Job Description

Who are we?Sanlam Life and Savings (SLS) is focused on serving our retail and corporate clients in South Africa and further developing our strategic advantages in the South African market. Sanlam Life and Savings consists of three clusters - Sanlam Corporate, Sanlam Retail Mass and Sanlam Retail Affluent. The Sanlam Life and Savings Office provides strategic direction, coordination and support to the three clusters, as well as performing governance oversight that includes assurance provided by second line of defense functions in SLS, to enable us to meet our business objectives.Purpose of the roleThe role of the First Line Manager is to manage, coach and develop the Underwriting/Underwriting-related team to enable them to effectively execute on the role responsibilities and to achieve the desired outputs and behaviours aligned with the SRS strategic objectives. The multi-focus team consists of Underwriters of various experience levels, as well as Administrators. You will be part of a dynamic management team that consists of other First Line Managers, an Operations Manager and Chief Underwriter.What will you do?

• Communicate business requirements clearly and accurately to the team.
• Effective communication to other role-players to ensure accurate and efficient processing of transactions requested by the client.
• Query handling with accuracy, urgency and swift conclusion.
• People and performance management within a productivity, quality and customer service orientated driven environment.
• Identify process shortcomings and discrepancies and resolve and communicate with relevant stakeholders.
• Ensure effective management of Service Level Agreements between New Business and other stakeholders, by means of effective capacity planning and absenteeism management.
• Making effective use of MIS to manage the operational effectiveness of the department.
• Ad hoc, daily, weekly, monthly or quarterly planning of operational activities of the team.
• Identify training and development needs via trend analysis and with input of Training & Development team.
• Effectively manage the budget of the department.
• Reporting based on:

- The performance of the team
- Trends identified with possible solutions

• Strategic action plans:

- Identifying action plans along with the rest of the Management team for a specific year (up to 3 years), based on historic performance, input from teams and possible enhancements to remain relevant.

• Conduct regular individual and team meetings to maintain effective communication and a high focus on relationship building.
• Role-model, drive, embed and vest SRS Values and Culture within the business.
• In collaboration with the Chief Underwriter, ensure that the development plan of the team is reviewed monthly, and progress communicated to team members. Ensuring team members remain fully informed about their progress.
• Building relationships with brokers and advisors to ensure adoption of operational processes and client centric outcomes.

Note:
The environment necessitates overtime in peak periods. The amount of overtime hours depends on the business need in terms of the volumes received.What will make you successful in this role?Qualification:

• Relevant tertiary qualification.
• Relevant Management or Leadership development programmes will be an advantage.

Experience:

• 2-3 years managing a production team and/or specialist in the Banking/Insurance industry.
• Experience in a New Business environment.
• Experience in people management, development and/or coaching/mentoring.
• Performance Management experience.
• Exposure to extracting and interpretation of data from Management Information Systems will be an advantage.

Knowledge:

• Knowledge of Financial or Risk products.

Competencies

• Communicates effectively
• Presentation skills
• Business insight
• Decision quality
• Analytical thinking
• Cultivates innovation
• Plans and aligns
• Concern for accuracy
• Customer focus
• Collaborates
• Drives results
• Influencing and gaining commitment
• Team success
• Being resilient
• Tech savvy

Personal AttributesCommunicates effectively - Contributing independentlyPlans and aligns - Contributing independentlyDirects work - Contributing independentlyDecision quality - Contributing independentlyBuild a successful career with usWe're all about building strong, lasting relationships with our employees. We know that you have hopes for your future - your career, your personal development and of achieving great things. We pride ourselves in helping our employees to realise their worth. Through its five business clusters - Sanlam Fintech, Sanlam Life and Savings, Sanlam Investment Group, Sanlam Allianz, Santam, as well as MiWay and the Group Office - the group provides many opportunities for growth and development.Core CompetenciesCultivates innovation - Contributing independentlyCustomer focus - Contributing independentlyDrives results - Contributing independentlyCollaborates - Contributing independentlyBeing resilient - Contributing independentlyTurnaround timeThe shortlisting process will only start once the application due date has been reached. The time taken to complete this process will depend on how far you progress and the availability of managers.Due Date: 31 October 2024Our commitment to transformationThe Sanlam Group is committed to achieving transformation and embraces diversity. This commitment is what drives us to achieve a diverse, inclusive and equitable workplace as we believe that these are key components to ensuring a thriving and sustainable business in South Africa. The Group's Employment Equity plan and targets will be considered as part of the selection process.

Sanlam