Senior Manager, Agency Strategy Management

About FWD Group FWD Group (1828.HK) is a pan-Asian life and health insurance business that serves approximately 40 million customers across 10 markets, including BRI Life in Indonesia. FWD’s customer-led and tech-enabled approach aims to deliver innovative propositions, easy-to-understand products and a simpler insurance experience. Established in 2013, the company operates in some of the fastest-growing insurance markets in the world with a vision of changing the way people feel about insurance. FWD Group is listed on the main board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange under the stock code 1828. For more information, please visit www.fwd.com About FWD Takaful Berhad FWD Takaful Berhad (“FWD Takaful”) is a takaful provider in Malaysia that offers family takaful services. FWD Takaful is licensed under the Islamic Financial Services Act 2013 and is regulated by Bank Negara Malaysia. FWD Takaful is a takaful business unit of FWD Group. Visit https://www.fwd.com.my Join us We’re proud to be a company that encourages and nurtures fearless innovation in achieving our vision of changing the way people feel about takaful. Our teams come from a wide variety of industries and backgrounds because we value developing a truly diverse pool of talent that brings different perspectives and experiences. Our values – committed, innovative, proactive, open, and caring – define who we are and what we do as we work together to bring our vision to life, every single day. KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES Agency Strategy & Governance • Develop distinct agency growth strategies for FWDT and FWDIB, ensuring execution plans align with the respective Board-approved Business Plans and Risk Appetite Frameworks of each entity which will also roll up to the overall holding company strategy. • Translate corporate targets (ACE, manpower, activation, MDRT, persistency) into clear agency execution plans aligned with Balanced Scorecard (BSC) principle. • Drive strategic initiatives including Project Elevate, ALC expansion, recruitment transformation and productivity uplift programs, ensuring all recruitment and incentive designs comply with Group policies, governance standards and risk appetite. • Accountable for obtaining Shariah Committee endorsement for all Takaful recruitment campaigns and financing structures prior to launch, ensuring zero Shariah Non-Compliance (SNC) events. • Act as the First Line of Defence Risk Owner for the Strategy & Recruitment function, conducting periodic Risk Control Self-Assessments (RCSA) to identify and mitigate operational risks • Accountable for the maintenance and effectiveness of the Responsibility Mapping documents with respect to the role as the Head of Agency Strategic and Recruitment. Recruitment, Manpower Growth & Quality of Hire • Accountable for national recruitment targets (agents, leaders, strategic groups) for both FWDT & FWDIB, balancing growth objectives with quality, conduct and sustainability considerations ensuring strategies align with Fair Treatment of Customers (FTC) or Conduct Risk standards and do not incentivize aggressive sales practices • Design recruitment models that embed mandatory Fit & Proper checks (financial integrity, competence, probity) at the sourcing stage, in compliance with the Distribution and Sales Quality Policy • Strengthen leader-led recruitment culture while reinforcing ethical recruitment practices and long-term agency health. • Accountable for the initial due diligence on strategic hires, including screening against Anti-Bribery & Corruption (ABC) and AML/CFT watchlists. • Act as the Data Owner for recruitment and candidate data, ensuring strict adherence to the Data Privacy Policy and PDPA requirements regarding collection, storage, and disposal of personal information • Activation, Competency & Early Productivity for red flags prior to formal onboarding • Drive new recruit activation, early case productivity and retention within the first 3–6 months. • Ensure strong linkage between recruitment, mandatory regulatory training (e.g. TBE/PCE), financing support and early sales performance. • Promote disciplined activation standards to ensure recruits are competent, licensed and compliant prior to full sales engagement. Leadership Pipeline & Agency Structu re • Build and sustain a robust agency leadership pipeline (Unit Manager → Agency Manager → Group / ALC). • Support agency restructuring, consolidation or expansion aligned with FWD’s long-term vision, governance requirements and productivity objectives. Performance, Risk Monitoring & Reporting • Track and manage MAPA dashboards, recruitment funnels, activation ratios, productivity and early attrition metrics. • Provide regular business insights, recruitment quality indicators, gap analysis and corrective actions to senior management. • Monitor and mitigate recruitment-related financial risks (financing schemes, clawback recovery), ensuring alignment with the Credit Risk Policy and provisioning standards of each entity. Stakeholder & Cross-Functional Collaboration • Partner closely with Training, Marketing, Finance, HR, Compliance and Operations to ensure seamless, compliant execution of recruitment initiatives. • Collaborate with Agency Governance / Performance teams to ensure clear separation between recruitment, Fit & Proper assessment and agent registration. • Act as key liaison between agency leaders and management on strategic recruitment and manpower initiatives. REQUIREMENT • Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent (master’s degree preferred) • 12–15 years of experience in insurance / takaful agency distribution • Proven track record in agency strategy, recruitment and manpower scaling • Strong exposure in managing large agency networks and leadership structures • Experience across Takaful and/or Conventional Insurance is a strong advantage • Demonstrated ability to manage national-level initiatives and change management