Head, L&H Contracts - APAC

Swiss Re - Schweizerische Rückversicherungs-Gesellschaft; Kuala Lumpur; Hybrid; MYR 550,000 - 900,000; Full time

Job summary

Swiss Re in Malaysia seeks a senior leader to head APAC Life & Health Contracts, driving contract discipline and governance across the region.

The role reports to the Global Head of L&H Contracts, partnering with underwriting, pricing, claims and legal to translate risk into enforceable terms while modernizing workflows with GenAI-enabled tools. A high-accountability leader will shape talent and standards across Asia.

Qualifications

• 12–15+ years’ experience in Life & Health (re)insurance contracting with drafting and negotiation of reinsurance agreements.
• Legal qualification preferred and senior leadership experience.
• Ability to lead multi-location teams in a regulated, complex environment.

Responsibilities

• Strengthen commercial discipline across APAC in line with underwriting intent.
• Governance, standardization, and de-risking of regional contracting processes.
• Lead and mentor Contracts Specialists across Asia and define career paths.
• Drive digital workflow modernization and GenAI-enabled contracting practices.

Skills

Commercial judgment

Multi-location leadership

Contract drafting

GenAI adoption

Regulatory environment

Talent development

Education

Law degree

Tools

Contract management platforms

Job description

Ready to shape the future of Life & Health reinsurance contracts across Asia Pacific? Join Swiss Re in a regional leadership role with accountability for the APAC Contracts function. Partnering with APAC leadership and the Global Head of L&H Contracts, you'll strengthen commercial discipline and governance while leading a high-performing team. You'll also shape the future of the function by modernizing workflows and accelerating the adoption of GenAI-enabled solutions across the region.

About the Role

APAC is a diverse and strategically important region within Swiss Re’s L&H reinsurance portfolio. The role leads contract drafting discipline, governance rigor, and in-force contractual risk review within a high-volume, performance-driven underwriting environment.

You will serve as a business partner to Swiss Re L&H's APAC business, translating underwriting intent and legal advice into disciplined contract execution that protects long-term value. The role owns deviation governance, negotiation consistency and contractual analysis across the region, while driving modernization through workflow tools and GenAI-enabled practices. While strong legal and drafting expertise is important, this role sits within the L&H Chief Underwriting Officer's organization and partners closely with legal, underwriting, pricing, claims, portfolio management and risk functions.

Reporting to the Global Head of L&H Contracts, this role is a member of the L&H Contracts Leadership Team and plays a visible role in shaping the evolution of the Contracts function.

About the Life & Health Contracts Function

The L&H Contracts function drafts, reviews and advises on reinsurance agreements between Swiss Re and its clients. In close partnership with underwriting, pricing, claims, legal, and risk, the team:

• Structures and documents traditional reinsurance agreements
• Provides clear advice on wording implications and risk trade-offs
• Supports disciplined portfolio management through contracts analysis

Contracts plays a critical role in safeguarding Swiss Re’s risk position while enabling sustainable long-term profitability.

Your Mandate

1. Strengthen Commercial Discipline

• Ensure contracts reflect underwriting intent and disciplined risk-taking
• Act as a trusted partner to Client Markets and cross-functional stakeholders (underwriting, pricing, claims, legal, etc), shaping deal structure and contract outcomes
• Provide clear, decisive recommendations on wording and structural trade-offs, with hands-on involvement in key client accounts
• Lead commercial interpretation, analysis, and revision of existing agreements

2. Strengthen Governance & Standardization

• Ensure consistent application of global contracting standards
• Own deviation governance, tracking, and transparency across the region
• Strengthen documentation rigor and decision traceability
• Lead, mentor, and develop a team of Contracts Specialists based across several locations in Asia
• Define clear roles, accountability, and career pathways for Contracts Counsels
• Represent APAC within the L&H Contracts Leadership Team

4. Accelerate Digital Workflow & GenAI Adoption

• Lead regional adoption of contracting workflow tools and GenAI-enabled practices, embedding responsible and scalable AI use into standard drafting and review workflows

About You

• 12–15+ years’ experience in Life & Health (re)insurance contracting, including significant drafting and negotiation of (re)insurance agreements; legal qualification preferred
• Demonstrated commercial judgment and ability to articulate risk trade-offs
• Experience leading multi-location teams in a regulated, complex reinsurance environment
• A high-accountability leader who drives performance and sets clear standards
• Decisive and commercially pragmatic, with the confidence to challenge stakeholders constructively and make disciplined risk decisions
• Committed to developing talent and strengthening capabilities
• Experience driving workflow modernization and technology-enabled change

About Swiss Re

Swiss Re is one of the world’s leading providers of reinsurance, insurance and other forms of insurance-based risk transfer, working to make the world more resilient. We anticipate and manage a wide variety of risks, from natural catastrophes and climate change to cybercrime. Combining experience with creative thinking and cutting-edge expertise, we create new opportunities and solutions for our clients. This is possible thanks to the collaboration of more than 15,000 employees across the world.

Our success depends on our ability to build an inclusive culture encouraging fresh perspectives and innovative thinking. We embrace a workplace where everyone has equal opportunities to thrive and develop professionally regardless of their age, gender, race, ethnicity, gender identity and/or expression, sexual orientation, physical or mental ability, skillset, thought or other characteristics. In our inclusive and flexible environment everyone can bring their authentic selves to work and their passion for sustainability.

If you are an experienced professional returning to the workforce after a career break, we encourage you to apply for open positions that match your skills and experience.

We may use AI-powered tools to support the review and evaluation of applications for this position. These tools provide additional insights to our recruitment teams, but all hiring decisions are carefully reviewed and made by people. To learn more about how we use AI in recruitment and how we handle your personal data, please review our Data Privacy Statement before applying.

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