Branch Manager

Role Overview

This role leads the underwriting operations for a regional insurance business, balancing direct client relationship management with oversight of a team of unit managers. You will drive portfolio profitability, ensure premium collection stays within policy, and coordinate with audit, compliance, and product development functions to shape a competitive service offering. Every day involves reviewing risk, streamlining document turnaround, coaching staff, and translating market intelligence into practical underwriting guidelines that protect the company's loss ratio.

Key Responsibilities

• Nurture long-term relationships with both active and prospective corporate clients, using these connections to meet sales and portfolio growth targets.
• Create, review, and continuously update underwriting service standards and procedural manuals to align with the organisation's customer service charter and regulatory expectations.
• Monitor departmental turnaround times for processing, approving, and issuing critical policy documents, intervening where bottlenecks delay service delivery.
• Shape the business portfolio through disciplined risk selection, aiming for the planned mix of products and maintaining a healthy loss ratio.
• Drive prompt collection of outstanding premiums, enforcing credit control policies while preserving positive customer relationships.
• Coordinate the implementation of internal and external audit recommendations across business units, tracking progress to ensure deadlines are met.
• Identify emerging market opportunities and collaborate on designing innovative insurance products and solutions that respond to unmet customer needs.
• Supervise unit managers from both APA Life and APA Insurance, providing operational direction and ensuring regional targets are met.
• Prepare departmental budgets and annual business plans that support the wider company objectives.
• Embed performance-based appraisals for departmental staff, aligning individual KPIs with team and organisational goals.
• Coach, train, and mentor team members to improve technical competence and overall departmental cohesion.
• Maintain effective service-level agreements with other departments and participate in management meetings, cross-functional projects, and committees as assigned.
• Engage in company CSR and brand-building initiatives in partnership with other departments.

Requirements & Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in insurance, business, or a related field.
• Professional certification such as ACII or an Insurance Diploma from AIIK.
• At least six years of relevant underwriting or insurance operations experience, including a minimum of two years managing people.
• Strong understanding of the underwriting process, sales dynamics, and intermediary relationships, with working knowledge of branch-level functions such as claims, finance, and operations.
• Practical knowledge of the legal, compliance, and regulatory framework governing the insurance sector.
• Demonstrated sales ability with an entrepreneurial mindset and sharp market awareness.
• Customer-focused approach with a commitment to continuous innovation and process improvement.
• High levels of ownership, discipline, and integrity, combined with a willingness to learn and take on new challenges.
• Result-oriented work style, capable of delivering within agreed deadlines while fostering team spirit.