Howden
Employee Benefits Consultant SME
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About Us
By working closely with our clients to deeply understand their needs, we are able to develop solutions that are truly best-in-class. We choose to be specialists rather than generalists, so that we have the expertise required to solve even the most complex challenges. Our entrepreneurial approach promotes innovation, integrity, and a constant focus on delivering the best solutions for our clients.
Role Overview
The job holder is responsible for advising clients within the small to medium enterprise (SME) sector on their employee benefits programs, with a preferred specialist knowledge of Group Risk and/or Healthcare. This opportunity is to join a dynamic division within Howden Employee Benefits and Wellbeing. You will be expected to manage client relationships and manage policies in Group Risk and/or Healthcare, as well as develop new opportunities across the broad spectrum of Employee Benefits. Managing a portfolio of clients and the responsibility to deliver a personal account development new business budget. The role will include elements of both personal and scheme operations, but some additional support will be provided by the SME Operations team.
Key Responsibilities
- Client Interaction: Be the first point of contact for clients. Understand the sector and benefits offered. Be prepared to respond quickly and accurately to client queries.
- Consultancy Management: Builds a robust system for ensuring appropriate management of consultancy (and administration where required) tasks including proactive follow-up with clients and insurers, keeping appropriate colleagues appraised at all times.
- Client Relationship Management: Build and lead the relationship with a portfolio of SME clients whilst providing advice on specific insurance products.
- Technical Advice: Provide all technical advice to clients on the policies you are responsible for, seeking assistance from colleagues where appropriate.
- Collaboration: Work closely with the SME Operations Team to ensure all renewal, reviews, claims, and medical underwriting are completed in a timely manner to meet clients' needs.
- External Relationships: Proactively build on existing external relationships with clients, prospects, and insurers.
- Market Knowledge: Hold a broad knowledge of insurers' propositions and differences to provide the most appropriate advice for clients.
- Remuneration: Be comfortable in ensuring we are provided with an appropriate level of remuneration for the work undertaken across HEBW.
- System Maintenance: Where appropriate, ensure all systems are kept up to date.
- Business Activities: Be involved in both existing business and new business activities.
- Personal Development: Take ownership of your own individual personal development and seek coaching/training where appropriate.
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Technical Requirements
- Proficient in advising clients in Group Risk and/or Healthcare, along with a knowledge of broader Employee Benefits, including Wellbeing and Pensions.
- Awareness of other areas of business where the group could support in the General Insurance sector.
Policy, Process, and Procedures
- Follow process and best practice that is relevant to your role and compliant with business policy.
- Constructively suggest process improvements to deliver workable solutions.
- Collaboratively challenge wider processes to enable and drive improvements to service whilst ensuring compliance.
Environment, Customer Focus, and Relationships
- Provide an exceptional customer experience that drives improved retention and enables the opportunity for cross and upselling of our business portfolio of solutions.
- Work closely with the SME Operations Team to ensure that the clients' group policies are proactively managed, and needs met out in accordance with relevant policies.
- Build strong internal, client, and provider relationships based on respect that develops and builds loyalty, retention, and increased client benefit spend.
Market Knowledge & Technology
- Stay up to date and proactively seek to broaden your market knowledge and understanding of key trends.
- Understand the need for accurate client data in the systems including contacts, existing portfolios, markets, and partners.
- Understand the scope and advantage of our technology platforms, such as "Hubspot" and "EPIC", to client's and the business' needs.
- Embrace Technology to deliver outstanding client solutions.
Compliance and Personal Development
- The Board of each Operating Entity requires the highest standards of corporate governance, operational excellence, and financial reporting throughout the Group from all its directors and employees.
- Actively undertake personal development to ensure up-to-date knowledge and understanding of best practice.
- Be aware of the need and sources of compliance and understand and apply compliance.
- Ensure that HR and Training & Competency records are up to date and meet the Operating Entity and/or Group's requirements.
- Operate in an honest, professional, and ethical manner.
- Adapt best practice to the situation in hand within the framework of compliance.
- Strict adherence to the Group Employee Code of Conduct which strongly aligns to the FCA's code of conduct that all regulated entities must adhere to under the SM&CR.
- Complete all relevant regulatory training and ensure you remain competent to carry out role.
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Requirements
- Detailed knowledge and understanding of group risk policies and/or healthcare (relative to your client portfolio).
- This will primarily include death in service, income protection, critical illness, private medical insurance, dental, cash plan, and EAP.
- At least 3 years advising clients in Group Risk or Healthcare and advising on wider Employee Benefits would be beneficial.
- Microsoft Office experience and ability to use basic functionality as a minimum.
- Ability to create, write, and manipulate template reports.
- Strive to be "the best you can be" to deliver high standards of work for the benefit of your clients.
- Professionalism increases the positive aspect of customer-experience and underpins their loyalty.
- Take ownership of your portfolio and proactively manage the associated workload, flagging client risks and opportunities.
- Conscientious, orderly, and disciplined with good organizational and time management skills.
- Motivated with a strong desire to learn.
- Good attention to detail.
- Team player.
- Lead by example and act as a role model for Howden Employee Benefits & Wellbeing.
- Interpret change, what it means to the business, and the action you need to take to support the change.
- Experience in consultancy or administration.
- Experience of working in Employee Benefits or with an Insurance Provider is preferred but not essential.
- CII GR1 qualified for risk, IF7 for Healthcare is preferred.
Hybrid Role
- London or Redhill
Desired Skills and Experience
- Group risk policies and/or healthcare experience.
- 3 years advising clients in Group Risk or Healthcare.
- Motivated with a strong desire to learn.
- Experience in consultancy or administration.
- Experience of working in Employee Benefits or with an Insurance Provider is preferred but not essential.
- CII GR1 qualified for risk, IF7 for Healthcare is preferred.
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