Discovery Health 

Job Title: R&D Actuarial Analyst/Actuary

Real Job Title: Very Smart Person

Scroll way down if you want to see the “Core Role”, “Required Competencies”, the all-important “Qualifications and Experience” and many sentences with the word “candidate”.

Bottom line is this, though.

We need someone smart.

A driven leader, and a smart person.

Smart enough to see the wood for the trees; and estimate the expected yield from it.

Smart enough to solve a problem we do not yet understand.

Smart enough to explain both the problem and the solution to normal people.  Without jargon.

Smart enough to know when ChatGPT is winging it and when Google is wrong.

And smart enough to know when we are wrong.

And a leader. And fun. Did we say smart?

Smiling? Only on the inside? Then let us know you are interested, and we’ll get our people to speak to your people.

About Discovery 

Discovery’s core purpose is to enhance and protect people’s lives. It does this through breakthrough product designs that harness incentives to encourage people to make healthier lifestyle choices. Healthy behaviour leads to lower claims, higher margins, and lower lapses. These savings are shared with our clients which in turn leads to a healthier society, improved productivity, and a reduced healthcare burden. One of Discovery’s core assets is its large and diverse data, covering health, wellness, driving, investments, and life insurance. This forms the basis for our shared value model, along with innovation, risk management and operational efficiency improvements. Discovery’s energetic and motivated analytical teams make this happen.  

About the Discovery Health R&D Lab

The Health R&D Lab is responsible for driving the innovation and product development agenda for Discovery Health. Made of Actuaries, ex-Management Consults, and other professionals with a strong bias for creative problem solving, the team works closely with the CEO and executive team of Discovery Health to facilitate innovation that supports the business strategy. Our work is cross functional in nature, requiring coordination of project specific teams to drive items to completion, with product ownership transferring to the relevant business unit once execution is complete.

About the Position

We are looking for an actuarial analyst/ actuary to conceptualise and drive existing and new R&D projects in support of the Discovery Health growth strategy. Bringing exciting new products and enhancements to the market is a key pillar of our growth strategy and the successful candidate will play a leading role in this.  

Core responsibilities:

• Drive exploratory research and analyses to develop strategic insights and identify core R&D questions, ideas, and solutions to inform the innovation agenda.
• Transform unstructured data into strategic insights to inform key business decisions.
• Support in the development of the product strategy and R&D priorities in line with the overall Discovery Group and Discovery Health strategy.
• Support complex R&D projects which have an impact across multiple Discovery businesses, actively driving close collaboration within the team and with relevant business units to ensure buy-in and smooth handover post execution.
• Support presentations of regular updates to obtain executive input on key decisions. Relevant forums include but are not limited to the R&D Steercom, Health Exco, Health Product Committee, and the DHMS Board of Trustees.

Personal Attributes and skills

• Self-starter with a bias for action and a strong drive for excellence
• Strategic thinker
• Exceptional analytical skills
• Exceptional problem solving skills
• Strong communication skills (written, verbal, and presentation)

Education and Experience

• Qualified actuary/ actuarial analyst.
• Management consulting experience is advantageous.

EMPLOYMENT EQUITY   
                             
The Company’s approved Employment Equity Plan and Targets will be considered as part of the recruitment process. As an Equal Opportunities employer, we actively encourage and welcome people with various disabilities to apply.