Operations Leader Life and Pensions

WTW Ireland is hiring for an Operations Leader - a pivotal leadership role at the heart of Life and Pensions Financial Advice Delivery. This role combines operational excellence, regulatory oversight, and people leadership to drive outstanding client outcomes in a highly regulated environment. 

You will lead the delivery, governance, and operational performance of financial advice services, ensure quality, consistency, and scalability, while maintaining robust risk and compliance frameworks. Operating with a high degree of autonomy, you will hold end-to-end accountability for client delivery, operational governance, and team performance.

Blending strategic oversight with hands-on leadership, you will build and develop a high-performing team, fostering a culture of accountability, continuous improvement, and client focus. As a key interface between advisory, operations, risk, and senior leadership, you will influence decision-making and ensure alignment between commercial objectives and regulatory expectations.

This role offers significant scope and visibility, playing a critical part in shaping the future of financial advice operations across Life and Pensions. This is a hybrid role requiring one day per week in our Dublin office to collaborate closely with colleagues and key stakeholders.

The Role 

Operational & Project Leadership 

• Act as an escalation point for operational and delivery issues. 
• Build and maintain ongoing relationships with Insurers to ensure best in class service delivery 
• Act as business owner for various applications, tools and websites 
• Represent Life and Pensions Financial Advice on various committees and projects in Ireland and potentially in a European setting 
• Provide ongoing management information reporting on KPI’s as identified by the Willis Towers Watson Life and Pensions Board 
• Provide senior oversight of complex member advice projects. 
• Chair and lead delivery, project review, and support forums. 

Governance, Risk & Regulatory Oversight 

• Ensure adherence to regulatory, governance, and risk management requirements. 
• Lead Operational Resilience planning and tracking activities. 
• Oversee complaints governance and control frameworks. 
• Hold supplier and third-party risk responsibilities, including Business Supplier Owner duties where applicable. 
• Work closely with Compliance Team to translate regulatory developments (GDPR, CPC, AI regulation) into operational controls.

People Leadership & Management 

• Act as Hiring Manager for operational and advisory support roles. 
• Provide leadership, guidance, and oversight to team members. 
• Develop and maintain job descriptions, skills matrices, and role profiles. 
• Contribute to succession planning and talent development. 
• Complete quarterly User Access Recertification and maintain access controls.

Process Design & Continuous Improvement 

• Oversee design and maintenance of procedure manuals and operational checklists. 
• Support external and internal audits and excellence programmes. 
• Drive continuous improvement across operational processes. 
• Ensure documentation standards meet regulatory and internal requirements.

Stakeholder Management 

• Engage with senior internal stakeholders across advisors, operations, and governance. 
• Represent the business at governance forums and industry events. 
• Provide senior level input into planning and decision-making forums.