Director, Head of Catastrophe Research & Validation

Director, Head of Catastrophe Research & Validation

Join us as a Director, Head of Catastrophe Research & Validation to take your career to the next level with a global market leader.

How you will create an impact

This role will lead AIG’s Catastrophe Model Research & Validation Team. The job holder will lead the development of AIG’s internal view of risk for Natural Catastrophe, Terrorism, and other First Party Perils. Working with the Head of Catastrophe Risk Management and other Analytics Leaders, the job holder will define strategy and implement industry leading analytics, research practices, and model development. The role offers high visibility and the opportunity to interact with and advise senior management across the business functions, as well as an ability to influence global catastrophe risk modelling and exposure management efforts.

Some of the key responsibilities include:

• Lead AIG’s Global Catastrophe Model Validation function, managing and mentoring a team of managers and scientists in the US & London and at our offshore team in India.

• Work with Global Actuarial Leadership to define a vision, strategy, and standardised best practice for AIG’s view of risk worldwide

• Lead end to end catastrophe model evaluation across the company

• Define and implement the AIG View of Risk

• Validate new and existing vendor models

• Propose adjustments to vendor out of the box views

• Implement model change and upgrades

• Maintain close relationships with Reinsurance Broker and Model Vendor partners, and leverage their insights and experience to benchmark AIG’s own View of Risk

• Lead AIG’s assessment of climate change and impacts to climate related perils worldwide, providing thought leadership on topics related to climate change and climate variability

• Lead AIG’s climate change engagement with regulators such as the PRA, Lloyd’s, Japan FSA, and multiple State Regulators in the United States

• Work with Enterprise Risk Management partners to ensure view of risk principles are clearly documented and communicated in line with AIG’s model risk management policies

• Drive short and medium term efforts to transform internal catastrophe modelling process

• Closely collaborate with functions such as Risk Engineering, Actuarial, Underwriting, and ERM to share insights and best practices across the organisation

• Partner with the Data Office on strategic data initiatives, including supporting vendor/data provider capability assessments and contract reviews.

• Drive a culture that promotes collaboration and accountability within a diverse and inclusive environment.

What you'll need to succeed

• 10+ years of experience in catastrophe research or model development, with hands on knowledge of multiple model vendors, and preferably experience at an Underwriting company

• PhD or Master’s degree in Climate Science, Natural Hazards, Applied Statistics, or a related subject

• Strong programming skills such as R, Python, and SQL

• Experience at an Underwriting Company or a Broker is a bonus - a demonstrated understanding of the importance of modelling to the Underwriting process is essential

• Comprehensive understanding of the science of catastrophe modelling, and hands on experience writing model reviews and validation for internal stakeholders and regulators

• In-depth knowledge of catastrophe models including their strengths and weaknesses

• A thorough understanding of climate change and its impact on insurance, and demonstrated experience presenting and discussing catastrophe risk research in internal and external forums

• Proven experience developing personal networks and leveraging relationships with brokers, vendors, and other market colleagues to stay ahead of trends and developments in the cat modelling industry

• Someone who is proactive, and challenges existing processes, can influence others and drive a process to a conclusion while meeting critical deadlines

• An ability to communicate technical concepts in a non-technical manner, to a wide range of audiences

• Experience manging multiple on-the-go projects, including prioritisation and planning, and developing strategic roadmaps

• Strong people management and team development skills

For positions based in New York, the base salary range is $190,000-$240,000. For positions based in Illinois, the base salary range is $170,000-$220,000 . For positions based in Massachusetts, the base salary range is $180,000-$230,000. In addition, the position is eligible for a bonus in accordance with the term