Senior Manager, Group Claims

MetLife Australia; Sydney; On-site; AUD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Life insurance benefits

Parental leave and family benefits

Menopause and fertility leave

Car leasing

EAP

Study assistance

Job summary

MetLife Australia is seeking a Senior Manager, Group Claims to lead the end-to-end delivery of claims services for a Group Insurance client. You will provide strategic and operational leadership to a team of claims professionals, ensuring fair, timely decisions and compliant governance.

The role emphasizes stakeholder engagement, risk management and continuous improvement, with a focus on customer outcomes and high-quality service delivery.

Qualifications

• Extensive experience in life insurance, group insurance or claims management.
• Proven success leading large operational teams within complex environments.
• Experience managing complex claims portfolios and sensitive customer matters.
• Strong stakeholder management and influencing skills.
• Experience leading change, business improvement and operational excellence initiatives.
• Strong understanding of risk governance and regulatory requirements.

Responsibilities

• Lead end-to-end delivery of Group Claims services for MetLife Australia’s Group Insurance clients.
• Ensure fair, timely and policy-aligned claim decisions.
• Maintain oversight of complex, high-risk claims matters.
• Drive service quality and customer outcomes.
• Ensure claims governance and oversight.
• Deliver fair and sustainable claims outcomes.

Skills

Group insurance

Claims management

People leadership

Stakeholder management

Regulatory knowledge

Change management

Risk governance

AI fluency

Education

Business/Insurance/Law

ANZIIF qualification

Job description

The Senior Manager, Group Claims is responsible for leading the delivery of exceptional claims outcomes for one of MetLife Australia's Group Insurance clients.

The role provides strategic and operational leadership to a team of claims professionals, ensuring claims are managed fairly, efficiently and in accordance with legislative, regulatory and policy requirements. The Senior Manager is accountable for customer outcomes, operational performance, risk management, stakeholder engagement and people leadership.

Key Accountabilities

• Lead and manage the end-to-end delivery of Group Claims services for one of MetLife Australia’s Group Insurance clients.
• Ensure fair, timely and policy-aligned claim decisions
• Maintain oversight of complex, sensitive and high-risk claims matters.
• Drive strong service, quality and customer outcomes
• Ensure effective claims governance and oversight.
• Deliver fair and sustainable claims outcomes

People Leadership & Capability

• Lead, coach and develop a team of claims professionals.
• Foster a high-performance team culture
• Drive employee engagement, capability development and succession planning.
• Provide clear performance expectations, coaching and feedback.
• Foster an inclusive and psychologically safe working environment.
• Build strong relationships with key internal and external stakeholders.
• Manage escalated customer concerns and complaints professionally and effectively.
• Represent the Claims function in strategic business initiatives and governance forums.

Risk, Compliance & Governance

• Ensure compliance with regulatory and governance requirements.
• Maintain effective risk management practices across claims operations.
• Identify and proactively address operational, conduct, regulatory and reputational risks.
• Support internal audit, compliance reviews and risk assessment activities.
• Promote ethical decision-making and sound judgement across the team.
• Champion the use of digital tools, data insights and emerging technologies to improve customer outcomes and operational effectiveness.
• Support the responsible and ethical adoption of AI-enabled tools in accordance with company policies, governance standards and regulatory requirements.
• Encourage the team to leverage technology and data-driven insights to enhance productivity, consistency and decision-making.
• Foster a culture of continuous learning, innovation and adaptability.

Experience & Qualifications

Required

• Extensive experience in life insurance, group insurance or claims management.
• Demonstrated success leading large operational teams within a complex environment.
• Proven experience managing complex claims portfolios and sensitive customer matters.
• Strong stakeholder management and influencing skills.
• Experience leading change, business improvement and operational excellence initiatives.
• Strong understanding of risk management, governance and regulatory requirements.

Preferred

• Tertiary qualification in Business, Insurance, Law, Health or a related discipline.
• ANZIIF or other relevant insurance qualifications.
• Experience leading transformation, digital or customer experience initiatives.

Key Capabilities

Leadership

• Strategic thinking and business acumen.
• Strong people leadership, coaching and talent development capability.
• Ability to lead through change and ambiguity.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills.
• Resilience, sound judgement and decision-making capability.

Technical & Operational

• Strong knowledge of Group Insurance claims management.
• Understanding of claims governance, legislation and regulatory obligations.
• Experience managing complex, high-value or sensitive claims matters.
• Strong operational management and service delivery capability.

Digital & AI Fluency

• Demonstrates AI fluency and embraces emerging technologies to improve outcomes.
• Confidently leverages digital tools, data and AI-enabled solutions to improve productivity, decision-making and customer outcomes.
• Understands the opportunities, risks and governance considerations associated with AI and technology adoption.
• Encourages teams to use technology responsibly while maintaining human judgement, empathy and accountability in decision-making.
• Continuously develops digital capability and promotes a culture of learning and innovation.

Success Measures

• Customer satisfaction and customer outcome measures.
• Claims quality, service and productivity performance.
• Employee engagement and team capability outcomes.
• Risk, compliance and audit results.
• Delivery of strategic and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Successful adoption of digital and AI-enabled solutions that enhance efficiency and effectiveness.

Benefits We Offer

When you join MetLife Australia, you are joining a company that demonstrates holistic care and wellbeing for employees with benefits and programs that address physical, mental, social and financial health. We offer life insurance benefits, generous paid parental leave, market leading menopause and fertility leave, car leasing and more. As well as Employee Assistance Program (EAP), access to 360Health medical support, volunteer leave and study assistance.

About MetLife

Recognised on Fortune magazine's list of the "World's Most Admired Companies", Fortune World’s 25 Best Workplaces™, as well as the Diversity Council of Australia Inclusive Employer Award, MetLife, through its subsidiaries and affiliates, is one of the world’s leading financial services companies; providing insurance, annuities, employee benefits and asset management to individual and institutional customers. With operations in more than 40 markets, we hold leading positions in the United States, Latin America, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East.

As part of our New Frontier strategy, MetLife is building an AI-enabled, people-centered future. We’re looking for people who bring curiosity, adaptability, and a growth mindset as we use AI to enhance how we serve customers, support communities, and evolve the way work gets done. At MetLife, AI is a responsible partner that supports human judgment, creativity, and continuous improvement while helping us build trust, inclusion, and long-term value.

Our purpose is simple - to help our colleagues, customers, communities, and the world at large create a more confident future. United by purpose and guided by our core values - Win Together, Do the Right Thing, Deliver Impact Over Activity, and Think Ahead - we’re inspired to transform the next century in financial services. At MetLife, it’s #AllTogetherPossible . Join us!