Career Returner - Pricing Optimisation Lead

Looking to ignite your career comeback in a global organisation with an unparalleled culture? If so, we want to hear from you.

Markel is a global specialty insurance provider with a truly people-first approach. We have the tools, knowledge, and experience to offer our clients unique solutions across a wide variety of risks. We have our own trusted Lloyd’s syndicate but can also underwrite risks through our other Markel companies, depending on where our clients are in the world. We have specialists across the UK, Europe, Asia, Australia, Indonesia, The Middle East, and North America.

But it’s our people and the relationships they develop with colleagues, brokers and clients that makes us so unique.

And so, because we understand the value of diverse perspectives and experiences, we’re looking for talented professionals who want to reignite their careers as part of our involvement in the Insurance Cross-Company Returner Programme 2026 | Career Returners.

 About the Programme

• The programme offers a professionally paid placement of 6 months, from May to November 2026

• There will be a strong likelihood of a permanent role at the end of the fixed term contract.

• You will benefit from Career Returners’ Coaching Programme throughout your time on the programme. 

• To support your transition back into the workplace, you will receive an internal mentor and a buddy for your day-to-day questions.

• As part of the cross-company programme, you will have a ready-made peer support group of other returners re-entering the insurance sector.

• We are willing to accept flexible working requests.

The opportunity

As a Pricing Optimisation Lead within our International Portfolio Analytics (IPA) team, you’ll play a key role in shaping pricing strategies and driving meaningful change across Markel International. You’ll collaborate with senior leaders and technical experts to develop best practice pricing approaches, ensuring our portfolio management translates into well-calibrated model improvements that deliver real business impact.

Duties and responsibilities:

Explore opportunities to deliver smarter pricing solutions, including:

• Reviewing, challenging, and improving pricing models and approaches to iterative development and calibration.

• Offering practical recommendations and sharing best practices, balancing technical rigour with real-world application.

• Supporting the ongoing development and maturity of models, including exploring opportunities with internal and external data sources.

• Adding value to testing, validation, and governance processes to embed effective practices.

• Mentoring and supporting junior team members in their actuarial career development.

• Fostering collaboration between portfolio management, pricing transformation, and other teams.

• Contributing ideas and expertise to shape the future direction of our team and the wider business.

You will have:

• Experience in pricing model development, review, calibration, validation, and governance; familiarity with GLMs is helpful but not essential.

• Strong technical actuarial skills with the ability to problem-solve and recommend analytics approaches.

• Background in actuarial work—whether from London Market insurance, Personal Lines, Consulting, or elsewhere.

• Ability to communicate complex concepts clearly and constructively, and to challenge approaches in a supportive way.

• Willingness to learn and adapt, with an open mind to new tools, data sources, and ways of working.

• Collaborative spirit and a desire to help others develop and succeed.

• Good coding or data analysis skills (e.g., Python, SQL, Power BI) would be useful, but we’re happy to support your development.

• Any experience with capital modelling is a plus but not required.

You must be:

• On a career break – for any reason - of at least 18 months (any PTA, school governor work, volunteering or similar is acceptable).

• Available to start the programme on May 11th 2026.

• Eligible to work in the UK and satisfy any regulatory requirements for the role if applicable.

What’s in it for you?

• 25 days’ holiday (pro‑rated for the FTC)

• Private medical cover for you and your family

• Private dental insurance

• Worldwide travel insurance

• Pension scheme

• Vitality wellbeing benefits

• My Family Care for emergency childcare and eldercare

• High street discounts and reduced gym memberships

We are a Disability Confident Committed employer which means we want to ensure that you have a positive experience applying for a role at Markel and can perform at your best. If there are any adjustments we can reasonably make to ensure that the process is accessible for you at every stage please email [email protected].

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