Primary Details

Time Type: Full time

Worker Type: Employee

Head of Marine, Energy & Aviation - Reinsurance

London/Hybrid

The Opportunity:

We are looking for a Head of Marine, Energy & Aviation to join QBE Re’s London Underwriting team. This is a high-impact leadership role where you’ll shape and drive the strategic direction of a diverse and profitable portfolio. You’ll lead on product strategy, pricing, and portfolio management—ensuring alignment with our business goals and regulatory standards—while also owning the P&L and championing growth across this key business line, as well managing the team. If you're passionate about delivering results, inspiring teams, and making a mark in a global organisation, we’d love to hear from you.

With hybrid office working and excellent benefits including 30 days holiday, you will be working in a supportive and inclusive environment. We’re the down-to-earth, international reinsurer that is neither too big nor small, so you can make a real impact!

Your Role:

• Lead the execution of the underwriting business plan, clearly communicating strategic direction to ensure alignment with business objectives
• Inspire and manage high-performing teams, fostering engagement, development, and accountability across all levels.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with key internal and external stakeholders, including brokers and cedants.
• Oversee underwriting activities, including negotiation of terms, pricing, and conditions for both new and renewal business.
• Delegate underwriting authority effectively, ensuring consistency with business goals and risk appetite.
• Ensure timely and accurate production of contract certainty documentation in line with regulatory and internal standards.
• Maintain full compliance with all relevant internal policies and external regulatory requirements.
• Deliver and monitor performance against the annual business plan, providing regular progress updates.
• Stay ahead of market trends, demonstrating strong awareness of the market cycle to inform underwriting decisions.
• Establish clear roles and responsibilities, promoting a culture of ownership and performance excellence.

About you:

• Strategic Leadership & Business Planning – Ability to define and execute underwriting strategies aligned with business objectives, while monitoring performance and driving results.
• Underwriting & Market Expertise – Deep understanding of specialty reinsurance underwriting, pricing, and risk assessment, with strong awareness of market dynamics and cycles.
• Team Leadership & Development – Proven capability to lead, motivate, and develop high-performing teams, fostering a culture of accountability and continuous improvement.
• Stakeholder Management – Strong relationship-building skills with internal teams, brokers, and cedants, ensuring alignment and collaboration across functions.
• Regulatory & Compliance Knowledge – Thorough understanding of legal, regulatory, and internal policy frameworks, ensuring full compliance in all underwriting activities.
• Communication & Delegation – Clear communicator with the ability to articulate risk appetite, delegate effectively, and establish clear roles and responsibilities.

Why QBE? At My Best   

At QBE, we want our people to feel rewarded and inspired to perform at their best, that’s why we have created “At My Best”. It’s our connection, our way of showing we have your back. We understand that one size doesn’t fit all and that priorities can change depending on your life stage. That is why our blend of wellbeing initiatives and benefits offer flexibility to suit what matters most to you. It’s in the culture of our business, our QBE DNA, to support our people. Everything we do is underpinned by our QBE DNA.   

  

We’re an international insurer that’s building momentum towards realising our vision of becoming the most consistent and innovative risk partner. We can never really predict what’s around the corner, but at QBE we’re asking the right questions to enable a more resilient future – helping those around us build strength and embrace change to their advantage.   

  

QBE aims to build a workplace that is fair and inclusive because we want to attract and retain the best people to do the job, we have adopted flexible working across the company and welcome this conversation (https://qbeeurope.com/careers/flex-qbe/).  

  

With more than more than 13,000 people working across 27 countries, we’re big enough to make a real impact, but small enough to provide a friendly workplace, where people are down-to-earth, passionate, and kind.   

  

To find out more about why you should work for QBE, visit our careers website.  

  

At My Best - QBE Benefits   

You are more than your work – and QBE is more than a workplace, which is why we provide you with the benefits, support and flexibility to help you concentrate on living your best life personally and professionally.  As well as the benefits below we also offer an extensive choice of other options to suit you!   

  

• 30 days holiday a year with the option to buy up to 2 additional days.  
• Flexible working - balancing work and life is important so our flexible working opportunities are open to all, this can include part-time, job share and compressed hours.  
• Pension – you are automatically enrolled into the QBE pension plan, which entitles you to receive employer contributions of 10% of your basic salary.  
• Private medical insurance – we fund fully comprehensive private medical cover for you and all the family.   
• Family friendly policies – we offer 26 weeks leave at full pay regardless of gender identity, sexual orientation or how you become a parent.  
• Short term remote work abroad - you can request up to 20 days per year to work remotely from certain locations abroad.  
• Sustainable investing - we believe sustainable integration is important for long term financial, environmental, and social outcomes. Our pension strategy supports our net-zero goal to achieve year-on-year reductions in carbon footprint, by investing more in green businesses than the broader market, so your savings are looking after the planet's future, as well as your own.  
• Cycle-to-Work – benefit from regular exercise whilst making your commute greener and cheaper, select and bike and/or accessories up to the value of £5,000.  

To find out more visit our Reward Page  

  

QBE Awards   

Some of the award’s QBE are proud to have won, been a finalist for, and shortlisted for include;   

  

AXCO Global Insurance Awards 2024 Winner: Network Management of the Year  

Insurance Business UK 5-Star Cyber Awards 2024: QBE rated as a 5-Star Cyber Insurer  

UK IT Industry Awards 2023 Winner: Green Technology Innovation of the Year  

Working Dads Employer Awards 2023 Winner: Parental Policies Award  

Insurance Post British Insurance Awards 2023: QBE rated as a 5-Star Employee 

  

You can view all our awards here  

  

Inclusion of Diversity  

We are striving to create a workplace culture where all our people feel included, and we are committed to building a diverse workforce that is reflective of the communities we operate in.  We are proud to have partnerships with organisations such as Stonewall and Working Families, and our commitment to the Women in Finance Charter, the UN Women’s Empowerment Principles and Race at Work charter helps keep us accountable and transparent. For more information on our strategy targets please take a look at our Careers Page  

  

Accessibility   

Here at QBE, we are promoting an accessible workplace for all, which includes supporting candidates to perform at their best during their recruitment process. If you require any accommodations, please make your Talent Acquisition contact aware.  

  

ESG & Sustainability  

At QBE, we believe that integrating sustainability into our business helps us deliver on our purpose of enabling a more resilient future.  Our three key focus areas include fostering an orderly and inclusive transition to a net-zero economy, enabling a sustainable and resilient workforce, and partnering for growth through innovative, sustainable, and impactful solutions. For further information regarding QBE’s sustainability targets, including our net-zero pledges and inclusion of diversity targets, and our award-winning impact investment initiative ‘Premiums4Good’, please visit our Sustainability homepage and read our latest Sustainability Report   

What next? If you have a passion to contribute to QBE’s vision of enabling a more resilient future for our customers and the community, we encourage you to apply! Simply click the “apply” button to submit your CV and other relevant documents, and a member of our friendly Talent Acquisition team will be in contact to discuss your interest further if you meet the requirements of the role.   

We believe this is our moment – what if it was yours too?   

APPLY NOW and let’s make it happen!   

Skills:

Analytical Thinking, Coaching for success, Critical Thinking, Decision Making, Influencing, Insurance Underwriting, Intentional collaboration, Managing performance, Navigating ambiguity, Portfolio Management, Problem Solving, Process Improvements, Regulatory Compliance, Risk Management, Stakeholder Management

How to Apply:

To submit your application, click "Apply" and follow the step by step process.

Equal Employment Opportunity:

QBE is an equal opportunity employer and is required to comply with equal employment opportunity legislation in each jurisdiction it operates.