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Insurance Research Manager

Job Location: London

Regional Description: United Kingdom

Job Number: 00652111 00652111_en

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- Job description

Role: Insurance Research Manager

Location: London

Salary: Up to £75,000 depending on experience + excellent benefits

Introduction:

Accenture Research uncovers trends and shapes data-driven insights through thought leadership and research for Accenture and its clients. We combine a deep understanding of our clients’ business with leading-edge research techniques to discover the most pressing issues facing organizations today.

Our team of 250 researchers and analysts develops thought-provoking research - supported by proprietary data and partnerships with leading organizations - that guides innovations and allows us to transform theories and fresh ideas into real-world solutions for our clients.

Our team uses innovative business research techniques such as economic value modeling, analytics, crowdsourcing, expert networks, surveys, data visualization, and open research with Tier 1 academic and business partners.

Accenture Research powers hundreds of points of views published by Accenture every year and handles Accenture’s exclusive network of data and sources covering all industries, countries, market trends and digital technologies. The team is part of Accenture’s Strategy Office.

About Accenture Research

Accenture Research provides data, analysis and insights to Accenture and its clients, working closely with the senior executives in each of the industries, geographies and businesses. We work in four main areas:

New business opportunities: Helping Accenture understand markets and companies and identifying ways in which we can help clients become high-performance businesses and governments. A typical analysis might be an in-depth company diagnostic to look at a company’s financial and strategic health, or an overview of a sector of the market to identify trends or assess the impact of new technologies, regulation, mergers and other landmark events.
Working directly with clients: Around 10% of our research is on client engagements where we work alongside our colleagues from the practice to provide research and industry expertise. Typical work with our clients might be to benchmark a capability or function; to provide best practices in an industry; or project future trends and their likely impact on the business.
Developing points of view: Accenture needs original, cutting-edge points of view to use with clients, the media and in conferences. Accenture Research helps create and write those viewpoints. Many of our projects are published and quoted in the press. Others form the basis for our issue-driven discussions with clients. In all cases the researchers will be expected to contribute research, writing and thought leadership to these projects.
Support to Accenture Growth & Strategy and Practice Enablement: Accenture Research is part of the Growth & Strategy unit which is dedicated to the formulation and implementation of Accenture’s Strategy. Typical work includes analysis of competitors’ moves, market trends and impacts for Accenture. We also develop periodic management reports which provide fresh insights on client performance and the issues clients currently face.

Successful research requires people who not only have strong research skills but who also have a client-focused mentality and an outgoing and confident personal style. Successful researchers build deep relationships with their peers and senior executives in the practice and work as a team, sometimes responding to requests and sometimes proposing (and selling) research ideas.

We have approximately 260 researchers in 23 countries in our global team, working as a virtual team of deep experts.

Most specialize in an Industry (such as Financial Services or Consumer Goods) or a Business (such as Strategy or Digital); some bring a particular research skill (such as survey research or financial analysis) and many combine two or more areas of expertise.

On any given project, we will bring together researchers with the best combination of industry, geographic and technical skills to provide the relevant expertise for the task.

About the Role

The successful candidate will focus on research projects that support the needs of Accenture’s UK & Ireland Insurance business and its clients. Our client base and activities span general insurance, life insurance, pensions, commercial/specialty insurance, and the London Market.

The role requires a significant amount of proactivity and creativity, bringing new ideas for research projects to the attention of other researchers and stakeholders in the Insurance practice, as well as helping to define and deliver the Insurance research agenda for 2019 and beyond.

This position sits within our global team of 50 Financial Services (FS) researchers worldwide (of which 5 are based in London). The successful candidate will work closely with the Global and UKI Insurance Research Leads to establish the strategy and priorities for the research agenda, drive thought leadership projects, support client engagements, and conduct primary research and business/market development activities.

While it is assumed that the researcher will focus on their area of expertise (i.e. Insurance), there may be occasions when they will work on projects beyond this core industry that could require other capabilities.

The successful candidate will work on the scoping, delivery and quality control of individual research projects, personally conducting research as required. The role combines an understanding of content sources, primary/secondary research techniques and subject matter with knowledge of Accenture and the marketplace, to ensure the team’s delivery of high-value research outputs (i.e. highly synthesized findings derived from existing information and data sources plus our own insights).

+ Basic qualifications

What Skills and Experiences are we looking for:.

We are looking for someone who has the following core skill sets:

Research skills: Ability to take an issue and turn it into a researchable question. Ability to scope the research effort and cost it accurately. Ability to use most (but not necessarily all) research techniques such as secondary database searching, company analysis, market analysis, strategic analysis frameworks, interview-based research and financial analysis. Researchers must also be detail-oriented and follow quality assurance procedures.
Analytical ability: We want researchers who can draw out the implications of the research they do and tell a compelling, business-focused story about the data that is relevant to Accenture’s business and clients. We are looking for insight, not just information. You must be able to work in PowerPoint, Excel and Word (routinely) and create well-structured, clearly written presentations, with graphs and charts and other visual data tools where necessary. Knowledge of other analytical and data visualization tools such as Tableau or Qlik would be advantageous.
Teaming and communication skills: Whilst you would be based in an office with several other FS (and other industry) researchers, the global FS Research team is also very much a virtual one, and so you will need to have excellent verbal and written communication skills and an ability to work with colleagues from different cultures and in different locations. Experience of work on the telephone or in a remote team would be highly advantageous.
Ability to quickly establish credibility: Many of our customers are senior-level leaders within (or beyond) the company, and it is vital that we can establish both our expertise and our professionalism. Researchers should be polished and confident, without being arrogant, and be able to clearly and concisely articulate their point of view. Researchers should be able to present their research findings to external clients and defend their insights.
Project and team management experience: Knowledge of how to manage complex projects with multiple components, detailed analyses, several stakeholders and team participants. Ability to effectively assign tasks to team members and to manage multiple researchers on cross-border/cross-team research projects – including end-to-end project management skills (e.g. scoping, budgeting, selling, staffing, QA, etc.) and the ability to coach junior team members. Respect of project deadlines and budgets, as well as the ability to anticipate potential issues and identify potential solutions. Proven ability to handle multiple projects simultaneously and prioritize appropriately.
Ideally, passion for – and a deep understanding of – the industry: Knowledge and understanding of: key insurance industry trends and challenges; the insurance value chain and how new technologies are reshaping it; company financial value drivers; key players in the UK & Ireland; opportunities in developed and emerging markets; and consumer trends affecting the industry.

As well as:

Business research experience, preferably in a consulting environment, equity brokerage, third-party research organization, or line position within the Insurance industry.
Understanding of global business and economics issues at large.
Knowledge of one or more specific industry sub-segments, e.g. non-life, life, pensions, commercial/specialty, etc.
Experience of working in a team of research professionals, using research tools and methodologies.
Strong leadership, stakeholder- and people-management capabilities,
Exceptional industry knowledge and research skills relating to the Insurance industry and the latest global and UKI trends affecting

What to expect

Your first weeks will be spent getting to know the organization. Building an effective working relationship with other FS researchers and stakeholders in the Insurance practice is critical, so your early days will involve many meetings and lots of networking.

At the same time, you’ll be getting to know the other (i.e. non-FS) researchers in the London team and establishing a relationship with them. As you become more familiar with Accenture you can expect to start work on one or more projects. There is no typical day or project at Accenture Research, but you might start by working on an analysis of one of our current/potential clients, developing a point of view on an industry trend or piece of regulation, or looking at how new technologies are impacting the industry.

Over time you will find that a varied project workload and pipeline develop, and that you may be working on several projects (or different durations and scopes) at any given time. Your success in developing and managing such projects will depend on having good working relationships with the other researchers worldwide.

You will be part of a team of FS industry researchers in the London office, but you will also connect with the global team, mainly on a virtual basis through calls and videoconferences. Every few years, members of the team get together for a global meeting and have the chance to spend some time face-to-face with international colleagues.

In terms of career development, there will be tremendous scope to expand and build on this role. A dynamic, proactive researcher will find many opportunities to learn and grow at Accenture. Promotion opportunities are not based on time in the role, but on the business need (demand) and the readiness of an individual.

Accenture Research is genuinely a great place to work. There will be times when you work long and hard, but we put life/work balance very high on our agenda. In addition, as part of a global team, we seek to maintain flexibility in our work style. This is a unique opportunity to work for a highly skilled, respected and growing global research team; the kind of team found in only a few consultancies worldwide.

Qualifications:

A bachelor degree, preferably in economics, business, engineering, or other related areas. A post-graduate degree/qualification in business or finance, economics or equivalent is preferred but not essential.

Accenture is a leading global professional services company, providing a broad range of services and solutions in strategy, consulting, digital, technology and operations. Combining unmatched experience and specialized skills across more than 40 industries and all business functions—underpinned by the world’s largest delivery network—Accenture works at the intersection of business and technology to help clients improve their performance and create sustainable value for their stakeholders. Accenture drives innovation to improve the way the world works and lives. Visit us at www.accenture.com.

Accenture is an equal opportunities employer and welcomes applications from all sections of society and does not discriminate on grounds of race, religion or belief, ethnic or national origin, disability, age, citizenship, marital, domestic or civil partnership status, sexual orientation, or gender identity or any other basis as protected by applicable law.

Closing Date for Applications 31/12/2018

Accenture reserves the right to close the role prior to this date should a suitable applicant be found.

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