Davies North America

Global insurance professional services and tech

Deputy Business Unit Director - Complex Injury

Business & StrategyUpdated on Nov 13

Full-timeUnited KingdomNo salary listed

About the Job

Requirements

A proven track record in an operational leadership role within a professional services background.
A self-driven focus on continuous improvement, with experience leading and implementing change.
A proven track record of collaborating with key stakeholders to devise and deliver engagement, development, or financial management strategies.
Ability to influence others diplomatically and strategically while understanding the broader organisational landscape.
Understanding of business financial measures.
Ability to prioritise and reprioritise effectively.

Responsibilities

Support the Deputy Operations Director by forecasting and reporting on the financial performance of smaller business units within the division.
Support Partners and other Lead Lawyers in managing their mini-teams, including monitoring professional development and, where necessary, assisting with performance management.
Work with the Deputy Operations Director and Technical Deputy Business Unit Directors to deliver a high-performance culture, develop future leaders, support colleague engagement, retention, and career progression, and provide financial responsibility, forecasting, and reporting.
Develop and maintain relationships with junior partners, non-partner lead lawyers, and their mini-teams to deliver growth and profitability targets while maintaining high performance standards.
Understand junior leads’ career aspirations and goals, support advancement, and anticipate and navigate their needs and challenges.
Ensure adequate capacity planning so caseloads are handled proactively to a high standard and work is managed effectively and profitably.
Support leads in guiding team members to meet productivity targets and achieve growth, engagement, retention, and internal progression.
Support recruitment to avoid delays and achieve budgeted headcount-driven growth.
Monitor team performance, identify individual underperformance, and support leads in investigating causes and taking appropriate remedial or mitigating action, including performance management where appropriate.
Work with Client Account Managers to deliver high-quality service that meets client needs, including producing data for client statistical packs.
Work with Technical Specialists and the Auditor to deliver training initiatives across Complex Injury Claims business units.
Improve use of the case management system as a risk mitigation tool and persuade stakeholders of its value.
Deliver agreed mitigation or resolution strategies when quality issues arise.
Promote fairness, transparency, and consistency in people-related activities, ensuring risks and challenges are considered and mitigated.
Identify growth opportunities and drive junior lead lawyers’ career advancement while balancing capacity planning and business needs.
Track each Assistant’s progress on the technical framework tracker and ensure appropriate development plans reflect individual needs and aspirations.
Identify people risks and consider appropriate mitigation.
Develop expertise in company policies and procedures to address queries and operational challenges.
Manage implementation and embedding of change initiatives and improvements, influence adoption, and drive successful implementation of firm-wide and area-specific projects.
Track performance against budget, predict future performance of defined business units, identify trends, and implement mitigation strategies where necessary.
Craft an accurate and stretching annual business unit budget with appropriate support and ensure delivery against it.
Review monthly financial performance with appropriate support, produce accurate and current forecasts, analyse budget variances, and report key issues.
Line-manage the Finance & MI Support Assistant and own net working capital management, driving prompt billing and resolving barriers to realising aged work in progress.
Manage responses to challenges from legal spend management tools such as Tymetrix and COG, ensuring lawyers respond promptly and appealing where appropriate.
Ensure regular caseload reviews with operational support and the CILA team so matters are final-billed and closed promptly, reducing write-offs of aged work in progress.

Role: Deputy Business Unit Director
Department: Complex Injury Claims (CIC)
Location: Any near a Keoghs location

This is an operational leadership role responsible for the delivery of a high-performance culture and ensuring the targeted development of our next generation of leaders in order that we can retain our place as the largest complex and catastrophic injury team in the UK.

The right candidate will inspire confidence by competently navigating operational challenges, managing change initiatives and influencing the optimum use of tools and systems to ensure excellent client care, quality and risk management and financial discipline. They will have sound business acumen enabling them to support the Deputy Operations Director by accurately forecasting and reporting on the financial performance of smaller business units within the division.

The role will draw on the candidate’s previous leadership experience to provide support to Partners and other Lead Lawyers in the management of their mini-teams, including monitoring professional development and, where necessary, assisting with performance management.

The role will involve working closely with the Deputy OD and Technical DBUDs to ensure consistency of operational delivery across CIC in order that we can deliver our Vision for 2030 that we are one team passionate about working together to deliver the highest quality services, one team who are friendly and down to earth, providing opportunities for everyone to achieve their career ambitions.

NB: the role is open to any CIC location

Working closely with the Deputy OD and Technical DBUDs to deliver:

A high-performance culture
Targeted development of the next generation
Engagement, retention and career progression for colleagues
Financial responsibility, forecasting and reporting

Resulting in:

High performing business units
A diverse and inclusive environment where everyone is treated equitably
High levels of engagement in that our people are motivated and committed to the growth and success of the business and their own careers and personal development
A continuous pipeline of talented lawyers and assistants who are supported to reach their fully potential, to future proof CIC

Leadership

Develop and maintain strong relationships with our junior partners and non-partner lead lawyers and their mini-teams in order to deliver growth and profitability targets whilst maintaining high performance standards
Understand our Junior Leads’ career aspirations and goals to support their advancement, anticipating needs and concerns and navigating challenges as they arise
Ensure they are adequately supported with capacity planning so caseloads can be proactively handled to an excellent standard and work is handled in the most effective and profitable way
Support them with the leadership of their team members to achieve productivity targets and deliver growth with a high level of engagement, retention and progression from within
Support them with recruitment to ensure time to hire does not drift and budgeted headcount-driven growth is achieved
Monitoring performance of the teams in order to identify any individual under performance and support the Leads to promptly investigate the cause and take appropriate action to address or mitigate including, where appropriate, to support the Lead in performance management

Client & Quality

Working with CAMs (Client Account Managers) to deliver high quality service which meets our clients’ needs, including producing data for stat-packs which CAMs provide to clients
Working with Technical Specialists and our Auditor to deliver training initiatives which are implemented across CIC business units
Improve the use of our case management system as a risk mitigation tool, persuading stakeholders of its value and benefit to them
When quality issues arise, delivering agreed mitigation or resolution strategies

Engagement

Lead a strong culture of fairness, transparency and consistency across all people related activities, putting this at the heart of all decision making processes and ensuring risks/challenges are considered and mitigated
Using your knowledge and understanding of the junior lead lawyers ambitions, identify growth opportunities and drive career advancement, balanced with capacity planning and business need
Track each Assistant’s journey on a technical framework tracker and ensuring appropriate development plans are in place taking into consideration the needs and aspirations of the individual
Identifying any people risks, considering appropriate mitigation
Become an expert in our policies and procedures in order to deal with queries and resolve operational challenges as they arise
Manage the implementation and embedding of change initiatives and improvements, positively influencing others to adopt and embrace change, driving the successful implementation of firm wide and area specific projects

Financial

Responsibility for tracking performance against budget and predicting future performance of defined business units within the division, identifying trends and implementing mitigation strategies where necessary
With appropriate support the DBUD will craft an accurate and stretching budget for the business unit annually, which is delivered against
With appropriate support the DUB will review financial performance monthly, producing accurate and up to date forecasts and analysing any variance to budget and reporting against key issues
Line Management Responsibility for the Finance & MI Support Assistant in order to take ownership of the management of net working capital, driving prompt billing and addressing any blockers to the realisation of aged WIP
Management of the response to any challenges arising from Legal Spend Management tools (e.g. Tymetrix/COG) ensuring lawyers deal with queries promptly and appealing where appropriate
With the support of the wider operational support team and CILA team, ensuring regular caseload cleanses take place to ensure matters are final billed and closed promptly, reducing write off of aged WIP.

Proven track record in an operational leadership role from a professional services background.
Self-driven focus on continuous improvement with experience leading and implementing change.
Proven track record in working collaboratively with key stakeholders necessary to devise and deliver engagement, development or financial management strategies.
Skilled in diplomacy and strategic influence, able to influence others whilst understanding the broader organisational landscape.
Understanding of business financial measures.
Proactive and focussed on achieving results and finding solutions.
Dynamic ability to prioritise and re-prioritise.

#INDNW

About the Company

Davies North America

Global insurance professional services and tech

Davies North America is a global professional services and technology company that began in the UK as an insurance claims manager. It now provides technology, consulting, and legal solutions to clients in regulated industries, including insurance, through managed services, outsourcing, and advisory offerings. The company grows by acquiring other businesses to expand its geographic reach and service capabilities. Its goal is to become a global leader in professional services and technology for regulated industries, particularly in markets like the US, Canada, and Bermuda.

Company size: 5,001-10,000
Company stage: Debt Financing
Total funding: $363M
Headquarters: London, United Kingdom
Founded: 1968

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