Head of Planning and Performance Management, EMEA

Zurich Cover-More; Uxbridge; Hybrid; GBP 74,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid work schedule (3 days in office

Personal/annual leave, anniversary and

Parental leave

Job summary

Zurich Cover-More is seeking an experienced senior leader to head Planning & Performance Management for the EMEA region. You will partner with the CFO and senior leaders to shape financial planning, forecasting, and reporting, delivering insights that drive strategic decisions and growth across a global insurance business.

You will lead budgeting, long-range planning, and governance, building robust business cases while coaching a high-performing team and collaborating with Finance & Actuarial

Qualifications

• 10+ years in FP&A, analysis and reporting within insurance or regulated industries.
• Professional accounting qualification such as ACCA, CIMA or equivalent.
• Experience leading budgeting, forecasting and long-range planning for complex organisations.
• Strong financial modelling skills aligning strategy, budgets and performance.
• Experience delivering executive-level reporting and insights.
• Deep understanding of governance, controls, and regulatory requirements.
• Proven ability to build business cases and support growth initiatives.
• Strong stakeholder management and leadership of senior teams.
• Excellent communication translating data into actionable recommendations.

Responsibilities

• Lead planning, forecasting, budgeting and performance management across the EMEA region.
• Partner with CFO, leaders and finance teams to provide commercial insight and challenge performance.
• Develop and implement annual financial plans with global and regional stakeholders.
• Deliver high-quality financial analysis and forward-looking forecasts for decision-making.
• Lead finance input into business reviews with clear reporting and recommendations.
• Build business cases and evaluate growth opportunities.
• Ensure integrity and transparency of financial reporting and MI.
• Act as finance partner to Regional Heads, Functional Leaders and Finance & Actuarial teams.
• Oversee consolidated expense reporting to Group Finance.
• Lead and coach Planning & Performance Management team; drive high performance.
• Drive continuous improvement of finance processes, frameworks and systems.
• Deliver ad hoc insights to support growth and operational excellence.

Skills

Financial planning

Forecasting

Budgeting

Performance management

Financial analysis

Executive reporting

Stakeholder management

Leadership

Strategic thinking

Regulatory compliance

Education

ACCA/CIMA

Job description

Where will your career take you next? Let’s find out together.

At Zurich Cover-More, we’re proud to be one of the world’s leading travel insurance and assistance providers. Each year, we protect more than 20 million travellers worldwide, making sure we’re there every step of their journey with proactive care, personalised cover and specialist support. Zurich Cover-More partners with many of the world’s best-known brands – think major airlines, travel giants, top banks, credit card providers, and large retailers – to deliver more care, more cover, for all.

Launched in December 2024, Zurich Cover-More is the global travel brand of Zurich Insurance Group, one of the world’s leading multi-line insurers. Our family of customer-facing brands includes trusted names like Travel Guard, Cover-More Travel Insurance, Travelex Insurance, Universal Assistance, World Travel Protection, Freely, and Blue Insurance. Together, we’re redefining what it means to travel safely and with confidence. Whether it’s a long-awaited holiday, a last-minute business trip, or an unexpected detour, we deliver in the moments that matter.

What You’ll Be Doing

In this role, you will lead the Planning & Performance Management function across Zurich Cover-More EMEA, partnering with senior leaders to drive financial performance, strategic decision-making, and commercial insight. Reporting to the CFO EMEA, you'll play a pivotal role in shaping financial planning, forecasting, reporting, and continuous improvement across the region.

• Lead financial planning, forecasting, budgeting and performance management activities across the EMEA business.
• Partner closely with the CFO, business leaders and finance teams to provide commercial insight and challenge business performance.
• Develop and implement annual financial plans in collaboration with global and regional stakeholders.
• Deliver high-quality financial analysis and forward-looking forecasts to support strategic decision-making.
• Lead finance input into business reviews, providing clear reporting, commentary and recommendations.
• Build and evaluate business cases, investment opportunities and growth initiatives.
• Ensure the integrity, accuracy and transparency of financial reporting and management information.
• Act as a key finance partner to Regional Business Heads, Functional Leaders and Finance & Actuarial teams.
• Manage consolidated expense reporting and submissions to Group Finance.
• Lead, develop and coach the Planning & Performance Management team, fostering a high-performance culture.
• Drive continuous improvement across finance processes, reporting frameworks and systems.
• Deliver ad hoc analysis and performance insights that support business growth and operational excellence.

What skills and experience you’ll bring on this journey:

• 10+ years' experience in financial planning, analysis and reporting, ideally within insurance, financial services or another regulated industry.
• Professional accounting qualification such as ACCA, CIMA or equivalent.
• Demonstrated success leading enterprise-wide budgeting, forecasting and long-range financial planning for complex organisations.
• Strong financial modelling skills, with the ability to align strategy, budgets and operational performance.
• Experience delivering executive-level performance reporting, forecasting and commercial insights.
• Deep understanding of financial governance, controls, compliance and regulatory requirements.
• Proven ability to build robust business cases and support investment, transformation and growth initiatives.
• Strong stakeholder management and influencing skills, with the confidence to partner effectively with senior leaders.
• People leadership experience, including coaching, developing and motivating high-performing teams.
• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to translate complex financial data into clear, actionable recommendations.

Why you’ll love working with us!

We value optimism, caring, togetherness, reliability, results-orientation, and forward-thinking.

We have more than 3000 employees worldwide. We are a global group of digital specialists, actuaries, marketers, doctors, nurses, case managers, claims specialists, finance experts, customer service and corporate services professionals. We share a global purpose to look after travellers, at every step of their journey.

Job flexibility

We understand the importance of making sure that work fits into your life, not the other way around. Our hybrid approach ensures you can maintain work-life balance with the flexibility of 3 days in the office and 2 days working from home after an initial training period.

Career growth

This is an extremely exciting time for us at Zurich Cover-More, as we rapidly expand our business across the globe. We’re committed to helping our people thrive through a comprehensive onboarding experience, continuous professional development, and a supportive work environment that empowers growth at every stage of your career.

Take the time you need, for you and your community

We encourage you to take the time you need when you need it. We offer regular annual and personal leave benefits along with anniversary leave, volunteer leave and a comprehensive paid parental leave scheme.

Travel and work with us.

We believe your career should take you places – literally. At Zurich Cover-More, we support your professional journey and your passion for travel with complimentary travel insurance. So go ahead, start planning your next adventure today!

Investing in your health and your future.

We offer a competitive health insurance package with comprehensive mental health coverage, access to an Employee Assistance Program (EAP), and a pension scheme with employer contributions – helping you build a secure and healthy future.

Diversity and inclusion

We respect who you are and thoroughly embrace diversity. Wherever life has taken you, we welcome you to bring your whole self to work. Just be you – because that’s exactly who we’re looking for.

At Zurich Cover-More, compensation for roles is influenced by a variety of factors, including but not limited to office location, role, skill set, and level of experience. We are committed to providing a fair and reasonable compensation range for each role and additional rewards may include short-term incentive bonuses and increases based on merit. If your salary expectations are not in line with the proposed salary published for this role, you are still encouraged to apply. We will consider applications from talented individuals with the relevant experience, skills, education and attitude on a case-by-case basis.

The compensation shown reflects a national market range and the proposed salary for this position is £81,938, with short-term incentive bonus eligibility of 10%.