Howden
Senior Associate - Food Systems, Nature and Insurance Innovation
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Role – Senior Associate – Food Systems, Nature and Insurance Innovation
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 mind-set, and our strength lies in our ability to collaborate as a powerful international team comprised of 24,000 employees spanning over 100 countries.
Our people are our biggest asset as well as our largest shareholder group and are everything that makes us unique; our inclusive culture, the quality service we offer our clients, and our continued growth, all come from our people-first approach. There’s no such thing as individual success. We all need to play our part, contributing our skills and experience to make a true difference. That’s Howden.
Why work at Howden?
We have always been employee-owned and driven by entrepreneurial spirit. Right from the beginning, we've focused on employing talented individuals and empowering them to make a real difference to the company, whilst building successful and fulfilling careers at the same time. Simply put, we hire talented specialists and give them what they need to make a difference for clients. Always have, always will.
People join Howden for many different reasons, but they stay for the same one: our culture. It’s what sets us apart, and the reason our employees have been turning down disappointed head-hunters for years. Whatever your priorities – work/life balance, career progression, sustainability, volunteering – you’ll find like-minded people driving change at Howden.
What is the role?
We are seeking a highly motivated and intellectually curious individual with an underwriting and/or broking background to support the Director of Food Systems and Nature in developing innovative insurance solutions that enable the transition towards more sustainable and resilient food systems, regenerative agriculture, carbon markets, biodiversity markets, and nature-based solutions.
The role sits at the intersection of insurance, climate risk, finance, agriculture, and environmental science. The successful candidate will help identify market opportunities, evaluate emerging risks, analyse existing insurance products, and design new risk transfer solutions that unlock investment into nature-positive activities and environmental markets.
This is an exciting opportunity for someone who enjoys solving complex challenges, working across disciplines, and contributing to the development of new products and market propositions in a rapidly evolving sector.
The role aligns closely with current workstreams around regenerative agriculture, nature-based solutions, carbon credits, biodiversity credits, and Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) insurance opportunities.
What will you be doing?
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Key Responsibilities:
Insurance Product Development
- Support the design and development of innovative insurance and risk management solutions for:
- Regenerative agriculture
- Sustainable and low-carbon farming systems
- Nature-based solutions
- Carbon credit projects
- Biodiversity credit projects
- Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) developments
- Ecosystem restoration and conservation initiatives
- Analyse how existing insurance products can be adapted for emerging environmental markets.
- Identify protection gaps and opportunities for new insurance products, parametric solutions, and alternative risk transfer structures.
- Work with insurers, reinsurers, MGAs, and underwriting partners to explore appetite and product feasibility.
Research and Analysis
- Undertake market research into:
- Nature markets
- Environmental credit schemes
- Agricultural finance
- Climate adaptation and resilience
- Sustainable land use
- Emerging environmental regulations
- Evaluate the risks associated with different environmental projects and identify potential insurance interventions.
- Monitor developments in carbon, biodiversity, and ecosystem service markets globally.
- Produce technical papers, briefing notes, market assessments, and client-facing thought leadership content.
Client and Business Development Support
- Assist with the preparation of client proposals, presentations, and strategic advisory projects.
- Support engagement with:
- Project developers
- Agribusinesses
- Banks and lenders
- Asset managers
- Development finance institutions
- Governments
- NGOs
- Environmental market participants
- Help develop business cases demonstrating the role of insurance in unlocking investment into sustainable agriculture and nature restoration.
Technical Assessment
- Evaluate the scientific and technical assumptions underpinning environmental projects.
- Review project methodologies, performance metrics, and monitoring frameworks for carbon and biodiversity outcomes.
- Translate scientific findings into practical insurance and risk management solutions.
- Work with specialist consultants and technical partners where required.
Strategy and Innovation
- Contribute to the growth strategy for the Food Systems and Nature business.
- Identify emerging opportunities in nature finance and environmental risk transfer.
- Support development of new market propositions and intellectual property.
- Represent the business in industry forums, working groups, and stakeholder meetings.
What are we looking for?
Essential Experience
- Insurance or wider Financial Services experience in one or more of the following:
- Climate risk
- Agriculture
- Sustainability
- Nature-based solutions
- Environmental markets
- Natural capital
- Management consulting
- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
- Ability to synthesize complex technical information into clear commercial insights.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
- Strong PowerPoint, Excel, and report-writing capabilities.
- Comfortable working independently in a fast-evolving and entrepreneurial environment.
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Desirable Experience
- Experience working with one of the following:
- Agriculture and food systems
- Carbon markets
- Biodiversity markets
- Natural capital projects
- Environmental economics
- Climate adaptation and resilience programmes
- Exposure to insurance product development, underwriting, or risk modelling.
- Experience supporting transactions, investment decisions, or project finance structures.
- A scientific background would be highly beneficial given the technical nature of regenerative agriculture, biodiversity, and ecosystem restoration projects, but it is not essential. Candidates with strong commercial, insurance, finance, or consulting backgrounds who can rapidly develop sector knowledge are equally encouraged to apply.
What do we offer in return?
A career that you define.
Our business succeeds by allowing our people to make a mark in the areas they care about most: personal development, volunteering, and fundraising for charity, or creating new insurance products that address society’s greatest challenges.
And we know that separate home and work lives don't really exist. If you're happy and healthy at home, you're more likely to be happy and fulfilled at work – and vice versa. That's why we do our best to support our people in every aspect of their lives.
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.
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.
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