Senior Department Operations Officer (Hybrid)

Can you effectively manage a department's operations, align with wider organisational goals, and support a leadership team in achieving its objectives? If you're energised by the opportunity to contribute to and influence the success of a department at a global reinsurance leader, then we want to hear from you!

About the Role

The Department Operations Officer (DOO) is a pivotal role within our organisation, ensuring the smooth and efficient operation of departmental processes and functions. As a strategic partner to the department head, you will be responsible for overseeing strategic priorities, managing day-to-day operations, coordinating budgets, and ensuring alignment with organisational goals, governance, and standards.

You will act as a key liaison between the department and internal groups such as HR, Operational Risk, Compliance, and Finance — facilitating effective communication, coordination, and execution across the board.

This role offers an excellent overview of and insight into the workings of Group Underwriting (GUW) at Swiss Re, as well as other functions of a global reinsurance company. You will interact frequently with colleagues across the organisation — from peers to senior management — giving you a fantastic platform to make an impact and grow your experience.

Depending on shifting priorities, you will be leading and investing your time on the following:

Key Responsibilities

• Leadership team support: Coordinate meetings, set agendas, and manage follow-ups to ensure the leadership team operates efficiently
• Strategic planning & tracking: Support the department head in the development, implementation, and tracking of all elements of the department strategy and priorities, aligning with Group Underwriting and Swiss Re strategies
• Project & initiative leadership: Lead and contribute to department or Group Underwriting-wide initiatives and projects, connecting the dots and ensuring seamless delivery
• Communications & presentations: Develop crisp, concise communications and targeted presentations for key stakeholder meetings, including Group Underwriting executive meetings and townhalls
• Financial & people planning: Support the financial and FTE (headcount) planning processes, ensuring accurate and timely input
• Cost management & insights: Review and track departmental costs, share actionable insights, and flag areas where cost can be influenced or optimised
• Stakeholder engagement: Engage with colleagues across GUW and at various stakeholder levels to deliver on a broad set of assignments, including driving and monitoring strategic priorities and organising knowledge-sharing initiatives

About the Team

You will be a valued member of the Chief Underwriting Officer (CUO) Office team — a dynamic and collaborative group that supports the Group CUO, the GUW Executive Team, and GUW in general to deliver against its ambitions. The CUO Office plays a central role in enabling the strategic and operational success of Group Underwriting, acting as the connective tissue between leadership priorities and day-to-day execution. The team thrives on collaboration, clear communication, and a shared commitment to excellence.

About You

You are a proactive, organised, and detail-oriented professional who thrives in a fast-paced, collaborative environment. You bring strong project management skills, a strategic mindset, and the ability to communicate effectively with stakeholders at all levels. You take ownership of your work, keep the big picture in mind, and are always ready to step in where needed to support your team.

We are looking for candidates who meet these requirements:

• Project & process management experience: Minimum 5 years of relevant experience in project and/or process management, with a proven track record of delivering results at a senior level
• Financial & people planning expertise: Demonstrated experience in people and cost planning, working with budgets, KPI monitoring, and understanding the control aspects of operational risks
• Communication & presentation skills: Exceptional ability to develop clear, concise, and compelling communications and presentations for senior stakeholder audiences

These are additional nice to haves:

• Higher education: A graduate degree (Bachelor's, Master's, or MBA) is preferred 
• Industry knowledge: Experience working in the re/insurance industry and a good understanding of Underwriting processes is a strong advantage
• Organisational excellence: Outstanding prioritisation and planning skills to manage and oversee the execution of a wide range of concurrent activities
• Attention to detail: A strong sense of ownership, dedication, and meticulous attention to detail
• Team player mindset: A collaborative approach, always willing to step in for colleagues and keep the broader organisational goals in mind
• Language skills: Proficiency in English is essential; additional languages are a plus

The specific salary offered considers:

• The requirements, scope, complexity and responsibilities of the role
• The applicant's own profile including education/qualifications, expertise, specialisation, skills and experience

In addition to your base salary, Swiss Re offers an attractive performance-based variable compensation component, designed to recognise your achievements. Furthermore, you will enjoy a variety of global and location specific benefits. Eligibility may vary depending on the terms of Swiss Re policies and your employment contract.

About Swiss Re

Swiss Re is one of the world’s leading providers of reinsurance, insurance and other forms of insurance-based risk transfer, working to make the world more resilient. We anticipate and manage a wide variety of risks, from natural catastrophes and climate change to cybercrime. Combining experience with creative thinking and cutting-edge expertise, we create new opportunities and solutions for our clients. This is possible thanks to the collaboration of more than 15,000 employees across the world.

Our success depends on our ability to build an inclusive culture encouraging fresh perspectives and innovative thinking. We embrace a workplace where everyone has equal opportunities to thrive and develop professionally regardless of their age, gender, race, ethnicity, gender identity and/or expression, sexual orientation, physical or mental ability, skillset, thought or other characteristics. In our inclusive and flexible environment everyone can bring their authentic selves to work and their passion for sustainability.

If you are an experienced professional returning to the workforce after a career break, we encourage you to apply for open positions that match your skills and experience.

We may use AI-powered tools to support the review and evaluation of applications for this position. These tools provide additional insights to our recruitment teams, but all hiring decisions are carefully reviewed and made by people. To learn more about how we use AI in recruitment and how we handle your personal data, please review our Data Privacy Statement before applying.