Project Overview

Our client, Rand Mutual Assurance, is seeking an experienced Actuarial Specialist to support the design and development of innovative insurance products within a highly entrepreneurial and non-traditional actuarial environment. Rather than focusing on conventional valuation work, the role centres on product development, customer insight, commercial thinking, and solving complex business challenges through actuarial expertise.

The successful consultant will combine strong actuarial fundamentals with commercial acumen, helping to shape new products by applying pricing principles, regulatory knowledge, customer analysis, and technology awareness.

Working closely with business stakeholders, the consultant will contribute to product strategy, business case development, and solution design within a fast-paced environment where innovation and adaptability are essential.

The ideal consultant will have several years of actuarial experience within life, short-term insurance, or regulated insurance environments, together with strong technical capability, exceptional Excel skills, and an entrepreneurial mindset. Experience within COID or similar compensation and regulatory environments would be highly advantageous.

Key Activities

• Design and develop innovative insurance products using actuarial and commercial principles.
• Apply actuarial modelling techniques to support pricing, product design, and commercial decision-making.
• Analyse customer needs, market segments, and distribution channels to inform product development.
• Develop business cases and recommend commercially viable product solutions.
• Apply probability theory, actuarial mathematics, and financial modelling to solve complex business problems.
• Interpret income statements, expense allocation methodologies, and profit drivers to support product design.
• Provide actuarial input into strategic initiatives and business transformation activities.
• Collaborate with business and technology teams to support solution design and system development initiatives.
• Contribute to business requirement specifications and functional solution design where required.
• Prepare high-quality reports, analysis, and recommendations for business stakeholders.
• Support regulatory compliance by considering COID, RAF, UIF, Twin Peaks, Prudential Authority, and related regulatory frameworks where applicable.
• Operate within a highly collaborative, entrepreneurial environment where innovative thinking and rapid delivery are essential.

Your Background

Essential

• 3-5 years of actuarial experience within life insurance, short-term insurance, compensation funds, or related insurance environments.
• Strong actuarial fundamentals, including pricing, probability, discounting, cash flow modelling, and expense allocation.
• Experience supporting product development, pricing, or commercial actuarial initiatives rather than purely valuation work.
• Advanced Microsoft Excel skills with the ability to build sophisticated analytical models.
• Strong analytical and commercial problem-solving capability, with the ability to solve abstract business challenges.
• Good understanding of customer segmentation, product design, and commercial business drivers.
• Ability to communicate complex actuarial concepts clearly to business stakeholders.
• Understanding of South African insurance regulation, including Twin Peaks and Prudential Authority frameworks.
• Strong report writing and presentation skills.
• Entrepreneurial mindset with the ability to work effectively within an evolving business environment.

Desirable

• Experience within COID, RAF, UIF, ODMWA, or similar regulated insurance environments.
• Progress towards Fellowship with the Actuarial Society of South Africa, including completion of actuarial risk management examinations.
• Experience across both life and short-term insurance pricing methodologies.
• Exposure to technology projects, systems implementation, or actuarial solution design.
• Understanding of business requirements, functional specifications, and technology delivery lifecycles.
• Experience working with multidisciplinary teams across actuarial, business, and technology functions.
• Consulting or product innovation experience.
• Programming experience in Python, R, or SQL would be advantageous, although not essential.
• Experience working within agile or product-led environments.