Lead Senior Actuary

Job Type: Permanent

Location:

This role could be based in any of Phoenix’s London, Birmingham or Edinburgh offices with time spent working in the office and from home.

Flexible working:
All of our roles are open to part-time, job-share and other types of flexibility. We will discuss what is important to you and balancing this with business requirements during the recruitment process.

Closing Date: 22.8.25

Salary and benefits:
Up to £150,000, dependant upon experience, plus bonus potential, private medical cover, 38 days annual leave, excellent pension, 12x salary life assurance, career breaks, income protection, 3x volunteering days and much more.

The Senior Lead Financial Risk Actuary is a member of the Balance Sheet & ALM Oversight team. The key purpose of the role is to provide strategic advice; constructive challenge and oversight to the business relating to the Group’s various balance sheets. The role holder will work closely with the Financial Risk Leadership Team to champion the Risk Function’s Vision, Mission and Mandate.

We want to be the best place that any of our 6,600 colleagues have ever worked.

We’re Phoenix Group, we’re a long‑term savings and retirement business. We offer a range of products across our market‑leading brands, Standard Life, Sun Life, Phoenix Life and ReAssure. Around 1 in 5 people in the UK has a pension with us. We’re a FTSE 100 organisation that is tackling key issues such as transitioning our portfolio to net zero by 2050, and we’re not done yet.

The role holder supports the business through delivering effective oversight of the Group’s balance sheets and delivery of the company’s long‑term financial strategy. The individual will collaborate with the business, ensuring the Group develops and implements effective strategies for managing and mitigating financial risks. Key to this is ensuring the risk management framework and risk appetite are appropriate; and that an effective, efficient Line 2 oversight model is in place.

Important areas within the oversight scope of this role are: asset‑liability management including hedging, Matching Adjustment, balance sheet optimisation and oversight including Solvency UK, UK GAAP and IFRS 17 Balance Sheets and liquidity; capital management and the financial risks arising from the effects of climate change. The team also contributes towards the Recovery and Resolution Plans and the Own Risk and Solvency Assessment.

• Support the Head of Balance Sheet & ALM Oversight through leading the oversight of the Group’s balance sheets (Group and all UK legal entities) and delivery of the company’s long‑term financial strategy, providing Line 2 advice, guidance and challenge to the business.
• Design and maintain effective and efficient risk oversight activities for Line 2 that is proportionate and risk‑based, and provide clarity to the business on requirements around the risk identification, risk management, risk mitigation and position with respect to Phoenix’s risk appetite. This should include consideration of how technology and AI can be used to enhance effectiveness and efficiency of risk management.
• Opine on material business decision, and assess if key risks and trade‑offs are considered appropriately. Line 2 opinions should consider the Group’s strategic objectives and balance commercial opportunities with risk implications.
• Provide both technical and people leadership, supporting a shift in the team culture to focus oversight on material risks and transactions; optimise resources to maximise performance and productivity; foster a culture that supports performance and development through feedback and coaching.

Influence and challenge executive‑level decisions, leveraging internal, cross‑functional relationships and networks, external market perspectives and a general high‑level of appropriate experience.

• Work independently with minimal managerial oversight, delivering Executive‑level reports and material.

In all cases it is important to emphasise that this is a senior role, the successful candidate should lead by example and instil these attributes and…