UNIT MANAGER: MASS MARKET AND LOWER MASS MARKET BROKER DISTRIBUTION
ABOUT THE COMPANY
When 1Life launched in 2006, we shook up the insurance industry with our fresh, customer-focused approach – offering
affordable, simple and convenient insurance products direct to South Africans. We have evolved over the years from
being a direct life insurer to becoming a multi-distribution insurer in 2013. We are always innovating, always looking for ways to meet South Africans’ evolving needs and change lives for the better.
Everything we do is geared towards making it simpler for our customers to make smart choices and to protect and grow
their wealth. Take a look at some of our industry “firsts”:
• the first company to sell life insurance direct to the public online and through our mobi site
• the first life company to launch a USSD policy management service for life policyholders
• the first to introduce HIV testing via saliva instead of blood tests.
JOB PURPOSE
Co-ordinate the delivery of business strategy through structuring operational plans and implementation thereof. Build,
maintain and enhance relationships with new and existing broker partners and leverage their partner relationships in
order to deliver end-end business results and ensure optimal business development within the 1Life Lower Mass and
Mass Market.
RESPONSIBILITIES
Functional Strategy Execution: Lead the development and implementation of strategy for an important area of
responsibility within a function, anticipating complex issues, challenges, and opportunities, and ensuring integration with
wider functional strategy.
Leadership and Direction: Communicate the function's strategy and its relationship to the organisation's mission,
vision and values; clarify the actions needed to implement it within the area of responsibility; motivate people to commit
to these and to doing extraordinary things to achieve the organization's business goals.
Provide guidance regarding legislation and business practice.
Ensure External Partners are continuously up to date with regards to training, products and processes in order to drive
sales and ensure adherence to business and statutory requirements.
Oversee and manage the Welcome Call and Retention teams within the Distribution Division.
Business Planning: Lead the development of annual and longer-term business plans for a significant function or small
local business, ensuring alignment with strategy; quantify business outcomes (i.e. revenues or other key performance
indicators) and resource budgets (financial and headcount); and ensure integration of key activities or projects across
the organisation. Ensure relevant targets, sales, book growth, and scheme profitability is achieved on the portfolio
across all relevant product lines.
Operations Management: Oversee and manage a retention's unit in line with targets, company goals, objectives, policies and procedures. Implement, drive and monitor group strategy and operational efficiency. Responsible for aspects of staff resourcing, succession planning, management and development, ensuring the right people are in place to support service delivery, achieving production and performance targets at all times.
Stakeholder Engagement: Identify and manage stakeholders up to top management level, finding out their needs/
issues/concerns and reacting to these by leading and coordinating the development of stakeholder engagement plans to
support the communication of business information and decisions.
Effectively build, maintain and manage new and existing partner relationships as well as relationships within the Lower
Mass Market and Mass Market Division.
Meet with business partners on regular basis.
Sales: Oversee sales of complex, often customized products and services to significant customers and/or manage a
significant Lower Mass Market and Mass Market Division.
Enhance external relationships through continuous motivational sales support and recognition.
Facilitate the effective resolution of any external partner queries or complaints as and when required.
Produce business plans in terms of analysis of results and projecting targets.
Organisational Capability Building: Evaluate the capabilities of staff within the Lower Mass Market and Mass Market
Division to identify gaps and prioritise development activities. Implement the organisation's formal development
frameworks within the area of responsibility. Coach and mentor others to support the development of the organization's
talent pool.
Performance Management: Manage and report on business performance; hold direct reports accountable for
achievement of business plans, and take corrective action where necessary to ensure the achievement of business
objectives, balancing the need to deliver short term business objectives with the longer term delivery of stakeholder
value.
Enable team through required business processes, systems, knowledge, etc.
Ensure alignment of scorecards to overall business drivers and customer experience focus.
Enable strategic and operational efficiencies and re-engineering
Ensure effective implementation and management of performance results to foster a high-performance culture.
Manage, monitor and ensure that exceptional customer service is delivered.
Personal Capability Building: Act as subject matter expert in an area of technology, policy, regulation, or operational
management for the function. Maintain external accreditations and in-depth understanding of current and emerging
technologies, external regulation, and industry best practices through continuing professional development, attending
conferences, and reading specialist media.
Ensure up-to-date industry and market knowledge, as well as internal products, processes is continuously maintained.
Compliance, Risk Management and Analysis: Manage a significant portion of the organisation's risk management
and/or control process. This includes contributing to the development and implementation of risk management (eg. fees
risk, compliance risk, claims ratios) and control process, policies and procedures.
Track and monitor the adherence of the compliance processes and procedures. Monitor the implementation and
oversee the Mass Market and Lower Mass Market partners.
Analyse ombudsman / legal matters overturned.
Make decisions regarding ombudsman queries, repudiations; ombudsman / legal issues.
Budgeting: Manage budget plans for a Lower Mass Market and Mass Market Division; could involve development or
delivery (or both).
Monitor all divisions cost and expense analysis.
Authorise incentives.
BEHAVIORAL COMPETENCIES
Plans and Aligns: Plans and prioritizes work to meet commitments aligned with organizational goals. For example,
stays focused on plans and improvises in response to changes, including risks and contingencies. Aligns own team's work with other workgroups'. Looks ahead to determine and obtain needed resources to complete plans.
Drives Results: Consistently achieves results, even under tough circumstances. For example, creates a feeling of
energy and an emphasis on excellence in the team, using productive behaviors. Builds a strong sense of urgency to
exceed goals and beat deadlines. Ensures that the team pushes through obstacles and establishes a superior track
record.
Financial Acumen: Interprets and applies key financial indicators to make better business decisions. For example,
finds and uses the best financial and quantitative indicators to gain an in-depth understanding of organizational
performance. Creates an environment and tools for people to take ownership of financial decisions.
Manages Complexity: Makes sense of complex, high quantity, and sometimes contradictory information to effectively
solve problems. For example, offers penetrating questions to help others get to the heart of complex situations and find
strong solutions. Uses a range of inputs to fully understand and solve problems.
Collaborates: Builds partnerships and works collaboratively with others to meet shared objectives. For example,
enhances and improves collaboration among coworkers and with external partners. Solicits ideas from diverse
colleagues, leaves space in conversation for them; gives credit well and generously.
Builds Effective Teams: Builds strong-identity teams that apply their diverse skills and perspectives to achieve
common goals. For example, provides rich and targeted insight on establishing strong teams with the right mix of
abilities and perspectives. Conveys team members' roles and goals in a compelling way that builds excitement.
Customer Focus: Builds strong customer relationships and delivers customer-centric solutions. For example, uses
customer feedback and data to drive continuous improvement; creates an environment in which team members feel a
strong sense of ownership and accountability toward creating the best possible customer experience.
Being Resilient: Rebounds from setbacks and adversity when facing difficult situations. For example, shows
appropriate stability and resilience in crises; puts the situation in perspective, helps the organization stay focused; helps
the organization move forward. Stays persistent in the face of adversity or obstacles; urges others to adopt a similar
approach.
Optimizes Work Processes: Knows the most effective and efficient processes to get things done, with a focus on
continuous improvement. For example, motivates people to produce highest-quality outcomes and pursue continuous
improvement. Sees that problems are well examined and improvements are integrated into all relevant work processes.
Builds Networks: Effectively builds formal and informal relationship networks inside and outside the organization. For
example, emphasizes building and maintaining strong relationships; gives targeted guidance on how to do so. Creates
and strengthens a wide network to learn early about industry developments and attain significant influence.
Directs Work: Provides direction, delegating, and removing obstacles to get work done. For example, delegates
considerable responsibility to staff with clear expectations and targeted guidance, removing obstacles. Fosters highly
efficient teams; tracks team performance with appropriate metrics and provides feedback.
SKILLS
Commercial Acumen: Act independently to apply comprehensive understanding of the business environment and
objectives to develop solutions and provide guidance and training to others.
Skill Components: General Business Management principles , Sales Management principles , Integrated understanding of
the Group Funeral Business Insurance industry.
Strategic Planning: Apply comprehensive knowledge and/or skills to independently engage in strategic planning.
Action Planning: Use comprehensive knowledge and skills to work and provide guidance and training to others on how
to develop appropriate plans or perform necessary actions based on recommendations and requirements.
Financial analysis: Apply comprehensive knowledge / skill, and provide guidance and training to others.
Policy and Regulation: Use comprehensive knowledge and skills and provide guidance and training to others on how
to interpret and apply comprehensive knowledge of laws, regulations and policies in area of expertise. Skill Components: Legislation (FAIS, FICA), Policy terms and conditions, Underwriting standards, Collective Investment Schemes, Insurance and investment principles, Compliance, Regulatory and Financial Risk Management.
Account/Client Management: Use comprehensive knowledge and skill to manage client accounts in a way that
provides benefits both for the organization and its clients.
Analytical Processes: Work independently and provide technical guidance when required on how to support research
schedules using appropriate analytical processes and procedures.
Presentation skills: Use comprehensive knowledge and skills to communicate with other people and provide guidance
and training to others on how to speak in a clear, concise and compelling manner.
Review and Reporting: Apply comprehensive knowledge and skills and provide guidance and training to others on how
to review and create relevant, lucid and effective reports.
Computer skills: Support business processes and understand and effectively use standard office equipment and
standard software packages. Provide technical guidance as needed.
Skill Components: Microsoft Office Suite software