Policyholder Operations Director, Retirement Solutions & Asset Management

Starr Underwriting; London; On-site; GBP 90,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

A prominent financial services company is seeking a Director in Asset Management based in London. The role involves providing strategic leadership, overseeing investment operations, and ensuring compliance with UK fund regulations. Candidates should possess executive-level experience, a university degree, and a strong track record in delivering profitable operating models. Join us in shaping operational excellence while fostering a culture of continuous improvement.

Qualifications

• Executive-level experience within a major financial services organisation.
• Strong strategic leadership with the ability to drive operational performance.
• Proven track record in designing and delivering profitable operating models.

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic direction and leadership across Policyholder Operations.
• Oversee all unit-linked investment operations for £170bn AUM.
• Own operational risk management, ensuring incidents are addressed promptly.

Skills

Strategic Leadership

Operational Excellence

Governance & Oversight

Risk & Compliance

Data & Vendor Management

Education

Relevant University degree

Job description

Job Description

Job Type: Permanent

Career Family / Career Level: Asset Management - Director

Location: This role will be based in either of our Phoenix office locations; London / Edinburgh / Birmingham / Telford, with some time working flexibly between the office and home. This role may require some travel between Phoenix offices. We will discuss what is important to you and balancing this with business requirements during the recruitment process. You can read more about Phoenix Flex here.

Role Context

To provide a full operational capability for policyholder assets and the Policyholder Investment Office (“PIO”) to include unit pricing, box management, operational support for With-Profit funds and PUTM, management and oversight of key suppliers for policyholder asset services. These operational capabilities are to provided based on key performance indicators ensuring that business activities fulfil both the highest customer standards whilst being commercially competitive. The role will ensure that the broad range of change across policyholder operations is business owned with appropriate levels of SME input to deliver successful outcomes to agreed timetables.

The role holder will have a number of delegated authorities for decision making on Investment Operations functions, through Board / SMCR delegations. In addition, the role holder will be an accountable signatory for unit linked investment transactions on behalf of business instructions to 3rd party fund managers and custodians.

The role includes ownership of all operational risks ensuring that adequate controls are in place with a continuous improvement mindset with incidents being managed on a timely basis and lessons learned being a cultural standard as opposed to a tick the box exercise.

Key Responsibilities

• Strategic Leadership:
  • Provide strategic direction and leadership across Policyholder Operations, driving performance, transformation, and delivery of a target operating model over a two-year horizon.
    
    

• Operational Excellence:
  • Oversee all unit-linked investment operations (NAV production, pricing, fund accounting, custody, liquidity, etc.) for £170bn AUM across ~4,500 funds, ensuring accuracy, timeliness, and regulatory compliance.
    
    

• Governance & Oversight:
  • Hold delegated authority for investment operations decisions and act as an authorised signatory for unit-linked transactions.
  • Lead governance forums (e.g., Unit Linked Governance Forum), ensuring effective oversight of outsourced services and fund managers.
  • Ensure robust controls, quality assurance, and continuous improvement across all operational activities.
    
    

• Change & Transformation:
  • Sponsor and lead investment operations change programmes and support broader strategic initiatives (e.g., onboarding new schemes, integrating acquisitions).
  • Manage fund rationalisation initiatives, including legacy fund closures and platform removals.
    
    

• Stakeholder Engagement:
  • Build and maintain strong relationships with internal teams (e.g., asset management, IT, compliance) and external partners (e.g., fund managers, consultants, data vendors).
  • Represent the function in group-wide forums, providing expert input and influencing outcomes.
    
    

• Risk & Compliance:
  • Own operational risk management, ensuring incidents are addressed promptly and lessons embedded culturally.
  • Ensure all activities meet regulatory, legislative, and group policy requirements.
    
    

• Data & Vendor Management:
  • Oversee data licensing for index and credit ratings, managing vendor relationships to ensure cost-effective delivery of data needs.
    

Experience Required (Essential)

• Executive-level experience within a major financial services organisation.
• Proven track record in designing and delivering profitable operating models, including profit centre accountability.
• Strong strategic leadership with the ability to drive operational performance and transformation.
• Experience working within matrix structures and delivering results through cross-functional collaboration.
• Skilled in building, leading, and motivating high-performing teams.
• Demonstrated ability to build and maintain effective executive-level relationships.
• Commercial expertise in managing strategic partnerships with outsourced providers across investment management, securities services, and infrastructure.
• In-depth knowledge of UK fund regulations, including Unit Trusts, OEICs, and ACS structures.
• Excellent presentation, negotiation, and influencing skills.
  
  

Qualifications

Relevant University degree

Senior Managers Certification Regime (SMCR)

Role

This role is covered by the Senior Managers & Certification Regime (SM&CR) as a certified role. Therefore this role is subject to annual certification by Phoenix Group, as well as regulatory compliance standards. Anybody performing this role will be subject to:

• PRA Individual Conduct Standards
• FCA Senior Individual Conduct Rules
  
  

Further information on the Senior Managers & Certification Regime can be found on the FCA website.

We Want To Hire The Whole Version Of You.

We are committed to ensuring that everyone feels accepted and welcome applicants from all backgrounds. If your experience looks different from what we’ve advertised and you believe that you can bring value to the role, we’d love to hear from you.

If you require any adjustments to the recruitment process, please let us know so we can help you to be at your best.

Find out more about

Guide for Candidates: thephoenixgroup.pagetiger.com/guideforcandidates

Find or get answers from our colleagues: www.thephoenixgroup.com/careers/talk-to-us