AVP, R&D

Job Title

AVP, R&D

Job Description

AVP Actuary – Assumption Development Lead

We are a global life reinsurer operating in Europe, Asia, Australia and North America, and are part of Pacific Life, a US-based mutual insurance group. Fuelled by our pursuit of excellence and a quest to innovate, we’re proud to do things differently. Our people are not afraid to disrupt and challenge industry thinking and provide the best protection, savings and retirement reinsurance products and services possible.

Role Overview

We have a great opportunity to join our Global R&D function as a leader of a team of five actuaries and analysts. You will be leading the development of  biometric assumptions for a range of different global reinsurance markets . We are looking for someone who can influence key stakeholders in the business to maximise the value of assumption knowledge.

In this role, you'll work with colleagues across the company on both Longevity and Protection markets in Europe and North America, giving you diverse exposure and the opportunity to make a real impact. You will be responsible for all aspects of the delivery of assumptions, from planning, team management, technical direction, stakeholder engagement and implementation.

A key focus over the next few years will be to scale the team capabilities for the increase in volume of assumptions which we need to produce. This will come through being courageous in improving economies of scale and standardising and sharing capabilities.

You will lead stakeholder relationships with people across the business:

• R&D teams across multiple geographies
• Savings & Retirement and Protection teams inside the Reinsurance Division to support on Pricing and Product developments
• Division teams such as Corporate Actuarial, Operations and Risk
• Biometric teams in other Divisions on shared assumptions related to the US market

We are a collaborative and friendly team who thrive to provide their best. You will report to the VP, R&D.

How You’ll Help Move Us Forward
 

• You'll be a recognised leader in actuarial assumption development — setting the direction, raising the bar, and leaving a visible mark on how we work across global markets.
• Redefine what market-leading looks like. You'll bring genuine intellectual curiosity to assumption development — challenging inherited methodologies, pioneering new analytical approaches, and setting a standard that competitors will follow.
• Build a team that scales with ambition. You'll be accountable for growing a high-performing function — streamlining how we work, eliminating inefficiency, and developing the next generation of actuarial talent.
• Influence decisions at the highest level. You'll forge strong relationships with senior stakeholders across Pricing, Product, and beyond — translating complex technical judgements into clear, compelling recommendations that drive real business decisions.
• Be the function's critical voice. You'll provide rigorous, independent challenge to Pricing assumptions — ensuring intellectual honesty sits at the heart of everything we do.
• Shape the profession, not just the company. Through thought leadership, academic partnerships, and research initiatives, you'll help define where actuarial thinking goes next.

Desirable Skills & Experience

• Demonstrable exposure to assumption development with a reinsurer, life company or consultancy. This could be through working directly in a pricing or basis setting team or through a review function.
• Qualified Fellow of the Institute or Faculty of Actuaries or other similar organisation with 6+ years post qualified experience.
• A good understanding of the Longevity insurance/reinsurance market and/or the Protection insurance/reinsurance market.
• Ability and desire to come up with and implement new approaches and techniques.
• Report writing and verbal communication skills, including ability to present to senior managers and to forge close relationships with other teams.
• Ability to think for yourself and challenge the status quo.
• Organised and deadline focused.
• Interest and understanding of programming and comfortable with or willing to learn software packages, such as Tableau, SQL (or comparable database language) and R.
• Experience with people management or mentoring, and interest in coaching and developing junior staff.

Working For Pacific Life Re

Every person in our global team is valued for the unique qualities they bring to our business and we seek to build their expertise and support their individual ambitions at every step. Of course, we take our work seriously and we know our team can operate under great pressure. We work hard and thrive on achievement, but we also know how to have fun and relax too. We regularly host a range of team building days to strengthen our team's connection with each other and reflect on their successes.

Providing employees with a healthy work-life balance is very important to our culture. We have a wide range of employee benefits and we host regular social activities and well being initiatives. We are also committed to supporting our employee's involvement in their communities, by actively fundraising, hosting charity events and overseeing volunteering opportunities.

Benefits (Only for Permanent and Fixed Term Employees)

Leave

• 25 days of annual leave with option to buy/sell more days 

• Adoption and fertility leave 

• Generous enhanced parental leave 

Healthcare

• Comprehensive private insurance coverage for employee and dependents

• Group Life Insurance coverage of 9x basic annual salary and Group Income Protection up to 75% of basic annual salary 

• Optical benefits 

Savings & Retirement

• 15% combined employee/employer contributions 

Wellness

• Subsidized gym membership 

• Access to Employee Assistance Program 

• Cycle to Work and Electric Car Salary Sacrifice Scheme 

• Time off for volunteering 

• Charitable matching of employee donations 

You Can Be Who You Are

We are committed to a culture of diversity and inclusion that embraces the authenticity of all employees, partners and communities. We support all employees to thrive and achieve their fullest potential.

As part of our commitment to diversity and inclusion, we will provide reasonable adjustments during the recruitment process to ensure equal access to applicants with disabilities. Please contact us about your needs so that we can discuss these with you to make sure that suitable adjustments are made, where possible.

Pacific Life Re Values

Please click here to view our company values