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Job Description:

The Chief Risk Officer (CRO) provides leadership and oversight to establish, implement and maintain an effective risk management framework.  The Chief Actuary (CA) champions actuarial best practices within the organization and provides leadership on actuarial and financial matters to promote sound business management activities and decision-making.  This includes supporting management in understanding business implications from actuarial and financial matters and providing solutions to business challenges.  The CRO & CA is a member of the Sun Life Hong Kong Executive Team.  The incumbent also acts as the Key Person in Control (KPIC) function for Risk Management and Appointed Actuary of the company with accountability for fulfilling the regulatory requirements of Hong Kong and Bermuda.

Job description (heading) /  Description du poste (titre)

• Ensure an effective risk management framework operates and provides an adequate level of governance while supporting the company’s objectives. This is achieved by getting involved in decision-making through collaborative relationships with business and functional leaders as their peer rather than a security guard. Maintain proper balance between risks and opportunities to ensure the company takes risk with knowledge and expertise, and to generate appropriate risk adjusted returns for shareholders.
• Develop and promote a strong risk culture, which is a pre-requisite to effective risk management. This includes promoting and enabling a common understanding of our risk culture and risk appetite. Help employees understand what “We are all risk managers at Sun Life Financial” means to them.
• Provide leadership and expertise to drive the implementation of the new IFRS 17 accounting standards and the implementation of the new Risk-Based Capital regime in Hong Kong.  This includes ensuring that business implications are well understood and that business solutions are developed to support management in decision-making to optimize the company’s financial performance and protect its financial condition.
• Ensure a strong financial condition of the company to deliver the company’s promises to clients. This includes managing capital to maintain a strong balance sheet while optimizing returns to shareholders. Manage participating business to ensure policyholders reasonable expectations are met. Ensure accurate financial reporting to support proper representation of the company’s balance sheets and income statements.  Assist management in developing business strategies through effective financial management.
• Support product and pricing leaders in ensuring products deliver value to clients and shareholders with the proper balance, while being managed within the company’s risk appetite and meeting regulatory requirements.
• Champion actuarial best practices and strengthen actuarial capabilities within the company.  This includes talent development, recruitment and management, creating job rotation opportunities, continuous process and practice improvements. In addition, represent that company at industry groups to exert influence on regulatory changes or new professional guidance. 

Preferred skills (heading) / Compétences particulières (titre)

• Proven leadership skills to inspire a team of high-qualified actuarial and risk management professionals to perform at the highest level.
• Proven management skills to effectively manage highly complex actuarial practices and projects.
• Demonstrated ability to support, add value to and influence business decisions at the executive level.  
• Strong communication skills (both oral and written).
• Proven experience in managing risk management frameworks, challenging the business to ensure financial and operational risk resilience. 
• Strong business acumen supported by an in-depth understanding of financial drivers.
• Expert knowledge of actuarial best practices, as well as Canadian and Hong Kong regulations and professional standards.
• Demonstrated strength and ability to design and implement processes and standards and develop and oversee an effective risk management culture.
• Proven stakeholder management skills and ability to gain support from regional and corporate oversight functions.
• Strong ability to influence industry leaders and practitioners.
• The role is very complex and requires balancing various aspects of the business, such as:
• Balancing risks and opportunities.  The CRO often challenges other functions and offers alternative views. The CRO must be able to deliver such views through collaborative relationships with other business leaders to avoid creating an adversarial situation. This requires emotional intelligence and maturity. In addition, the role involves many risk/reward, cost/benefit analysis, considerations and decisions.
• Insurance business is inherently exposed to risks and market volatility, out of the company’s control, impacting the company’s financial performance and financial condition. This requires careful considerations in product design, prudent asset liability management, and various actuarial practices. Vigilance and proactive monitoring are important, as well as speed of reaction when responding to adverse situations.
• Insurance business is inherently exposed to operational risk that can affect the company’s reputation in a highly regulated environment. The CRO must oversee and challenge the business to ensure operational resilience and an effective control environment to mitigate operational risk including but not limited to technology and cyber risk.  
• The CRO is responsible for the businesses Enterprise Risk Management Framework and the Own Risk & Solvency Assessment (ORSA), providing a second line review of key risks and associated management actions.
• Maintaining work life balance has always been a challenge for actuaries in Hong Kong, despite continuous effort to improve the efficiency of work processes. External changes leading to additional requirements are occurring at a faster pace than that at which processes can be improved. The CA, as a leader, must be able to set priorities appropriate to the circumstances while continuously keeping employees engaged.
• The insurance industry is undergoing tremendous changes with IFRS17 and HK RBC altering the way the industry reports financial and solvency results. Meanwhile, the economic environment continues to be challenging. In this role, the CA requires foresight and planning to anticipate and manage the implications of these external factors to the business.

Qualifications (heading) / Compétences (titre)

• Qualified actuary with FSA designation or equivalent.
• Demonstrable involvement in risk management. 
• A minimum of 15 years of experience in the life and health insurance industry.

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