European Head Actuary

Job description

Join Starr, a global leader in commercial insurance with over a century of expertise. We empower our employees to innovate, make impactful decisions, and build lasting client relationships worldwide. At Starr, you'll work in an entrepreneurial culture alongside accessible leaders, leveraging our financial strength and vast industry experience to deliver solutions for our clients, no matter how complex. Grow your career with a rapidly growing company that invests in its people and their ability to drive real progress. Starr Europe requires oversight of reserving, pricing, planning, capital management, performance analytics, underwriting support and regulatory responsibilities across multiple branches and jurisdictions. London provides specialist support, primary accountability for Europe sits within Europe itself. This role is responsible for establishing and developing Starr Europe’s local actuarial capability, working in close partnership with underwriting offices across Europe and the London actuarial to deliver insight and support commercial objectives. Responsibilities at a regional and country branch level include: Financial results – detailed understanding of the P&L particularly loss ratio, within quarterly budget vs forecast vs actuals. Reserving assumptions & methods, results and AvE, presenting to reserving committee. Contribute to production of plan loss ratios, including the actuarial opinion on the plan. Pricing tools – work with European underwriters and London actuaries to improve the pricing tools in particular to reflect local premium rating factors / country modifiers / business written. Pricing metrics – work with European underwriters and European operations and London actuaries to report on and continually improve premium rate change and price adequacy MI. Contribute to capital modelling and management through close collaboration with the finance function and London capital modelling team. Candidate Profile Combined strong actuarial credentials with commercial leadership capability, acting as the principal actuarial representative for Continental Europe while partnering closely with London to enhance reserving oversight, portfolio performance, pricing discipline and business planning across the region. Education & Professional Qualifications ; Fellow of a recognised actuarial body (FIA, DAV, IAA or equivalent). University degree in Actuarial Science, Mathematics, Statistics, Economics or a related quantitative discipline. Additional qualifications in insurance, risk management or finance would be advantageous. Professional Experience 10–15+ years of non-life insurance actuarial experience, with a focus on large commercial lines. Strong reserving expertise, including governance, IBNR methodologies and reserve review processes. Practical experience in pricing, portfolio management and performance analytics. Experience supporting business planning, forecasting and profitability assessments. Sound understanding of Solvency II and European regulatory requirements. Experience operating within a multinational insurance environment and supporting multiple jurisdictions. Commercial & Leadership Competencies The successful candidate will be more than a technical actuarial specialist. They will be a trusted business partner capable of translating actuarial insight into commercial decision-making. Key competencies include: Ability to present complex findings to Boards, Executive Committees and senior stakeholders. Confidence to challenge underwriting, claims and finance assumptions constructively. Strong commercial acumen and strategic thinking. Ability to communicate technical concepts in clear business language. Influencing and stakeholder management skills across multiple functions and geographies. Strong decision-making and problem-solving capability. Ability to operate effectively without direct authority over all stakeholders. Candidate Requirements Language: English mandatory (C1 level preferred); Spanish desirable; Additional European languages would be advantageous. Personal Attributes: High level of ownership and accountability, intellectual curiosity, service orientation, strong process discipline and attention to detail. Working Style: Collaborative, pragmatic and resilient, with the ability to manage competing priorities and deliver under demanding deadlines. Interpersonal Skills: Comfortable challenging constructively while maintaining strong stakeholder relationships across underwriting, claims, finance and leadership teams. Starr is an equal opportunity employer, which means we'll consider all suitably qualified applicants regardless of gender identity or expression, ethnic origin, nationality, religion or beliefs, age, sexual orientation, disability status or any other protected characteristic. We recruit and develop our people based on merit and we're committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. We offer first class training and development opportunities to all employees. Our aim is to grow our own talent and bring out the best in people.