Our client is a leading organisation within the Life & Pensions sector, focused on customer outcomes, operational excellence and high-quality service in a regulated environment.
We are seeking an experienced Operations Team Lead to lead, coach and develop a team of Operations Specialists. This is a hands-on leadership role combining people management, operational performance, quality assurance and continuous improvement.
The successful candidate will develop strong expertise in Life & Pensions products, processes and systems, becoming a trusted subject matter expert while working closely with stakeholders across the business.
Key Responsibilities
Team Leadership & Development
- Lead, motivate and develop a high-performing, customer-focused team.
- Conduct regular one-to-ones, coaching sessions and performance reviews.
- Provide feedback, create development plans and support career progression.
- Support onboarding, training and knowledge development.
- Manage workloads and resource allocation to achieve service objectives.
- Act as the first point of escalation for operational and team-related queries.
- Promote accountability, collaboration, knowledge sharing and continuous learning.
Operational Performance
- Manage daily team performance against KPIs, SLAs, productivity, quality and service standards.
- Identify and address risks, operational issues and performance gaps.
- Drive ownership, accountability and consistently high-quality customer outcomes.
- Provide performance insights and recommendations to management and key stakeholders.
- Support wider business initiatives and operational objectives.
Quality, Risk & Compliance
- Complete regular quality assurance reviews across team activities.
- Ensure work is delivered accurately and in line with regulatory, client and internal requirements.
- Analyse QA results to identify trends, recurring errors and development opportunities.
- Coach colleagues based on QA findings and implement action plans where required.
- Support audit, governance and compliance activities.
- Promote a culture of accuracy, regulatory awareness, customer focus and continuous improvement.
Life & Pensions & Continuous Improvement
- Develop and maintain strong knowledge of Life & Pensions products, processes and systems.
- Act as a subject matter expert for technical and operational queries.
- Identify process inefficiencies, control weaknesses and opportunities to improve performance.
- Analyse recurring issues and trends to identify root causes and recommend sustainable solutions.
- Work with Training, Quality, Compliance and Operations stakeholders to implement improvements and embed best practice.
- Contribute to operational change and transformation initiatives.
About You
You will be an engaging and proactive people leader with a strong focus on coaching, performance and operational excellence.
Ideally, you will have:
- Proven experience leading, coaching and developing teams within financial services, Life & Pensions, insurance, customer operations or shared services.
- Experience managing performance against productivity, quality and service-level targets.
- Strong coaching, mentoring and performance-management skills.
- Experience using performance and quality data to identify trends and improve outcomes.
- Strong analytical, problem-solving and root-cause analysis capabilities.
- The ability to rapidly develop expertise across products, processes and systems.
- Excellent communication and stakeholder-management skills.
- Strong organisational skills and the ability to manage competing priorities.
- A continuous-improvement mindset with a focus on customer and business outcomes.
Desirable
- Life & Pensions, insurance or wider financial-services experience.
- Experience in a highly regulated environment.
- APA or QFA qualification, or willingness to work towards certification.
- Experience with QA reviews, audits or operational controls.
- Lean, Six Sigma or continuous-improvement experience.
- Experience supporting operational change or transformation.
- Knowledge of the Consumer Protection Code.
- GDPR and data-protection awareness.
- Experience managing escalations, including frustrated or vulnerable customers.
The Opportunity
This is an excellent opportunity to join an established organisation within the Life & Pensions sector and take on a role with genuine scope to influence people development, operational performance, quality and customer outcomes.
If you're an experienced Operations Team Lead, Team Leader or people manager with relevant financial-services, insurance or Life & Pensions experience, we'd be keen to hear from you.
Salary dependent on candidate experience. Benefits: Annual Bonus Scheme. Contributory Pension. Private Medical Insurance. Life Assurance & Long-Term Disability. Employee Assistance Programme. 22 days annual leave + 10 public holidays. Relocation package. Continuous Learning & Development. Access to extensive training & certification resources. Lunch & Learn sessions. Additional perks including company discounts, on-site parking, and bike-to-work scheme
Based in Letterkenny, Co. Donegal - onsite. Candidates must be eligible to work in Ireland/EU.
For more information, please contact David Coyle at 01 635 1748 or email [email protected]