Claims Operations Manager - Retail Transformation 80-100%

Overview

Zurich is accelerating its Retail business and striving for Retail Excellence across Underwriting, Pricing & Portfolio Analytics, and Claims. The focus is to enhance technical capabilities, improve customer experience, establish best-in-class global claims standards, and deliver meaningful customer and financial impact.

Zurich’s claims teams handle ca. 8 million new claims per year across 22 markets. Retail claims represent more than 75% of total claim volume and nearly half of the claim spend.

What you will do

We are seeking a dynamic and execution-focused Claims Operations Manager to lead the transformation of our Retail Claims function. This role will define and optimise end-to-end claims workflows, enhance operational efficiency, and instill a culture of continuous improvement across diverse markets. Reporting to the Group Head of Retail Claims, the Claims Operations Manager will scale best practices, ensure consistency, and elevate service delivery. This position offers a unique opportunity for personal and professional growth within a global insurance leader.

Key Responsibilities

• Define and implement standard operating procedures and workflow models across priority retail lines (e.g., Motor, Home, A&H Inc. Travel and Speciality)
• Identify and eliminate inefficiencies in claims handling processes through lean methods, automation opportunities, and technology deployment
• Partner with local and central teams to roll out and embed new processes and tools, ensuring adoption and measurable performance improvement
• Develop and monitor key operational KPIs (e.g., cycle time, cost per claim, productivity, fraud detection) to track progress and identify areas for optimisation
• Lead initiatives to improve automation of key moments within the claim lifecycle, straight-through processing, create a digitised FNOL that is agnostic to the customer, agent, broker, etc., and resolution speed while maintaining quality standards
• Drive continuous improvement efforts by facilitating feedback loops, root cause analyses, and institutionalising lessons learned
• Serve as the liaison with IT, digital, and shared services teams to ensure operational requirements are reflected in system design and upgrades
• Support the transformation roadmap by prioritising and delivering scalable operations initiatives that enable technical excellence and customer impact
• Measure improvements in NPS and CES, leveraging digital and analytic capabilities
• Strengthen customer-oriented supply chain partnerships through smoother processes, systems, and real-time data integration
• Deliver consistent best-in-class service to customers, provide data-driven insights internally and externally, support partners, and contribute to retention and winning of business
• Foster a culture of excellence among claims employees to establish Zurich as a recognised authority in the industry

What you bring

Qualifications & Experience:

• 10+ years of experience in claims operations, business process optimisation, or insurance transformation roles
• Strong knowledge of Retail P&C insurance claims processes and systems across multiple product lines
• Proven track record of delivering operational efficiency gains in a regional or global insurance context
• Experience with workflow automation tools, claims platforms, and data-driven process management
• Fluency in English required; additional languages (Spanish, Italian, French or German) a plus
• A proven track record of executing strategy at a global level, able to drive change and coordinate the implementation of technology as an enabler with a focus on people development, while maintaining excellence
• Extensive experience in managing drivers of claims performance: governance, customer excellence, operational efficiency, digitalisation/AI, case management and reserving, talent and capability, data and insight, and sustainability
• Understanding of legislation, regulations and socio-economic trends affecting claims and the broader market
• Experience operating in different geographies, markets and cultures, to deliver results in a global organisation
• Enterprise mindset with strong influencing skills and stakeholder management, capable of aligning claims with key functions to differentiate Zurich
• Agile and versatile, capable of delivering creative solutions and decisive action in ambiguity; optimises risk to deliver results
• Engages, motivates, and energises across functions to deliver sustainable results
• Passion to champion customers and proactively address their needs to position Zurich as best-in-class for claims experience

Additional information

We look forward to receiving your online application.

At our Quai Zurich Campus, our culture and our people set us apart. We thrive on face-to-face collaboration, balanced with flexibility to work up to two days remotely per week within Switzerland. Discuss your flexibility needs during your interview.

Why Zurich

We are an equal opportunity employer who values each employee’s uniqueness. Join us as we constantly explore new ways to protect our customers and the planet.

• Location(s): CH – Zürich
• Remote working: Hybrid
• Schedule: Full Time
• Recruiter name: Grace Cunningham

#J-18808-Ljbffr