Business Development Officer

Role Overview

This role owns the corporate side of an insurer's growth agenda: winning new group business, deepening the accounts already on the books, and staying close enough to brokers and intermediaries that opportunities reach us early. Day to day that means prospecting, shaping cover around what a client or intermediary genuinely needs, shepherding quotations and proposals through to a decision, and keeping premium collection and documentation from unravelling after a deal is signed. Because the position sits where revenue targets meet client experience, the person in it has a direct hand in how much profitable corporate business the portfolio writes each year and how well it retains.

Key Responsibilities

• Deliver the approved annual revenue plan across group life, group credit life, group last expense, and group critical illness, while maintaining a pipeline deep enough to cover any shortfall against target.
• Open new corporate relationships through proactive prospecting and market engagement, and expand existing accounts through well-timed cross-sell and up-sell conversations.
• Identify under-served customer segments, new markets, and multinational employers — including their locally based subsidiaries — that could be served through regional or international insurance arrangements, working with internal and external stakeholders to place public and private sector opportunities.
• Translate client and intermediary requirements into an appropriate insurance solution, then coordinate internally so quotations and proposals are accurate, competitive, and issued within agreed timelines.
• Follow up on every submitted proposal to gather feedback and resolve objections, and review lost opportunities to sharpen how future business is approached.
• Build and sustain relationships with corporate clients, prospects, brokers, agents, and other distribution partners, including onboarding new intermediaries and increasing volume and share of wallet with established ones.
• Keep premium collection on track by following up on outstanding amounts, escalating aged or problematic accounts, and coordinating with internal teams on policy issuance, reconciliations, and processing that supports collection.
• Track competitor pricing, product moves, and emerging market trends, share that intelligence to inform product, pricing, and service decisions, and keep CRM records and sales, pipeline, and renewal reporting accurate and current.

How performance is measured: achievement of the agreed revenue target for the period, turnaround time on proposals and quotations, new revenue placed through distribution partners, debtor days for those partners, expense control on accounts placed, and the number of new solution ideas introduced to clients and intermediaries.

Requirements & Qualifications

• At least five years in business development, sales, or account management, preferably within insurance or the wider financial services sector.
• Exposure to group life, group credit life, employee benefits, or comparable corporate insurance lines is strongly preferred.
• A demonstrable record of acquiring new business, managing a pipeline end to end, and consistently meeting or exceeding sales targets.
• Experience dealing with brokers, intermediaries, and agent networks as well as corporate decision-makers directly.
• Strong negotiation and influencing ability, sound commercial judgement, and presentation skills that stand up in front of senior client audiences.
• Bachelor's degree in business administration, commerce, marketing, insurance, economics, finance, actuarial science, or a related field.
• An insurance qualification such as ACII or IIK — completed or in progress — is an added advantage, as is a professional qualification in sales or marketing.