Operations Manager

Location: London

Who are we?

Howden is a global insurance group with employee ownership at its heart. Together, we have pushed the boundaries of insurance. We are united by a shared passion and no-limits mindset, and our strength lies in our ability to collaborate as a powerful international team comprised of 24,000 employees spanning over 56 countries.

People join Howden for many different reasons, but they stay for the same one: our culture. It’s what sets us apart, and the reason our employees have been turning down headhunters for years. Whatever your priorities – work / life balance, career progression, sustainability, volunteering – you’ll find like-minded people driving change at Howden.

• The Operations Manager will play a pivotal role in supporting the effective delivery and operational management of the Health & Benefits Transformation & Strategic Programmes portfolio. Reporting directly to the Executive Director, Transformation & Strategic Programmes, the role will provide the structure, coordination and operational grip required to translate strategic priorities into effective delivery across people, process, data and technology.Working across a portfolio of transformation, strategic change, operational improvement and business-critical initiatives, the Operations Manager will work closely with cross-functional teams, including Operations, Client Services, Technology, Data, business leaders, external partners and senior leadership, to ensure initiatives are effectively mobilised, governed, delivered and embedded.The role requires a strategic thinker who is equally comfortable operating at a detailed delivery level. Strong stakeholder management, programme and project management, governance and problem-solving capabilities will be essential, alongside the ability to manage competing priorities, identify dependencies and risks, and drive actions through to conclusion.An understanding of the health and benefits landscape is preferable but not essential. More important is the ability to operate effectively in a complex, fast-paced environment and bring structure, challenge and delivery discipline to a broad portfolio of change. Key ResponsibilitiesOperational Leadership
  • Work closely with the Executive Director, Transformation & Strategic Programmes to support the effective management and delivery of the transformation and strategic change portfolio.
  • Provide operational leadership across initiatives, bringing structure, pace and clarity to priorities and ensuring teams have clear outcomes, ownership and delivery expectations.
  • Represent the Executive Director, Transformation & Strategic Programmes where appropriate, ensuring agreed actions and priorities continue to progress and issues requiring senior intervention are identified and escalated promptly.

Portfolio & Programme Delivery

• Support the management of a portfolio of transformation, strategic and operational improvement initiatives, ensuring priorities, milestones, interdependencies and outcomes remain visible and actively managed.
• Oversee multiple initiatives simultaneously, ensuring appropriate delivery plans are in place and teams remain focused on agreed outcomes, critical milestones and business priorities.
• Work with programme and project leads to maintain delivery momentum, challenge slippage and identify where intervention is required.

Governance & Delivery Assurance

• Establish and maintain effective governance and delivery disciplines across the portfolio, including plans, RAID management, dependencies, decisions, actions and escalation routes.
• Ensure governance forums are focused on decisions, interventions and outcomes rather than status reporting alone.
• Provide appropriate challenge where delivery is at risk and ensure issues are escalated with clear options and recommendations for resolution.

Strategic Execution

• Support the translation of strategic priorities into clear and actionable delivery plans.
• Work across the business to ensure teams understand the required outcomes, ownership, sequencing, dependencies and critical path associated with key initiatives.
• Maintain alignment between strategic objectives and day-to-day delivery, ensuring activity remains focused on achieving meaningful business outcomes.

Process Improvement & Transformation

• Identify opportunities to simplify and improve operational processes, controls and ways of working.
• Lead and support initiatives designed to improve efficiency, productivity and service delivery, leveraging technology, automation and data where appropriate.
• Support improvements from initial problem definition and process assessment through to implementation, adoption and benefits realisation.

Operational Readiness & Change Implementation

• Ensure programmes and solutions are operationally ready before implementation, with appropriate processes, controls, ownership, communications, training and adoption activities in place.
• Work with operational and business teams to identify the impact of change and ensure appropriate readiness plans are developed and delivered.
• Support the transition of change into BAU, ensuring sustainable ownership is established and that new processes and ways of working are successfully embedded.

Cross-functional Coordination & Dependency Management

• Coordinate activity across Operations, Technology, Data, Client Services and other relevant business functions to ensure delivery is aligned end-to-end.
• Identify and actively manage cross-programme and cross-functional dependencies, ensuring owners, impacts and required actions are clear.
• Bring together stakeholders where issues span multiple teams or require collective resolution and drive actions through to conclusion.

Client Service Excellence

• Ensure transformation and operational initiatives maintain a clear focus on colleagues, clients and service outcomes.
• Work with relevant teams to identify and resolve operational issues that could affect service delivery, client experience or implementation outcomes.
• Ensure changes are implemented in a controlled way that protects service continuity and supports improved client and colleague outcomes.

Stakeholder Management

• Build strong relationships with senior stakeholders across the business, acting as a trusted delivery partner to the Executive Director, Transformation & Strategic Programmes.
• Engage effectively with internal and external stakeholders to communicate progress, surface challenges, resolve issues and maintain alignment around priorities and outcomes.
• Work with stakeholders to establish clear accountability and ownership, constructively challenging where actions, decisions or dependencies are affecting delivery.
• Manage relationships with external partners and suppliers where required, ensuring commitments, dependencies and delivery expectations are understood and monitored.

Management Information, Reporting & Analytics

• Develop clear, concise and decision-led reporting across the portfolio, providing senior stakeholders with visibility of progress, outcomes, risks, dependencies and areas requiring intervention.
• Establish and monitor appropriate KPIs and measures of success, using data and management information to support decision-making and identify opportunities for improvement.
• Ensure reporting provides meaningful insight rather than simply documenting activity or status.

Benefits Realisation & Outcomes

• Support the definition of measurable outcomes and benefits for transformation and strategic initiatives.
• Work with business owners to ensure benefits, adoption and operational improvements are tracked following implementation.
• Ensure programmes remain focused on delivering the intended business outcomes and identify where corrective action may be required.

Team Development & Ways of Working

• Support and develop colleagues involved in programme and operational delivery, encouraging strong governance, accountability and collaborative ways of working.
• Promote a high-performance culture where individuals understand their responsibilities and feel empowered to resolve issues and progress delivery.
• Provide mentoring and guidance to junior operational, programme or project colleagues as required.

Compliance & Risk Management

• Ensure transformation and operational activities are delivered in accordance with relevant regulatory requirements, internal policies, governance standards and best practice.
• Proactively identify and manage operational and programme risks, working with appropriate stakeholders to establish effective mitigations.
• Ensure changes are implemented with appropriate controls and that risk and compliance considerations are incorporated throughout the delivery lifecycle.

Role ProfileEssential Skills and Experience

• Proven experience of working in an operations, transformation, programme or portfolio management role within a complex organisation, ideally within financial services, insurance, employee benefits or a consultancy environment.
• Strong experience of managing multiple complex projects, programmes or change initiatives simultaneously.
• Demonstrable experience of programme governance, delivery assurance, RAID management, dependency management and executive reporting.
• Strong understanding of how to translate strategic priorities into structured delivery plans and measurable outcomes.
• Experience of working across business, operations, technology, process and data-led change.
• Strong stakeholder management skills, with the confidence and credibility to engage, influence and constructively challenge senior stakeholders.
• Ability to bring structure and clarity to complex or ambiguous situations and drive activity through to conclusion.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving capabilities, with the ability to interpret operational and programme data and translate it into actionable insight.
• Experience of supporting organisational or operational change through implementation and into BAU.
• Excellent organisational and time-management skills, with the ability to manage competing priorities and remain focused on critical outcomes.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills, including the ability to present complex information clearly and concisely to senior audiences.
• Comfortable working independently and exercising judgement regarding when issues require escalation or senior intervention.
• Proficient in the use of project, programme, CRM and data/reporting tools.

Desirable Skills and Experience

• Experience within health and benefits, employee benefits, insurance or a similarly regulated industry.
• Experience delivering transformation spanning people, process, data and technology.
• Experience of technology-enabled transformation, automation, process optimisation or digital change.
• Experience supporting operational readiness, organisational change, adoption and transition into BAU.
• Knowledge of financial management, budgetary control and benefits realisation.
• Experience working with external technology providers, insurers, suppliers or strategic partners.
• A background in programme/project management, process re-engineering, change management or continuous improvement.
• Relevant professional qualifications in programme/project management, change, insurance or continuous improvement are desirable.

Personal Attributes

• Strong strategic thinking combined with a willingness to get into the detail required to move delivery forward.
• Highly proactive and comfortable taking ownership rather than waiting for direction.
• Strong problem-solving skills and the ability to bring structure to complex or ambiguous situations.
• Commercially minded and focused on tangible business outcomes.
• Confident and credible when working with senior stakeholders.
• Comfortable constructively challenging stakeholders and holding others accountable for commitments and actions.
• Able to connect activity across multiple programmes and recognise wider dependencies and implications.
• Collaborative, pragmatic and solutions-focused.
• High level of emotional intelligence and strong relationship-building capability.
• Resilient and able to operate effectively in a fast-paced environment with competing priorities.
• Adaptable and comfortable operating through change and uncertainty.
• Passionate about continuous improvement, transformation and delivering better outcomes for clients, colleagues and the business.

What do we offer in return?

A career that you define. At Howden, we value diversity – there is no one Howden type. Instead, we’re looking for individuals who share the same values as us:

• Our successes have all come from someone brave enough to try something new

• We support each other in the small everyday moments and the bigger challenges

• We are determined to make a positive difference at work and beyond

Reasonable adjustments

We're committed to providing reasonable accommodations at Howden to ensure that our positions align well with your needs. Besides the usual adjustments such as software, IT, and office setups, we can also accommodate other changes such as flexible hours* or hybrid working*.

If you're excited by this role but have some doubts about whether it’s the right fit for you, send us your application – if your profile fits the role’s criteria, we will be in touch to assist in helping to get you set up with any reasonable adjustments you may require.

*Not all positions can accommodate changes to working hours or locations. Reach out to your Recruitment Partner if you want to know more.

Permanent