Operations Team Leader – Life & Pensions

Methodius IT Recruitment; Donegal; On-site; EUR 55,000 - 80,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Annual Bonus Scheme

Contributory Pension

Private Medical Insurance

Life Assurance & Long-Term Disability

Employee Assistance Programme

Relocation package

Lunch & Learn sessions

Company discounts

On-site parking

Bike-to-work scheme

Job summary

Methodius IT Recruitment’s client, a leading Life & Pensions organisation, is seeking an Operations Team Lead to coach and develop a team of Operations Specialists in a regulated environment. Based in Letterkenny, Co.

Donegal, the role combines people leadership with continuous improvement and strong stakeholder collaboration. You will manage performance against KPIs and SLAs, drive QA and regulatory compliance, support onboarding and training, and act as a subject matter expert for processes

Qualifications

• Proven experience leading teams within financial services, Life &_pensions, insurance or customer operations.
• Experience managing performance against productivity, quality and SLAs.
• Lean, Six Sigma or continuous-improvement experience.
• APA or QFA qualification, or willingness to work towards certification.
• Knowledge of the Consumer Protection Code and GDPR.

Responsibilities

• Lead, motivate and develop a high-performing, customer-focused team.
• Conduct regular one-to-ones, coaching sessions and performance reviews.
• Provide feedback, create development plans and support career progression.
• Support onboarding, training and knowledge development.
• Manage workloads and resource allocation to achieve service objectives.
• Act as the first point of escalation for operational and team-related queries.
• Promote accountability, collaboration, knowledge sharing and continuous learning.
• Analyse QA results to identify trends and development opportunities.
• Coach colleagues based on QA findings and implement action plans.

Skills

People leadership

Coaching

Stakeholder management

Performance management

Analytical skills

Regulatory awareness

QA/quality assurance

Problem-solving

Communication

Education

APA or QFA qualification

Job description

Our client is a leading organisation within the Life & Pensions sector, focused on customer outcomes, operational excellence and high-quality service in a regulated environment.

We are seeking an experienced Operations Team Lead to lead, coach and develop a team of Operations Specialists. This is a hands-on leadership role combining people management, operational performance, quality assurance and continuous improvement.

The successful candidate will develop strong expertise in Life & Pensions products, processes and systems, becoming a trusted subject matter expert while working closely with stakeholders across the business.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead, motivate and develop a high-performing, customer-focused team.
• Conduct regular one-to-ones, coaching sessions and performance reviews.
• Provide feedback, create development plans and support career progression.
• Support onboarding, training and knowledge development.
• Manage workloads and resource allocation to achieve service objectives.
• Act as the first point of escalation for operational and team-related queries.
• Promote accountability, collaboration, knowledge sharing and continuous learning.

Operational Performance

• Manage daily team performance against KPIs, SLAs, productivity, quality and service standards.
• Identify and address risks, operational issues and performance gaps.
• Drive ownership, accountability and consistently high-quality customer outcomes.
• Provide performance insights and recommendations to management and key stakeholders.
• Support wider business initiatives and operational objectives.
• Complete regular quality assurance reviews across team activities.
• Ensure work is delivered accurately and in line with regulatory, client and internal requirements.
• Analyse QA results to identify trends, recurring errors and development opportunities.
• Coach colleagues based on QA findings and implement action plans where required.
• Support audit, governance and compliance activities.
• Promote a culture of accuracy, regulatory awareness, customer focus and continuous improvement.

Life & Pensions & Continuous Improvement

• Develop and maintain strong knowledge of Life & Pensions products, processes and systems.
• Act as a subject matter expert for technical and operational queries.
• Identify process inefficiencies, control weaknesses and opportunities to improve performance.
• Analyse recurring issues and trends to identify root causes and recommend sustainable solutions.
• Work with Training, Quality, Compliance and Operations stakeholders to implement improvements and embed best practice.
• Contribute to operational change and transformation initiatives.

About You

You will be an engaging and proactive people leader with a strong focus on coaching, performance and operational excellence.

Ideally, you will have:

• Proven experience leading, coaching and developing teams within financial services, Life & Pensions, insurance, customer operations or shared services.
• Experience managing performance against productivity, quality and service-level targets.
• Strong coaching, mentoring and performance-management skills.
• Experience using performance and quality data to identify trends and improve outcomes.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving and root-cause analysis capabilities.
• The ability to rapidly develop expertise across products, processes and systems.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder-management skills.
• Strong organisational skills and the ability to manage competing priorities.
• A continuous-improvement mindset with a focus on customer and business outcomes.
• Life & Pensions, insurance or wider financial-services experience.
• Experience in a highly regulated environment.
• APA or QFA qualification, or willingness to work towards certification.
• Experience with QA reviews, audits or operational controls.
• Lean, Six Sigma or continuous-improvement experience.
• Experience supporting operational change or transformation.
• Knowledge of the Consumer Protection Code.
• GDPR and data-protection awareness.
• Experience managing escalations, including frustrated or vulnerable customers.

The Opportunity

This is an excellent opportunity to join an established organisation within the Life & Pensions sector and take on a role with genuine scope to influence people development, operational performance, quality and customer outcomes.

If you're an experienced Operations Team Lead, Team Leader or people manager with relevant financial-services, insurance or Life & Pensions experience, we'd be keen to hear from you.

• Salary dependent on candidate experience.
• Benefits: Annual Bonus Scheme.
• Contributory Pension.
• Private Medical Insurance.
• Life Assurance & Long-Term Disability.
• Employee Assistance Programme.
• 22 days annual leave + 10 public holidays.
• Relocation package.
• Continuous Learning & Development.
• Access to extensive training & certification resources.
• Lunch & Learn sessions.
• Additional perks including company discounts, on-site parking, and bike-to-work scheme

Based in Letterkenny, Co. Donegal - onsite. Candidates must be eligible to work in Ireland/EU.

For more information, please contact David Coyle at 01 635 1748 or email [e-mail]