Portfolio Manager - UMA Investments & Brand Strategy
Job Description
Parktown, Johannesburg, South Africa Posted on 04/03/2026
An established Commercial Insurance business is seeking a highly skilled professional to help manage and grow their portfolio of specialist Underwriting Management Agencies (UMAs). This role is central to how they protect and enhance the value of their investments, ensure strong governance, and drive long term performance across the portfolio.
Beyond portfolio oversight, this is a tri mandate leadership role. You will act as a Strategic Brand Advisor to the UMAs and, crucially, as the Lead Architect for the Brand. You will be responsible for delivering their value proposition to the market as the premier "home of choice" for top tier UMAs, developing the strategy to attract new partners, and directing the execution of that vision.
This is a high impact, tri mandate leadership role combining:
- Portfolio oversight and shareholder representation
- Strategic brand advisory to partner UMAs
- Enterprise brand leadership and market positioning
The successful candidate will play a central role in protecting and enhancing investment value, strengthening governance, driving long term profitability, and positioning the business as the premier "home of choice" for top tier UMAs. The successful candidate will operate at Board level, influence Founders, and drive measurable portfolio growth.
What You'll Be Accountable For- Interrogating loss ratios, pricing adequacy, underwriting discipline, and distribution quality.
- Monitoring performance against business plans and strategic targets.
- Identifying value creation opportunities and cross portfolio synergies.
- Providing informed challenge to leadership teams to ensure disciplined, profitable growth.
- Acting as the primary interface between the Insurance License and its UMA partners.
- Ensuring compliance with binder agreements, License conditions, and regulatory frameworks.
- Representing shareholder interests at a strategic level.
- Repositioning and refining the License's market narrative and competitive differentiation.
- Designing and executing a clear strategy to attract high quality UMA partners and books of business.
- Driving thought leadership and visibility in the Specialist Risk and UMA ecosystem.
- Leading internal and/or external resources to deliver measurable brand impact.
- Supporting partners (where welcomed) in refining their go to market strategy.
- Strengthening value propositions to enhance broker distribution and growth.
- CA(SA), Actuary, CFA or Marketing/Business degree with strong postgraduate analytical depth.
- 5+ years in Management Consulting, Private Equity, or Senior Brand Strategy within Financial Services.
- A deep understanding of the South African insurance landscape and the UMA model.
- Demonstrated experience building and executing a brand strategy that delivered measurable commercial results.
- Experience engaging Boards and Founders with confidence and authority.
- Strategic Architect - You can build long term brand and growth strategy from first principles.
- Commercially Driven - You are motivated by enterprise value, market share, and sustainable profitability.
- Influential Operator - You command credibility in a Boardroom.
- Execution Focused - You take ownership of delivery and results.
- Hybrid Thinker - Comfortable moving between complex reinsurance discussions and high level brand positioning sessions.