Senior Specialist Insurance Risk

The role

As a Senior Specialist Insurance Risk for General Insurance in our Sydney office, you will provide deep technical expertise, strategic advice and sound supervisory judgement on material insurance risk issues, contributing to APRA’s approach to general insurance and reinsurance risk through high-quality insights, clear reasoning and proportionate recommendations. In this role, insurance risk refers to how insurers design insurance products, manage underwriting and claims outcomes, transfer risk through reinsurance, and ensure these activities are governed and managed in a way that delivers sustainable outcomes for policyholders and resiliency of insurers.

The team

Financial Risk specialist teams, housed within APRA’s Cross-Industry Risk division, are the centre of excellence, responsible for providing identification, insight and supervision strategies for managing risks including insurance risk at regulated entities and across the financial services system. The division works closely with frontline supervision teams and policy areas to ensure coordinated, effective prudential oversight.

The team plays a critical role in ensuring that risks are identified and managed, leading to more resilient organisations and a stable financial system. Senior Specialists operate with a system‑wide perspective and support the disciplined transfer and sustainability of technical expertise over time while supporting proactive and system‑focused prudential supervision across the finance sector.

Key responsibilities

• Assess insurer capability and material general insurance risk across underwriting, pricing, portfolio management, catastrophe risk, claims management, reserving and reinsurance;

• Provide senior technical judgement on the use, structuring and risk management of reinsurance arrangements, including their interaction with claims, capital outcomes and risk governance;

• Collaborate with frontline supervision teams to deliver cohesive prudential reviews, including thematic and onsite reviews, providing clear, well-reasoned prudential assessments and proportionate supervisory recommendations;

• Provide authoritative specialist advice to our frontline supervisors, other risk specialists and senior executives at regulated entities and internal governance forums to influence improvements in insurance risk management and outcomes where practices fall outside prudential expectations;

• Engage directly with senior executives and Boards of regulated entities on insurance risk matters, including underwriting and claims performance, reinsurance arrangements and risk governance, to influence improvements in insurance risk management outcomes;

• Contribute specialist input into prudential policy, guidance, frameworks and data initiatives, as well as the strategic direction and business plan of the Insurance Risk team, consistent with the APRA Corporate Plan;

• Maintain a deep level of expertise in insurance risk and current and emerging issues in insurance risk management more broadly, both domestically and internationally, monitoring system-wide insurance risk trends and emerging vulnerabilities;

• Develop external networks to support initiatives including government agencies, industry associations and key positions at regulated entities; and

• Contribute to continuity of expertise through mentoring, knowledge sharing and disciplined supervisory practice, and our enterprise understanding of general insurance risk through system‑wide insights and cross‑industry perspective.

About you

• Relevant professional qualifications and deep expertise and experience in general insurance risk, which may include reinsurance (including reinsurance underwriting, placement or oversight of reinsurance programs), insurance underwriting, claims management, portfolio leadership, catastrophe risk management, reserving and actuarial, and/or risk management at a general insurer, reinsurer, broker or regulatory environment;

• A demonstrated ability to identify emerging or strategic insurance risk issues and develop and implement appropriate solutions, leading complex issues end-to-end;

• Well-developed communication and stakeholder engagement skills, with a proven ability to influence senior leaders including C-suite executives and Board members using clear, proportionate and evidence-based judgement;

• Strong personal integrity, professional judgment and an intuitive understanding of what is reasonable and prudent business practice;

• Commitment to knowledge sharing, mentoring and sustaining technical excellence, applying insights in a system-wide context with a forward-looking perspective; and

• Ability to establish and maintain positive, sound working relationships with peers, team members and external stakeholders in a professional team environment.

To work with us, you need to be an Australian citizen with eligibility to obtain and maintain Australian Government Security clearance.

About APRA

The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) places you at the heart of Australia’s financial services industry. APRA serves the Australian community by helping ensure financial institutions deliver on the financial commitments they make, within a stable, efficient and competitive financial system.

At APRA, we're committed to providing an inclusive workplace where everyone belongs, feels valued and respected. We aspire to attract and foster diversity of background, thought and experience, recognising that a broad range of perspectives, approaches and ideas makes us stronger and better enables us to meet our obligation to protect the financial wellbeing of the Australian community. When applying, please inform us of any adjustments you may need during the interview process.