Lead Actuary

The Methodist Church in Britain; England; Hybrid; GBP 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible working options

Carer-friendly working environment

Wellbeing support

Job summary

NHS Central East ICB is seeking a senior actuary to lead the actuarial discipline within the Strategic Value Unit. The role involves forecasting, risk and financial modelling to inform planning, commissioning and payment decisions, with line management of actuarial staff.

Applicants must be Fellows of the IFoA or equivalent, with ongoing CPD and professional standards compliance. The post supports flexible working and a multidisciplinary decision intelligence function.

Qualifications

• Qualified actuary with Fellowship of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries or equivalent internationally recognised qualification.
• Ongoing CPD and compliance with actuarial professional standards.

Responsibilities

• Lead the actuarial discipline within the Strategic Value Unit.
• Oversee problem definition, data specification and implementation of actuarial work.
• Develop forecasts and risk models for population need, demand and expenditure.
• Advise on population-based budgets, payment and risk-sharing arrangements.
• Lead actuarial staff and set technical standards.

Skills

R/Python/SQL

Actuarial modelling

Leadership

Communication

Education

Fellowship of IFoA

CPD and actuarial standards

Tools

Actuarial software

Job description

This senior actuarial post sits in the Strategic Value Unit at NHS Central East ICB, which is integrated with the Population Health Unit. The postholder leads the actuarial discipline, using forecasting, risk and financial modelling to inform planning, commissioning and payment decisions. The role sits within a multidisciplinary decision intelligence function and includes line management of actuarial staff. Applicants must be qualified actuaries with Fellowship of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries or an equivalent recognised qualification.

What the job involves

• Lead the actuarial discipline within the Strategic Value Unit, setting its direction and aligning work with ICB priorities
• Lead actuarial work from problem definition and data specification through to implementation
• Lead complex modelling of population need, demand, utilisation, outcomes, expenditure and financial risk
• Develop long-term forecasts and assumptions, applying scenario, sensitivity and probabilistic methods
• Advise on population-based budgets, payment and risk-sharing arrangements
• Model the allocation and consequences of financial risk under alternative contractual or payment arrangements
• Assess how alternative demand, activity, capacity and cost scenarios affect financial sustainability
• Set standards for modelling, assumptions, documentation, validation and technical assurance
• Assure high-impact analyses through validation, peer review, independent challenge and sensitivity testing
• Lead analysis of complex population, activity, cost and financial data, assessing provenance, completeness and bias
• Communicate recommendations and uncertainty to senior decision-makers and non-technical audiences
• Produce or assure actuarial content for strategic plans, business cases and committee papers

What’s required

Qualifications

• Qualified actuary with Fellowship of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries, or equivalent internationally recognised actuarial qualification
• Current continuing professional development and compliance with actuarial professional standards

Experience

• Significant experience applying actuarial methods to complex financial, population, risk or resource-planning problems, at qualified actuary level
• Senior technical or professional actuarial leadership, including assurance, supervision or professional guidance
• Significant experience developing actuarial forecasts and risk models covering demographic and non-demographic growth, demand, utilisation and expenditure
• Experience applying actuarial analysis to strategic planning or financial sustainability
• Experience leading, managing or developing actuarial or analytical staff and setting technical standards

Skills & knowledge

• Fluency in R, Python, SQL or specialist actuarial software, with reproducible analytical approaches
• Structuring ambiguous problems, selecting proportionate methods and modelling with incomplete or uncertain evidence
• Distinguishing underlying trends from short-term variation and quantifying ranges, likelihoods and financial exposure
• Synthesising actuarial, financial, operational, clinical and population evidence into clear recommendations

Nice to have

• Evidence of wider contribution to the actuarial or analytical profession

What’s offered

• Flexible working options
• Carer-friendly working environment
• Wellbeing support