Based within the Strategic Business Group, this role leads the design and delivery of strategic priorities across Southeast Asia (Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines), Africa and India, as well as the Group's Agency and Health businesses.
The position reports to the Chief of Staff to the Regional CEO and serves as a critical thought partner on emerging priorities and growth opportunities, and a key driver of organisational performance.
Purpose and Impact
The Senior Director acts as a strategic integrator and trusted adviser, ensuring the Strategic Business Group's priorities translate into coherent plans and tangible business outcomes. The role provides leadership across strategy formulation, performance management and disciplined execution - setting the direction, not just supporting it.
Key Responsibilities
- Strategic Leadership
- Lead the development of the Group's strategic roadmap and shape key priorities.
- Translate Group priorities into clear strategic themes, operating plans, and investment priorities.
- Lead structured problem-solving and hypothesis-driven analysis to support key decision-making.
- Provide senior-level thought leadership on future market dynamics, competitive positioning, and strategic trade-offs.
- Execution Oversight
- Oversee execution of major strategic initiatives across markets, with accountability for impact tracking and managing delivery risk.
- Review progress, ensure accountability, and resolve issues that cut across functions or markets.
- Anticipate bottlenecks and drive mitigation strategies.
- Act as a key escalation point and ensure alignment across Group stakeholders.
- Performance Management
- Lead the design and delivery of holistic business performance reviews, ensuring alignment with Group expectations.
- Identify value drivers and shape performance interventions across markets.
- Provide senior-level insight on performance headwinds, emerging risks, and commercial opportunities.
- Champion data-driven decision-making, embedding transparency and performance discipline across markets.
- Stakeholder Engagement
- Serve as a senior coordination bridge between Group and local leadership teams.
- Lead the development of high-quality executive materials.
- Maintain strong partnerships with Group stakeholders - including Finance, Risk and Agency and Health - to align on shared priorities.
- Represent the Regional CEO's Office in internal and external engagements.
Leadership Capabilities
- Strategic Thinking: Shapes multi-year strategic direction, anticipates future inflection points, and sets enterprise-level priorities.
- Influence & Partnership: Operates confidently at the highest organisational levels; builds alignment among Group and market leadership teams.
- Commercial Acumen: Applies strong financial, operational, and market insight to shape high-impact decisions and resource allocations.
- Execution Discipline: Drives disciplined execution through clear governance, accountability, and cross-functional leadership.
- Change Leadership: Navigates ambiguity with resilience; balances empathy with urgency in complex, shifting environments.
- Communication: Crafts compelling narratives for executives and board audiences; influences outcomes through clarity and persuasion.
- Integrity & Judgement: Demonstrates sound judgement in sensitive, ambiguous, and high-stakes situations.
Experience & Qualifications
- Experience:
- 15-20 years of experience within financial services or insurance.
- Extensive experience operating in multi-market or regional environments.
- Proven track record influencing C-suite leaders and driving strategic outcomes.
- Experience leading complex cross-functional initiatives and senior-level performance dialogues.
- Education:
- Bachelor's degree required; postgraduate qualification (MBA or equivalent) preferred.
- Skills:
- Exceptional analytical and problem-solving skills.
- Advanced executive communication and presentation capabilities.
- Ability to lead through ambiguity and deliver under tight timelines.
