of stakeholders on dynamics and risks inherent in actuarial modeling.

- Ability to interact/communicate with stakeholders/colleagues from a wide variety of backgrounds.

- Ensure adequate resources are available to carry out a particular responsibility in a market where experienced technicians are scarce.

Desired Profile :-

1.Minimum experience 2 years to 10 years into pricing domain for Life Insurance products

2. Must have cleared 3+ Actuarial papers

3.Must be a Graduate and Post Graduate (Mathematics/Statistics)

4.Working for Life Insurance clients

5.Candidates working in Life Insurance/Consulting Firms is preferred

Interested candidates please inbox your resume or call 9911174433