Head of Operations Strategy

The Operations Strategy Delivery role plays a pivotal role in driving the development, governance, and execution of the Operations Department’s strategic priorities. This role bridges operational strategy with execution by leveraging data analytics, emerging technology and business insights to facilitate transformation initiatives and enhance decision-making and operational efficiency.

Working cross-functionally with local and regional teams, the lead ensures alignment between operational goals and initiatives. With a strong focus on delivering actionable insights and continuously improving operational processes, this position is vital for achieving the organization's long-term goals and maintaining a competitive advantage.

Position Responsibilities:

Strategy Development & Execution

• Leads the end-to-end Operations Strategic Planning process, including annual planning, quarterly refresh, and alignment to organizational objectives and business priorities.
• Leads the development and operationalization of the Operations strategic plan, establishing clear governance, performance metrics, and tracking mechanisms to ensure disciplined execution and delivery of strategic outcomes; prepares and delivers executive-level presentations, reports and decision papers for leadership forums.
• Evaluates new strategic initiatives, drives prioritisation process, define KPIs, assess options for decision-making, and ensure strategic goals deliver measurable benefits.

Distribution Partners Initiative Delivery

• Lead and facilitate structured engagement (monthly catch ups) with key distribution partners: DBS, MFA and MAG. Documenting pain points, running prioritization and driving resulting key initiatives to resolve them.
• Drive alignment between frontline requirements and backend operational capabilities.
• Work across Operations HODs, Technology, Compliance and other stakeholders to facilitate clear ownership, timelines and delivery of the agreed initiatives.

Strategic Reporting & Monitoring

• Works with best-in-class reporting frameworks and analytics dashboards to leverage real-time tracking of strategic initiatives and operational performance.
• Specifies regular and ad-hoc reports to monitor operational performance, strategic progress, and transformation initiatives.
• Identify risks and proactively highlight challenges/opportunities based on reporting insights.

Stakeholder Engagement & Communication

• Act as a trusted advisor to Operations and Business Senior Management, providing insights and guidance on strategic planning and business performance.
• Collaborate with local, regional, and cross-functional teams (Finance, IT, Distribution, etc.) to align data analytics with strategic goals.
• Create impactful presentations and reports for executive leadership, translating complex data into concise and meaningful insights.
• Provide training and support to stakeholders on how to interpret and leverage dashboards, reports, and analytics tools.

Process Optimization & Innovation

• Leverage broader insurance technology and process innovation knowledge to challenge the status quo and partner with Technology in providing innovative solutions for our business and distribution partners.
• Drive adoption and embedding of new processes and tools across Operations.
• Up to date in understanding the impact of AI initiatives in the insurance sector and being able to leverage this knowledge.

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in business, Finance, Data Analytics, Actuarial Science, or related field.
• 10 years+ of relevant experience in financial services (life insurance industry and banking preferred), with a strong background in transformation, insurance technology, process improvement and data-driven decision-making.

Technical Skills

• Expertise in PowerPoint, Excel, and Word with the ability to create executive-level presentations, perform data analysis, and generate