About The Role

This is a career-defining leadership opportunity within one of the UK's most ambitious and fast-evolving Pension Risk Transfer businesses. Backed by our recently announced PRT partnership and £2bn capital commitment, Standard Life is expanding its reach into the largest and most complex areas of the market, creating significant opportunities for growth, innovation and market leadership. As a PRT Director, you will play a pivotal role in shaping that future, leading the origination and execution of strategic transactions, influencing industry stakeholders and helping to establish Standard Life as the partner of choice for pension schemes undertaking complex de-risking journeys.

Who are we?

We’re Standard Life, a retirement specialist focused entirely on retirement savings and income. We champion the belief that everyone’s journey to and through retirement can be better, and for more than 200 years, we’ve been helping our customers plan and prepare for their financial futures.

Life today is increasingly complicated, uncertain and unpredictable. People move through different careers, face unexpected moments and navigate important choices. We offer our colleagues flexibility, trust and benefits that work for whatever life brings. In return we expect curiosity, connection, accountability and high standards. We make room for what matters - so you can bring your best, every day.

The Opportunity

This is a key senior leadership level role within our Pension Risk Transfer business where you will lead the origination, design and execution of innovative Defined Benefit pension solutions that create value for clients, policyholders and the Group. You will combine deep market expertise, commercial leadership and strategic thinking to shape market-leading propositions, build trusted relationships across the pensions industry and deliver successful transaction outcomes.

A core focus will be originating and shaping large, complex scheme opportunities, building on our large-deal strategy to expand Standard Life’s reach into the largest DB schemes while maintaining pricing and risk discipline.

A key part of the role is developing a high-performing team, fostering an inclusive and supportive culture, and ensuring our solutions continue to differentiate Standard Life in the market by solving complex customer challenges and building on our reputation for customer care.

Key Responsibilities

Drive client solutions and win new business

Lead the development of innovative Defined Benefit de-risking solutions that meet client needs while supporting the Group's strategic and financial objectives.
Originate and develop new business opportunities across the PRT market, with a particular focus on large and complex schemes aligned to our large-deal growth strategy.
Shape and deliver compelling tender responses and proposals, ensuring high-quality submissions within demanding timescales.
Build trusted relationships with trustees, Employee Benefit Consultants and other market stakeholders, developing relationships that generate and convert new business opportunities.
Lead client pitches and commercial negotiations, presenting Standard Life’s capabilities with credibility and impact.
Oversight of post transaction pricing activity.

Lead transaction execution and commercial decision-making

Originate, structure and execute Bulk Purchase Annuity transactions, ensuring successful delivery from opportunity identification through to completion.
Lead the negotiation and execution of complex PRT transactions, providing strategic oversight from opportunity origination through to successful completion, while ensuring robust governance, stakeholder alignment and commercial outcomes.
Apply deep understanding of pricing strategy, capital requirements, investment considerations and transaction economics, identifying opportunities to drive stronger commercial outcomes.
Provide leadership and oversight throughout transaction execution, ensuring robust governance, effective risk management and delivery against key milestones.
Influence and challenge senior leaders and stakeholders to support sound commercial decision-making and the achievement of strategic objectives.

Shape strategy and market leadership

Contribute to the development and execution of the Group's Defined Benefit Solutions strategy, helping to shape future growth opportunities and market positioning.
Support the evolution of Standard Life’s large-scheme proposition, identifying opportunities to deepen market engagement and broaden our participation in complex, strategic transactions.
Build strong partnerships across the business to identify innovative solutions and continuously improve client outcomes.
Provide market insight and strategic thinking to support the evolution of our propositions and maintain a differentiated offering within the Pension Risk Transfer market.

Lead and develop high-performing teams

Provide strategic leadership, coaching and development to a high-performing team, fostering a culture of collaboration, inclusion and continuous improvement.
Create an environment that supports colleague wellbeing whilst enabling individuals and teams to perform at their best.
Build organisational capability and develop future talent to support the long-term success of the business.

What are we looking for?

We're looking for a commercially driven Pension Risk Transfer leader with a proven track record of originating, negotiating and executing complex PRT transactions. You'll bring deep market expertise, strong analytical capability and a thorough understanding of transaction economics, including pricing, investments, capital and reinsurance considerations.

Acting as a trusted partner and primary point of contact for clients, you'll have a proven ability to build and strengthen relationships with trustees, consultants, reinsurers and senior stakeholders, while confidently resolving complex issues and influencing strategic decisions.

You'll combine strong commercial judgement with experience leading high-performing actuarial, analytical or specialist teams, contributing to business strategy and long-term growth objectives. Comfortable operating in a fast-paced environment with multiple competing priorities, you'll have a track record of delivering complex projects to demanding deadlines, maintaining exceptional standards of quality, accuracy and professionalism while working across diverse stakeholder groups.

Personal Attributes

This role would suit someone who is;

Commercially astute, balancing customer outcomes with sustainable business growth.
Strategic thinker, identifying opportunities and shaping long-term business success.
Influential communicator, building credibility and driving action across diverse stakeholder groups.
Results-focused, delivering high-quality outcomes in complex and fast-paced environments.
Collaborative leader, developing high-performing teams and working effectively across organisational boundaries.
Adaptable and forward-looking, championing innovation, change and continuous improvement.

We want to hire the whole version of you.

We are committed to ensuring that everyone feels accepted and welcome applicants from all backgrounds. If your experience looks different from what we’ve advertised and you believe that you can bring value to the role, we’d love to hear from you.

If you require any adjustments to the recruitment process, please let us know so we can help you to be at your best.

We’re reviewing applications as they come in, so apply early to avoid missing out.

Find out more about working at Standard Life

Guide for Candidates: standardlifeplc.pagetiger.com/guideforcandidates
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