Head of Product & Underwriting

Parity Consulting; Greater London; On-site; GBP 150,000 - 200,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading financial services organization is seeking a Group Head of Product & Underwriting to drive product strategy and support growth across international markets. The ideal candidate will have extensive life insurance expertise and strong leadership skills. This role is pivotal during a period of expansion and requires the ability to thrive in fast-paced environments. The position offers significant influence at a group level and the opportunity to make a meaningful impact across multiple markets.

Qualifications

• Senior product and underwriting leader with strong expertise in life insurance.
• Ability to operate across complex, multi-market environments.
• Experience managing insurer and reinsurer relationships.

Responsibilities

• Lead global product strategy and oversee product development.
• Own automated underwriting frameworks to improve efficiency.
• Manage insurer and reinsurer partnerships, including negotiations.
• Support new market launches and ensure product readiness.
• Monitor product performance and identify optimization opportunities.
• Lead a distributed product team and act as a senior escalation point.

Skills

Life insurance expertise

Strategic thinking

Stakeholder engagement

Commercial acumen

Leadership skills

Tools

Automated underwriting solutions

Data-enabled decisioning

Job description

The Company

Our client is a fast-growing financial services organisation operating across multiple international markets, however most recently launched in Australia and New Zealand. The business specialises in the design and delivery of direct-to-consumer life insurance, supported by strong capabilities across product, underwriting, data and technology. The business is relentlessly focused on customer outcomes and continues to expand its geographic footprint while investing in scalable, data-led product and underwriting models to support long-term growth.

The Opportunity

A newly created senior leadership role has been established for a Group Head of Product & Underwriting to support the next phase of growth across the business. This role will play a key part in shaping product strategy, strengthening underwriting capability and enabling expansion into new markets. This high-impact position suited to a commercially minded leader who enjoys operating in fast-paced environments and influencing outcomes at an international level. Location wise, this role would ideally be situated in Sydney however other global regions would be considered.

The Role

Reporting into the chief customer officer, this role leads product and underwriting capability across regions, ensuring scalable, commercially sound and customer-focused outcomes. Key responsibilities include:

• Leading global product strategy and overseeing product development across markets
• Owning and evolving automated underwriting frameworks to improve efficiency, accuracy and customer experience
• Managing and strengthening insurer and reinsurer partnerships, including negotiation and governance
• Supporting new market launches by ensuring product and underwriting readiness
• Monitoring product and underwriting performance, identifying opportunities for optimisation
• Leading and developing a distributed product team and acting as a senior escalation point

About You

You are a senior product and underwriting leader with strong life insurance expertise and the ability to operate across complex, multi-market environments. You balance strategic thinking with a willingness to be close to the detail and take ownership of outcomes. You will bring:

• Deep understanding of life insurance products, underwriting principles and distribution models
• Experience working with automated underwriting solutions and data-enabled decisioning
• Strong commercial acumen and confidence managing insurer and reinsurer relationships
• A pragmatic, hands‑on leadership style with excellent stakeholder engagement skills
• The ability to thrive in fast‑paced environments and manage competing priorities

Why Apply?

• Step into a newly created role with genuine influence at a group level
• Play a pivotal role during a period of growth and geographic expansion
• Work alongside experienced leaders across product, data, technology and analytics
• Be part of an organisation that values pace, accountability and innovation
• Opportunity to make a lasting impact across multiple international markets

If you're excited by this opportunity, please click APPLY to submit your application. For a confidential discussion, please reach out to Agnes at [e-mail].

Whether you are a sports fanatic, shark diver, or part‑time antique collector, we celebrate your uniqueness. Parity Consulting works with clients who embrace diverse and inclusive environments and empower their teams to bring their authentic whole self to work. We encourage people with different beliefs, abilities, backgrounds and life experiences to contact us. At Parity, we believe in people, not just data. Every application is reviewed by a real person, ensuring your experience and individuality are genuinely valued throughout the recruitment process.