Quality Assurance Manager

An opportunity exists for a skilled and experienced professional to take the helm of the Quality Assurance function at Liberty, a prominent financial services provider in South Africa. This pivotal role, based in Johannesburg, calls for a leader who can ensure the highest standards of quality and consistency across the organisation's underwriting activities. If you possess a deep understanding of risk management, a strategic mindset, and a commitment to operational excellence, this position offers a chance to make a significant impact.

About the Role

This position is central to maintaining the integrity and effectiveness of Liberty's underwriting processes. The Quality Assurance Manager will be instrumental in developing and implementing robust strategies that not only minimise risk but also actively contribute to achieving core business objectives. A key focus will be on fostering a culture of continuous improvement, ensuring that underwriting decisions are consistently sound, and that processes are constantly refined to meet evolving market demands and regulatory landscapes. The successful candidate will operate within a larger organisational framework, aligning their efforts with broader business unit goals and the company's overall risk appetite.

The responsibilities of the Quality Assurance Manager are multifaceted and demand a strategic as well as operational approach. Your core duties will involve:

• **Strategic Development and Implementation:** Translating business objectives into actionable underwriting strategies and operational plans. This includes developing and executing a clear vision and roadmap for the underwriting function, ensuring it aligns with the organisation's broader strategic aims and risk tolerance.
• **Market and Regulatory Awareness:** Continuously monitoring industry trends, competitor actions, global best practices in underwriting, and all relevant regulatory developments. This foresight is crucial for identifying emerging opportunities and threats, informing strategic adjustments, and maintaining a competitive edge.
• **Standards and Guidelines Management:** Developing, implementing, and maintaining comprehensive underwriting standards and guidelines. These are essential for ensuring consistent, high-quality risk assessment and pricing across the entire portfolio. Regular review and refinement of these standards will be necessary in response to portfolio performance, claims data, and changing market conditions.
• **Risk Appetite Framework:** Defining and embedding the organisation's risk appetite framework. This includes setting clear target segments, exposure limits, and defining classes of business that may be restricted. Continuous monitoring and enforcement of adherence to this framework is paramount.
• **Underwriting Authority and Controls:** Establishing, monitoring, and managing underwriting authority limits and the overall portfolio risk appetite. The role demands the implementation of robust controls to uphold portfolio quality and ensure adherence to defined risk parameters.
• **Complex Case Adjudication:** Providing oversight and final adjudication for complex, high-value, or sensitive underwriting cases that fall outside standard authority limits or require specialised expertise, ensuring fair and compliant outcomes.
• **Communication and Stakeholder Management:** Overseeing processes for clear, transparent, and empathetic communication of underwriting decisions to clients and intermediaries, strictly adhering to the principles of treating customers fairly (TCF). Resolving complex and high-risk underwriting queries, disputes, or issues by coordinating efforts across various internal and external stakeholders.
• **Product Development Support:** Providing expert underwriting input, feasibility assessments, and necessary sign-offs for the development and launch of new insurance products, ensuring their profitability, market viability, and alignment with underwriting strategy and risk appetite.
• **Portfolio Performance Analysis:** Rigorously analysing the performance of the underwriting portfolio, focusing on key metrics such as loss ratios, expense ratios, hit rates, retention rates, and claims experience. Identifying trends and implementing necessary corrective actions will be a key aspect of this.
• **Data Analytics and Reporting:** Promoting and leveraging advanced data analytics and predictive modelling within the underwriting function. This will involve generating actionable insights, identifying emerging risks, supporting product development, and refining underwriting models. Presenting comprehensive reports and analyses on underwriting performance, portfolio risk exposure, and strategic initiatives to executive leadership will also be a requirement.
• **Policy and Procedure Oversight:** Formulating, implementing, and continuously reviewing underwriting policies, guidelines, and procedures across all relevant product lines to ensure consistency, profitability, and regulatory compliance.
• **Legislative and Governance Adherence:** Directing the underwriting function to ensure stringent adherence to all relevant South African financial services legislation (e.g., FSCA, TCF, POPIA, FAIS, AML) and internal governance policies.
• **Internal Controls and Audit Readiness:** Establishing and maintaining robust internal controls within the underwriting function, ensuring readiness for internal and external audits and efficiently implementing all recommended corrective actions.
• **Fraud and Adverse Selection Mitigation:** Designing and managing robust controls, processes, and training within underwriting to proactively detect, prevent, and mitigate fraud, misrepresentation, and adverse selection.
• **Quality Assurance Framework:** Designing, implementing, and managing a comprehensive quality assurance framework for all underwriting decisions, conducting regular audits and reviews to ensure accuracy, consistency, and strict adherence to established standards and policies.
• **Continuous Improvement and Digital Transformation:** Championing initiatives for continuous process improvement, automation, and digital transformation within the underwriting function to enhance efficiency, reduce turnaround times, and improve the overall client and intermediary experience.

What They're Looking For

To excel in this role, candidates should possess a strong academic foundation, typically a first degree in a relevant field such as Business Commerce, Finance and Accounting, Legal, Mathematical Sciences, Risk Management, or Engineering Sciences. Crucially, candidates must demonstrate substantial experience within the insurance sector, ideally with 8 to 10 years of progressive experience. Beyond formal qualifications, the ideal candidate will exhibit:

• Proven ability to translate strategic business objectives into effective underwriting strategies and executable operational plans.
• Experience in developing and leading operational underwriting strategic visions and annual operating plans.
• A deep understanding of underwriting standards, risk appetite frameworks, and portfolio management.
• Demonstrable experience in analysing portfolio performance and implementing data-driven corrective actions.
• Proficiency in developing and implementing quality assurance frameworks and conducting audits.
• Strong knowledge of South African financial services legislation and regulatory requirements.
• Excellent communication, leadership, and stakeholder management skills.
• A proactive and innovative approach to process improvement and digital transformation.

In South Africa, roles like Quality Assurance Manager within established financial institutions often command competitive salaries, reflecting the critical nature of risk management and compliance. The specific remuneration will depend on experience, qualifications, and the exact scope of responsibilities. Liberty, as part of Standard Bank Group, offers a stable and reputable environment with opportunities for professional growth and development within the broader financial services sector. Successful candidates can expect to be part of a team dedicated to upholding rigorous standards and contributing to the company's long-term success.

Type of Qualification: First Degree
Field of Study: Business Commerce, Finance and Accounting, Legal, Mathematical Sciences, Risk Management, Engineering Sciences Study Direction

Experience Required
Insurance
Insurance
8-10 years
Ability to translate business objectives into effective underwriting strategies and operational plans

Develop, lead, and implement the operational underwriting strategic vision, roadmap, and annual operating plan for the 
Underwriting function, ensuring alignment with the IAM Business Unit's overall objectives and risk appetite
Continuously monitor industry trends, competitor activities, global best practices in underwriting, and regulatory developments to 
identify opportunities and threats, informing strategic adjustments and ensuring competitive positioning.
Develop, implement, and maintain underwriting standards and guidelines to ensure consistent, high-quality risk assessment and 
pricing across the portfolio. Continuously review and refine underwriting standards in response to portfolio performance, claims 
trends, and market conditions
Define and embed the risk appetite framework, including target segments, exposure limits, and restricted classes of business. 
Monitor and enforce alignment of underwriting activity with the organisation’s risk appetite and strategic objectives. Recommend 
adjustments to risk appetite based on emerging risks, underwriting performance, and external market developments
Establish, monitor, and manage underwriting authority limits and portfolio risk appetite, ensuring robust controls are in place to 
maintain portfolio quality and adherence to defined risk parameters. Identify and quantify risk exposure, define coverage limits, 
exclusions, deductables etc and guide the team in applying underwriting guidelines, models and professional judgement.
Oversee and provide final adjudication for complex, high-value, or sensitive underwriting cases that fall outside standard authority 
limits or require expert judgment, ensuring equitable and compliant outcomes.
Oversee processes for effective, clear, transparent, and empathetic communication of underwriting decisions to clients and 
intermediaries, strictly adhering to “treat Customers Fairly” (TCF) principles.
Resolve complex and high-risk, high nett worth underwriting queries, disputes, or issues and orchestrate the resolution by 
facilitating and coordinating the decisions and actions of various internal and external stakeholders
Provide expert underwriting input, feasibility assessments, and sign-off for the development and launch of new insurance 
products, ensuring their profitability, market viability, and alignment with the underwriting strategy and risk appetite.
Oversee and rigorously analyse the performance of the Underwriting portfolio, including key metrics such as loss ratios, expense 
ratios, hit rates, retention rates, and claims experience, identifying trends and implementing corrective actions.
Promote and leverage advanced data analytics and predictive modelling within the underwriting function to generate actionable 
insights, identify emerging risks, support product development, and refine underwriting models.
Develop and present comprehensive reports and insightful analyses on underwriting performance, portfolio risk exposure, and 
strategic initiatives to executive leadership (e.g. Portfolio Head) and other relevant executive committees.
Formulate, implement, and continuously review underwriting policies, guidelines, and procedures across all relevant product lines 
(e.g., life, health, general insurance) to ensure consistency, profitability, and regulatory compliance. Ensure adherence to 
underwriting protocols, including risk selection, pricing discipline, policy structuring, and documentation standards in the 
underwriting function. 

Essential Functions

• Direct the underwriting function to ensure stringent adherence of all underwriting activities to all relevant South African financial services legislation (e.g., FSCA, TCF, POPIA, FAIS, AML) and internal Standard Bank Group governance policies and ethical standards.
• Establish and maintain robust internal controls within the underwriting function, ensuring constant readiness for internal and external audits and efficiently implementing all recommended corrective actions.
• Implement and oversee robust controls, processes, and training within underwriting to proactively detect, prevent, and mitigate fraud, misrepresentation, and adverse selection.
• Design, implement, and manage a robust quality assurance framework for all underwriting decisions, conducting regular audits and reviews to ensure accuracy, consistency, and strict adherence to established standards and policies.
• Champion initiatives for continuous process improvement, automation, and digital transformation within the underwriting function to enhance efficiency, reduce turnaround times, and improve the client and intermediary experience.
• Drive the effective utilisation and continuous enhancement of underwriting systems, data analytics tools, and technology solutions to support efficient risk assessment, robust data management, and informed decision-making.
• Lead or actively participate in cross-functional projects that impact the underwriting function, ensuring effective representation of underwriting perspectives and successful project delivery.
• Collaborate effectively with key internal departments such as Actuarial, Claims, Product Development, Sales, Operations, Legal, Finance, and Compliance to ensure seamless workflow, mutual understanding of impacts, and strategic alignment Additional Responsibilities Manage and nurture strategic relationships with key external partners including reinsurers, brokers, medical service providers

Additional Responsibilities

• Manage and nurture strategic relationships with key external partners including reinsurers, brokers, medical service providers, third-party administrators, and industry bodies to optimise risk transfer, identify new business opportunities, gather market intelligence, and ensure best practice adoption Lead, mentor, coach, and develop a high-performing team of underwriting managers, senior underwriters, and specialists, fostering a culture of technical excellence, continuous professional development, and strong risk acumen.
• Implement robust talent management practices, including recruitment, performance management, training needs identification, and succession planning, to ensure a skilled and sustainable underwriting workforce.
• Develop, manage, and monitor the annual budget for the underwriting department, ensuring optimal allocation of financial resources and adherence to financial targets set by the Portfolio Head

Behavioural Competencies:

• Checking Things
• Developing Strategies
• Directing People
• Examining Information
• Exploring Possibilities
• Following Procedures
• Generating Ideas
• Managing Tasks
• Producing Output
• Pursuing Goals
• Taking Action
• Upholding Standards

Technical Competencies:

• Automation Acumen
• Claims Knowledge and Management
• Client Acceptance & Review
• Client Relationship Management
• Coaching and Mentoring Operational Practices
• Collaboration
• Continuous Improvement
• Insurance Principles
• Insurance Products & Services
• Operations Risk Management
• Process Management
• Resource & Capacity Optimization
• Risk Perception & Assessment
• Strategic Alignment & Execution
• Underwriting and Pricing Risk
• Underwriting Management
• Underwriting Process