Head of Subsection - GSI IT Portfolio Manager

About us

At Munich Re Specialty – Global Markets (MRS-GM), it is our ambition to become the leading Primary Specialty Insurance provider, underpinned by an effective and adaptable strategy, superior products and industry leaders working in a supportive environment to achieve this.  

Munich Re is a global market leader in re-insurance, global specialty insurance and digital solutions.  New technologies are disrupting the insurance value chain. Our innovative minds in IT spearhead the transformation and make change happen. We support clients with a comprehensive range of insurance and risk management products. Our goal is to become even more digital through the expertise of our IT & Tech specialists, and by leveraging data and insights to support innovation and client service. We are therefore making targeted IT investments and helping our insurance clients and partners to tackle problems in the modern digital world with innovative and forward-looking solutions.

Please see our website for more information.

Head of Subsection – GSI IT Portfolio Manager

We are currently looking for a Head of Subsection – GSI IT Portfolio Manager to be based in London on a full-time basis, reporting into the Head of Department.

The GSI IT Portfolio Manager (ML4) provides senior ownership for the shaping, governance, prioritisation 

and assurance of a strategically significant GSI IT portfolio, while directly steering selected high-risk, high-investment or high-complexity programmes. The role connects business strategy, demand, architecture, funding, capacity and delivery so that technology investment produces measurable business outcomes across GSI business units. 

The role acts as a trusted partner to senior business and IT leadership, translating strategic priorities into an executable portfolio roadmap; establishing transparent governance and decision support; protecting financial integrity; and intervening where dependencies, risks, delivery quality or operational readiness threaten outcomes. It leads through influence across product, architecture, finance, PMO and delivery teams and provides coaching and functional direction to programme and project managers. 

Responsibilities: 

• Strategy, portfolio shaping and demand: Translate GSI and business-unit strategy into an integrated, prioritised technology portfolio and multi-year roadmap. Lead early-stage shaping of demand, including problem definition, options, scope, dependencies, value, estimates, delivery approach and readiness for investment decisions. 
• Investment planning and prioritisation: Own portfolio inputs to annual and in-year investment planning. Facilitate evidence-based prioritisation using strategic alignment, value, risk, regulatory commitment, affordability, capacity and architecture considerations; make trade-offs and unresolved constraints visible to decision-makers. 
• Portfolio governance and decision support: Establish and operate proportionate governance, stage gates, portfolio reviews and escalation paths. Produce concise executive reporting that presents portfolio health, decisions, trends, dependencies, outcomes and corrective actions rather than activity alone. 
• Programme leadership and delivery assurance: Assist with direction of complex programmes and assure the wider portfolio. Confirm sponsorship, outcomes, scope, governance, delivery model, integrated plans and transition expectations. Challenge plans and forecasts, initiate recovery action, and escalate where delivery remains outside agreed tolerances. 
• Financial stewardship: Plan, monitor and forecast portfolio and programme budgets. Maintain transparent views of approved funding, commitments, actuals, accruals, forecasts and variances; partner with IT Finance and delivery leaders to improve forecast accuracy and ensure work remains within approved authority. 
• Dependency, risk and control management: Own the portfolio-level view of cross-programme dependencies, resource constraints, risks, assumptions and regulatory or control obligations. Ensure accountable owners, target dates and mitigation actions are defined and elevate systemic issues requiring leadership intervention. 
• Capacity and resource alignment: Work with product, delivery and resource leaders to reconcile demand with internal and external capacity, skills and sequencing. Identify critical capability gaps and recommend practical sourcing, phasing or scope responses. 
• Standards, tools and data quality: Drive consistent adoption of GSI project and portfolio standards, lifecycle controls, approved tools and quality criteria. Improve the completeness, reliability and usability of portfolio data and reduce duplicate or manually recreated reporting. 
• Stakeholder and cross-entity leadership: Build effective partnerships across GSI business units, IT towers, architecture, finance, risk, procurement and strategic vendors. Represent the portfolio in senior forums and align diverse interests without losing accountability for enterprise outcomes

Knowledge and Skills

• Substantial senior experience leading complex IT portfolios and programmes in a global, regulated financial-services or insurance environment. 

• Demonstrated success translating business strategy and demand into prioritised roadmaps, investable initiatives and executable delivery plans. 

• Advanced portfolio and programme governance capability, including dependency management, delivery assurance, recovery and executive decision support. 

• Strong financial management experience across business cases, budgets, forecasts, actuals, accruals, variances and investment planning. 

• Ability to lead across matrixed organisations and influence senior stakeholders with competing objectives, limited capacity and ambiguous information. 

• Excellent written, verbal and visual communication, with the judgement to simplify complex situations without masking material risk or uncertainty. 

• Sound understanding of agile, predictive and hybrid delivery approaches and how to apply proportionate governance across different delivery models. 

• Working knowledge of technology strategy, enterprise and solution architecture, product operating models, service transition, security, risk and regulatory controls. 

• Experience improving portfolio data quality, reporting practices and adoption of enterprise portfolio-management tools. 

• Proven coaching, facilitation, negotiation, conflict-resolution and change-leadership capability. 

• Insurance and London Market knowledge is highly desirable; international working experience is expected. 

• Fluent spoken and written English; willingness to travel internationally when required. 

If you are excited about this role but your experience does not align perfectly with everything outlined, or you don’t meet every requirement, we encourage you to apply anyway. You might just be the candidate we are looking for!

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion 

At Munich Re, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion foster innovation and resilience and enable us to act braver and better. Embracing the power of DEI is at the core of who we are. We recognise diversity can be multi-dimensional, intersectional, and complex, so we want to build a diverse workforce that includes a wide range of racial, ethnic, sexual, and gender identities; economic and geographic backgrounds; physical abilities; ages; life, school, and career experiences; and political, religious, and personal beliefs. Additionally, we are committed to building an equitable and inclusive work environment where this diversity is celebrated, valued, and has equitable opportunities to succeed.

All candidates in consideration for any role can request a reasonable adjustment at any point in our recruitment process. You can request an adjustment by speaking to your Talent Acquisition contact.

Learning and innovating today, striving for sustainable societies and business tomorrow

At Munich Re Specialty – Global Markets our approach to ESG is underpinned by our desire to seize business opportunities and to nurture a stimulating and inclusive work environment. Our ESG strategy aims to deliver holistic impacts across environmental, social and governance topics including supporting a number of local initiatives within our community and offering volunteering opportunities for colleagues.

Learn more about sustainability at Munich Re – choose your impact! 

Benefits

• 25 days Annual Leave + Bank Holidays
• 10% Non-contributory Pension
• Eligibility for an Annual Bonus
• Private Medical + Dental Insurance
• Critical illness insurance + Life Assurance + Permanent Health Insurance
• Wellbeing and Development Scheme + EAP + Health Assessments (subject to scheme eligibility)
• Electric Vehicle Salary Sacrifice Scheme
• Study & continuing Professional Development Support
• Hybrid Working + IT Home Set-up Support

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