Health & Benefits – Head of Japan - Tokyo

 The Business                                                                                                                  

Today, employers understand that their benefits can be instrumental in shaping the type of organization they are, and the way their employees – and their peers – perceive them. They are also embracing a broader notion of what constitutes employee benefits. The likes of workplace culture, DE&I, ESG and flexible work policies are all increasingly being seen as part of the benefit landscape.

In Health & Benefits Asia Pacific, we help employers across the region develop and sustain a benefits program that will assist in promoting a healthy and high-performing workforce using our deep subject matter expertise, innovation and extensive research. Our core services address the most critical benefits issues that organizations of all sizes are facing today. 

Benefits broking and placement services to help source, assess, implement and manage the providers for the company’s insured benefits.

Benefits advisory to help develop a modernized benefit and wellbeing programs aligned with organizational strategy and employee needs.

Flexible benefits consulting and administration services to enable employees’ choice and benefits personalization to meet their different needs.

Underpinning our core services is an integrated, scalable ecosystem of proprietary benefits technologies namely, Benefits Engine (broking admin system), Benefits Insights (employer experience) and Embark (employee experience) which deliver a unique level of efficiency, reliability and consistency. 

The Role                                                                                                                  

As the Head of Health and Benefits, you will be the P&L owner delivering profitable growth to achieve financial performance and business goals.  You will be responsible for creating client value propositions and implementing the target operating model to compete effectively to gain market share. 

Performance Objectives:

Financial

• P&L owner: Develop and execute business plan and financial budget, ensuring the country H&B business generates revenue, profit and market share growth in accordance with the regional plan

• Identify opportunities to cross-sell new products and services

• Coordinate with client management and business development teams to identify, develop and close strategic sales opportunities

• Build relationships with internal and external parties to maximise the penetration of key target accounts

Clients

• Lead, manage and participate in multiple client engagements,

• Present quality deliverables to clients; able to recognize and diagnose issues, work in teams, and leverage the resources of other related practices to address client challenges

• Establish a trusted advisor role with clients and provide consistent, superior relationship management

• Ensure project managers within the team are maintaining progress against established budget, timeline and quality standards

• Collaborate across Geographies and Lines of Business to effectively pursue and deliver on multi-faceted projects

Excellence

• Act as a subject matter expert, ensuring that clients are regularly informed about the implications and opportunities that changing laws and regulations have on their benefits plans

• Develop your personal profile in the market 

• Support the development, commercialisation and dissemination of company-wide intellectual capital with respect to benefit plan strategy and management

• Ensure appropriate governance and work quality processes are followed on work carried out within the team

• Contribute to the development of new Health & Benefits tools and approaches within Asia Pacific

People

• People management and development: Develop and execute on strategic staffing plans, including all people processes (e.g., recruiting, training and development, goal setting and performance management, employee satisfaction and compensation/bonus recommendations)

• Oversee the work allocation within the team, identifying where additional technical support may be required

• Act as a mentor to members within the team

• Build relationships internally and collaborate effectively on cross-functional teams

• Member of Country Leadership Team: Work across Lines of Business to meet overall country 

Technical Skills & Experience

• 10+ years’ experience in health and group risk benefit plans, including life and disability

• Background in H&B consulting/brokerage and/or insurance underwriting/actuarial

• Strong understanding of relevant local legislation and regulations 

• In-depth knowledge of national and local H&B insurers and vendor markets

• Strong analytical skills with the ability to interpret data and identify trends

Project & Delivery

• Proven track record managing projects and delivering high-quality outputs on time and within budget

• Ability to diagnose issues, propose solutions, and adapt as needed

• Ability to understand how individual tasks fit into broader objectives

Communication & Client Management

• Strong written and verbal communication skills in English

• Ability to ask effective questions and seek support when necessary

• Timely and professional communication with clients and stakeholders

• Strong client service orientation

Personal Qualities

• Demonstrated leadership capability

• Able to work independently and collaboratively in fast-paced environments

• High sense of accountability and ownership

• Self-starter with willingness to step outside one’s comfort zone

Professional Qualifications

• Degree holder (preferable)

#LI-Hybrid