Team Lead Property Operations

About the Role

As Team Lead, Underwriting Operations, you will lead a team responsible for supporting underwriting operations across Property and other Commercial Insurance lines of business in Japan. You will ensure operational excellence throughout the underwriting lifecycle while driving process optimization, stakeholder engagement, regulatory compliance, and team development.

In addition to managing daily operations, you will act as a key partner to Underwriters, Functional Leaders, and Global Operations teams to enhance operational effectiveness and prepare the organization for future business growth.

This role offers an opportunity to develop broader leadership capabilities beyond a single line of business and contribute to the overall Operations strategy in Japan.

Key Responsibilities

Team Leadership & People Management

• Lead, coach and develop a team of Underwriting Associates and Operations professionals, fostering a culture of collaboration, continuous improvement, and customer focus
• Set clear objectives and monitor performance, supporting each team member's career growth and development
• Manage resource allocation, workload balancing, and succession planning to ensure team resilience
• Support hiring, onboarding and training activities to build a strong and capable team

Operational Management

• Oversee end-to-end underwriting operations across assigned business lines, ensuring service quality, accuracy, and timeliness throughout the policy lifecycle
• Monitor operational KPIs, controls, and service level expectations to drive consistent performance
• Identify operational risks and implement effective mitigation plans
• Ensure compliance with internal governance standards and regulatory requirements in Japan

Business Partnership

• Partner closely with Underwriters, Business Management, and Functional Leaders as the primary Operations contact for assigned business areas
• Drive effective collaboration with offshore and outsourced service providers to deliver seamless operations
• Support strategic business initiatives and organizational changes, managing stakeholder expectations and resolving complex operational issues

Process Excellence & Transformation

• Drive process improvement initiatives, promoting standardization, automation, and digitization opportunities across operations
• Support implementation of new systems, tools, and operating models to future-proof the business
• Utilize operational metrics and data insights to continuously improve effectiveness and efficiency
• Lead change management activities across teams and stakeholders, collaborating with Business Analysts on improvement initiatives

Governance & Reporting

• Oversee regulatory reporting and control processes, ensuring audit readiness and compliance with internal policies
• Monitor operational performance and management reporting, escalating material risks and issues appropriately

Strategic Contributions

• Contribute to Operations strategy and organizational planning in Japan, supporting business continuity and operational resilience
• Act as delegate and backup for broader Operations leadership responsibilities when required
• Participate in cross-functional and regional projects, bringing an enterprise-wide perspective to local operations

About the Team

You will be joining the Japan Operations organization — a team that plays a critical and highly valued role in enabling business growth through operational excellence, strong risk management, and outstanding stakeholder support. The team supports multiple commercial insurance business lines, including Property and other specialty areas, making it a dynamic and diverse environment where no two days are the same.

The team works closely with a broad network of local and global stakeholders — including Underwriting, Claims, Finance, Compliance, Legal, and offshore Operations teams — creating a truly collaborative and internationally connected working environment. This is a team that takes pride in what it does and is committed to continuous improvement and delivering real impact for the business.

About You

You are a proactive and inspiring people leader who combines strong operational expertise with excellent stakeholder management skills. You are energized by building high-performing teams, navigating complexity, and driving meaningful change. You balance strategic thinking with hands-on operational delivery, and you thrive in a dynamic, international environment where your contributions make a real difference.

We are looking for candidates who meet these requirements:

• Native-level Japanese and business-level English — ability to communicate effectively with both local and global stakeholders is essential
• 5+ years of experience in insurance operations, underwriting support, or commercial insurance, with a strong understanding of underwriting processes and operational controls
• Proven stakeholder management experience, with the ability to manage multiple stakeholders across functions and locations effectively
• Strong analytical, problem-solving and decision-making skills, with demonstrated experience driving process improvement and change initiatives
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office applications and modern collaboration tools

These are additional nice to haves:

• TOEIC score of 800 or above
• Previous team leadership or supervisory experience in an insurance or financial services environment
• Experience supporting multiple Lines of Business (Property, Casualty, FinPro, Specialty, etc.)
• Experience managing offshore or outsourced support teams
• Knowledge of commercial insurance products and underwriting operations
• Experience with operational transformation, workflow redesign, or automation initiatives
• Exposure to regional or global operating models
• Project management or process improvement qualifications or experience

Our company has a hybrid work model where the expectation is that you will be in the office at least three days per week.

The base salary range for this position will be shared with you during the interview process.

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. We cover both Property & Casualty and Life & Health. 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.