Full Time Permanent position
Hybrid role based in our City Centre offices
What we offer
We have embraced a hybrid working model for most of our positions, which means that you can enjoy a balanced approach of working from home for part of the week and working from the office for the remainder of the week.
We offer a comprehensive benefits package including competitive salaries and bonuses, robust Learning and Development support, excellent Defined Contribution pension and comprehensive Wellbeing initiatives and support to name but a few.
Further details on our benefits package can be accessed here Benefits (life-)
Role Overview
Reporting to the Head of EMEA & APAC Life Reinsurance, the Head of Research & Development will lead the Dublin R&D team for CLRe. The R&D team is a small and growing team of actuaries and trainee actuaries which conducts innovative and broad-ranging research to ensure that our approaches to the most important areas of pricing that drive the success of the business remain at the cutting-edge.
The Head of R&D will be responsible for basis setting and actuarial model development to support new business and will also provide best practice support to effectively underwrite transactions across the multiple lines of business originated by the EMEA & APAC Life Business Development team. The role holder is also expected to be a thought leader on basis development, both internally within CLRe and externally via workshops with clients and industry conferences.
What you will help us to achieve
New Business Basis Setting
• Own and develop pricing bases for longevity to ensure they remain up to date and reflect emerging and developing experience
• Provide expert input and/or lead basis development for risks in new markets e.g. morbidity, mortality, and longevity base and trend assumptions in Southeast Asia to support new business activity across products and markets
• Peer review bases developed by Business Development pricing teams for material new transactions/risks to ensure they have been appropriately derived
Model Development
• Provide expert advice to pricing teams on best practice in model development and data analysis when dealing with complex products and/or very large datasets
• Lead and take ownership of Asset Intensive pricing models for new business and ensure complex liability and asset interactions are appropriately modelled
• Provide expert support to the pricing teams to ensure Asset Intensive models are well understood and correctly implemented
• Be the central owner of repeat-use models within the EMEA & APAC Life Business Development team
• Peer review models developed within the EMEA & APAC Life Business Development team
Support Valuation Basis Development
• Provide expert input into material valuation basis reviews, for example UK longevity, Dutch longevity and US mortality lines of business
• Ensure approach to setting deferred life longevity assumptions is appropriate to the risk assumed
• Provide expert advice to Actuarial basis management and experience studies teams in following best practice for analysis of experience across our existing transactions
Thought Leadership
• Keep up to speed and be the internal expert on the latest industry analysis and trends for key assumptions
• Support new business teams in running client workshops and attend and speak at industry events to showcase our expertise and experience
• Advocate for best practice in pricing and underwriting new business transactions and in ensuring efficiency of processes
People Leadership
• Develop and implement a clear vision and strategy for the R&D team
• Act as part of the leadership team of the EMEA/APAC Life Business Unit
• Demonstrate good coaching skills and interest in supporting the career development of team members
• Take a collaborative and open approach when interacting with various stakeholders
What you will need to be successful in the role
Skills
• Strong leadership skills with a growth and agile mindset
• Strategic thinker with critical judgement
• Excellent communication skills (verbal and written)
• Effective organisational and planning capability
• Disciplined and focused on accountability and delivery of results
• Well-developed interpersonal skills with a high level of emotional intelligence
• Proactive approach to problem solving
• Ability to manage competing stakeholder interests and tasks concurrently
Experience
• Experience in life assurance, pensions or reinsurance markets, ideally internationally (reinsurance experience preferred)
• Experience in a leadership role
• Experience dealing with key stakeholders and senior leadership
Technical Competency
• Qualified actuary
• Expert on methodologies and best practice for experience study analysis
• Expert on best practice for model development
• Expert on trends in mortality and morbidity, including medical advances and the impacts these can have in the short, medium, and long term
• Able to exercise high levels of expert judgement in deriving actuarial bases for both the near and long term to allow for accurate projection of liabilities
• Able to interpret complex reinsurance transaction structures and construct deal and pricing models that capture the complexities
• Best practice leader on techniques to improve model and data processing efficiency when dealing with very large data volumes
• Expertise in deploying software, programming, and statistical modelling tools such as R, Python, SQL and Prophet to facilitate data analysis, model development, and basis setting
About us
Canada Life Reinsurance (CL Re) is a division of Great-West Lifeco Inc. (Lifeco) and a leading provider of client focused reinsurance solutions in the United States, Europe and, more recently, Asia. CL Re offers a range of innovative risk and capital management solutions covering mortality, longevity, health, lapse, investment, non-life and P&C risk for insurers, reinsurers, and pension funds. CL Re is continuing to expand the reinsurance solutions it offers to new and existing clients in many global markets.
CL Re has offices in Dublin, Toronto, Philadelphia, Bermuda, Barbados, and Regina. The Dublin office is the base for CL Re's European and Asian operations as well as the Irish reinsurance entity, Canada Life Re Ireland dac (CLReI). It comprises approximately 160 reinsurance professionals, including 115 actuaries and trainee actuaries. It is a proactive, inspiring, and friendly environment where talent and hard work are recognised and rewarded.
Lifeco and its companies have approximately $3.3 trillion in consolidated assets under administration and a capital ratio (LICAT) of 131% (as at 30/09/2025).
As a Company we are committed to a diverse and inclusive workplace where employees can thrive and reach their full potential.
The company reserves the right to draw up a shortlist as part of the selection process. Where Agency assistance is required the Canada Life Recruitment Team will engage directly with suppliers. Unsolicited CVs / profiles supplied to Canada Life Reinsurance by Recruitment Agencies will not be accepted for this role.
Canada Life Group Services is proud to be an Equal Opportunities employer. We have created an environment of inclusion and growth to help people achieve their potential, to ensure they can bring their whole selves to work and to feel valued. We celebrate diversity of thought and perspective and want all of our employees to feel valued, respected and supported. We have built a culture that promotes equality and inclusion for all of our current and future employees and strive to ensure that our behaviours, processes and practices are aligned to this culture.
If you require any accommodations during the recruitment process please contact and we will be delighted to ensure you are fully supported to be your best.
CLGS supports Equal Opportunity and is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland.