Head of Outsourcing

Zurich Insurance; Swindon; Remote; GBP 125,000 - 150,000; Part time

Job summary

A leading insurance company in the United Kingdom seeks a professional to shape and deliver their offshore outsourcing strategy. Responsibilities include managing contracts and partnerships, fostering innovation, and ensuring compliance with regulations. The ideal candidate will have extensive experience in insurance operations and a strong ability to build relationships with offshore vendors. This role offers a lucrative salary and flexible working options such as part-time and job shares.

Benefits

12% defined non‑contributory pension scheme

Annual company bonus

Private medical insurance

Holiday flexibility

Qualifications

• Extensive experience in insurance operations and outsourcing.
• Solid understanding of insurance processes and customer needs.
• Ability to handle complex regulatory environments.

Responsibilities

• Create and implement an offshore outsourcing strategy.
• Manage contract negotiations with offshore vendors.
• Monitor performance using KPIs and SLAs.

Skills

Insurance operations expertise

Contract management

Stakeholder management

Negotiation skills

Data privacy knowledge

Job description

In this role, you'll shape and deliver Zurich's offshore outsourcing strategy including managing key contracts and partnerships to help us boost productivity and quality. You'll be the expert for all major outsourcing arrangements, making sure our operations support Zurich's goals. If you're ready to make a difference and build trusted global partnerships, we'd love to hear from you. Many of our employees work flexibly in a variety of different ways, including part-time, flexible hours, job share, an element of working from home or compressed hours. This is because we want the best people for our roles, and we recognise that sometimes those people aren't available full-time. Please talk to us at interview about the flexibility you may need.

Responsibilities

• Creating and implementing an offshore outsourcing strategy that supports Zurich's insurance goals.
• Finding and evaluating offshore partners to ensure they meet our high standards for quality, compliance, and operational excellence.
• Leading contract negotiations and managing agreements with both new and current offshore vendors.
• Building strong relationships with service providers, monitoring their performance, and improving services using KPIs and SLAs.
• Carrying out regular reviews and audits to ensure compliance with regulations and data security.
• Promoting standardised processes, continuous improvement, and effective knowledge sharing across offshore teams.
• Working closely with internal teams to streamline workflows and ensure smooth operations.
• Managing risks by creating mitigation plans and ensuring compliance with data privacy laws and industry regulations.
• Overseeing budgets, forecasting financials, and measuring the return on investment from outsourcing projects.
• Collaborating with senior management and encouraging teamwork between onshore and offshore colleagues to foster innovation and improvement.

Qualifications

• Extensive experience in insurance operations, outsourcing, with significant experience in a senior leadership role.
• A solid understanding of insurance processes, products, and customer needs, plus hands‑on experience managing large‑scale offshore outsourcing.
• Knowledge of offshore outsourcing models and the ability to handle complex regulatory environments across multiple jurisdictions.
• A proven track record in negotiating, structuring, and managing contracts that deliver value, efficiency, and quality.
• Experience building and maintaining strong relationships with external partners, using KPIs and SLAs to drive improvement.
• Expertise in leading process standardisation, transformation, and knowledge transfer across diverse teams.
• A good understanding of data privacy, security, and regulatory requirements in insurance, with the ability to spot and manage risks.
• Strong communication and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to work well across functions, cultures, and geographies.
• A passion for innovation, continuous improvement, and inspiring teams to perform at their best.

Benefits

• 12% defined non‑contributory pension scheme.
• Annual company bonus.
• Private medical insurance.
• Option to buy up to an additional 20 days or sell some of your holiday.

About Our Culture

We want our employees to bring the whole of themselves to work and ensure everybody is made to feel welcome, regardless of their background, beliefs or culture. We are committed to treating all of our applicants fairly and with respect, irrespective of disability or any other protected characteristic.

Working hours: This role is available on a part‑time, job‑share or full‑time basis.
Salary: Lucrative salary and benefits package.