Divisional Director - Head of Business Development

Who are we?

Howden is a collective - a group of talented and passionate people all around the world. 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 over 21,000 employees spanning over 100 countries.

We're moving from strength to strength, expanding our global reach and growing both organically and through strategic, high-quality mergers and acquisitions. By bringing together diverse expertise and perspectives, we're enhancing our unique culture and values, whilst continuing to expand our capability to innovate, and deliver exceptional solutions for our clients.

The Role

The Divisional Director - Head of Business Development, Financial Institutions is responsible for the overall performance, growth and success of their assigned business pillar. They will implement their business strategies, working with their senior management team, in order to grow shareholder value and develop their team and will allocate budget and other resources in line with their business plans and strategic targets.

The Divisional Director - Head of Business Development, Financial Institutions is an experienced producer and client handler, highly networked in at least one FI area that demonstrate experience of building and creating growth. They will need to project manage and in some cases, assist with complex placements dealing with high value accounts.

Experience in successful cross selling and sector knowledge across our sectors is important. This role will also work collaboratively with other team members and support more junior members of the Team.

What you'll do

• Develop and articulate compelling value propositions to support business growth and market differentiation.

• Lead and refine marketing strategy, ensuring alignment with business objectives and market trends.

• Generate innovative ideas to explore new markets, territories, and growth opportunities.

• Contribute to international strategy development where applicable, ensuring local relevance and global consistency.

• Drive growth of our FL/FI proposition, while enhancing our strategic cross-selling model across services and sectors.

• Identify and implement efficiency improvements to streamline operations and enhance productivity.

• Support team education and capability building around sector trends, market developments, and strategic initiatives.

Who we're looking for

• Extensive experience of working as an insurance broker/account executive/technical expert

• Experience of a high pressure, multi-task environment

• Detailed knowledge of the insurance market

• Specific Product area knowledge and in depth understanding of related wordings

• Advanced understanding of relevant regulatory and legal frameworks in relation to the clients' risk profile/requirements

• Understanding of P&L components/impacts

• A reasonable awareness of data and emerging technologies and how they apply within the insurance environment

• Good communication and negotiation skills

• High impact presentation skills

• Demonstrable competency in strategic thinking, planning and business development

• Good organisational and leadership abilities with high levels of personal integrity

• Good decision-making and problem-solving skills

• Experience in managing people.

Qualifications

• GCSE Math's and English (or equivalent)

• A levels

• Degree preferred

• Attainment of the LLMIT (the Lloyd's and London Market Introductory Test), where relevant to the role

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

Diversity and Inclusion

At Howden we value diversity - there is no one Howden 'personality 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

We consider our people our chief competitive advantage and as such we treat colleagues, candidates, clients, and business partners with equality, fairness, and respect - regardless of age, disability, race, religion or belief, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, or family circumstances.

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.

Our sustainability promise

We're on a life-long journey to become an ever-more sustainable group. It's a commitment to taking care of our people and the world we live in, to doing good business, and to making a positive impact wherever we can. Our governance processes, company policies, and review systems are all geared towards our goal of making a positive impact in the world. You can read more about our sustainability work here.