• Are you a commercially minded operational leader who can lead the development of our retention strategy and turn this strategy into practical action, lift customer engagement and enable customers to retain the protection they need?

• Can you help shape an experience that help customers and our distribution partners achieve positive outcomes throughout the retention and customer lifecycle journey?

About the opportunity

We are seeking a Head of Retention to lead retention activity across the customer lifecycle and help strengthen long-term customer value for Partners Life.

This is a key leadership role focused on improving customer engagement and persistency outcomes, ensuring customers and distribution partners receive the right support at the right time.

Reporting to the Chief Operating Officer, you will lead the customer retention function, ensuring customer contact, service execution and frontline capability are effective, fair, controlled and sustainable. You will translate retention strategy into practical operational plans, performance rhythms and targeted interventions that improve customer outcomes, persistency and commercial performance.

Working across Operations, Customer Solutions, Distribution, Risk, Finance, Data & Analytics, and governance forums, you will align retention priorities, manage emerging risks, build frontline capability and deliver sustainable improvements across the customer lifecycle.

Operating at an enterprise level, you will take a holistic view of customer retention, partnering with customer solutions, distribution and other functions to identify and act on key retention drivers.

Working closely with the Retention Value Lead and cross-functional partners, you will provide the leadership, operational expertise and customer insight needed to manage emerging retention risks, improve customer engagement, reduce avoidable lapses and drive continuous improvement across the retention journey.

In this role, you will:

• Lead the development of our retention strategy and operational delivery of retention activity across the customer lifecycle, ensuring activity is well planned, well controlled and aligned to agreed strategy with a holistic mindset.

• Translate retention strategy into practical operational plans, performance rhythms, frontline interventions and measurable delivery outcomes.

• Lead specialist retention teams to deliver effective customer contact, service execution and adviser support that strengthen customer engagement and persistency.

• Identify and implement initiatives that reduce avoidable lapses, improve long-term customer value and support positive customer, adviser and commercial outcomes.

• Use customer insight, operational data, lapse trends and feedback themes to inform priorities, interventions and continuous improvement activity across the enterprise.

• Partner across Operations, Customer Solutions, Distribution, Risk, Finance and Data & Analytics to align retention priorities and deliver sustainable improvements.

• Provide operational insight, readiness and leadership to support strategic change, manage emerging retention risks and embed effective controls.

• Lead, coach and develop a high-performing retention function that is customer-focused, commercially aware and accountable for delivery.

What you will bring

You will have a proven track record of leading high-performing operational teams, improving customer retention outcomes, and partnering effectively across the business to deliver meaningful results. Experience in life insurance or financial services is highly desirable.

You will also bring a balance of strategic leadership, operational discipline, commercial awareness, and a customer-first mindset, with a strong commitment to delivering fair outcomes in a regulated environment. You will be able to demonstrate:

• Significant senior leadership experience who has experience in developing strategy, customer retention, contact centre, service delivery, customer value or related customer lifecycle functions.

• A proven record of leading specialist or frontline teams in complex, regulated and customer-focused environments.

• Strong understanding of retention drivers, persistency outcomes, lapse reduction activity and customer engagement practices.

• The ability to translate strategy into practical operational plans, performance rhythms, service standards and targeted interventions.

• Strong commercial judgement and confidence using data, insight and customer feedback to inform operational priorities and improvement activity.

• Sound knowledge of governance, risk, controls, compliance, conduct and fair customer outcomes.

• The ability to influence senior stakeholders, work across functions and align competing priorities around shared retention outcomes.

• An inclusive, empowering leadership style that builds capability, accountability, resilience and momentum.

About us

Partners Life is one of New Zealand’s largest life and health insurance companies. As part of the Daiichi Life Group, a leading global insurance provider, we are entering an exciting new chapter of growth and opportunity.

We know the industry needs bold thinkers and passionate people to help reshape the future of insurance, and that is exactly who we are looking for. We are committed to doing things differently, driving industry standards, challenging the status quo, and delivering real value through innovation and personalised advice.

If you are looking to join a company that’s redefining the insurance landscape and backed by the strength of a global group, Partners Life is the place to grow your career and make a real impact.

Interested?

If this sounds like the opportunity you’ve been waiting for, APPLY online with your CV and cover letter (optional) highlighting your relevant skills and experience.

To be eligible to apply for this role, you must have the legal right to work in New Zealand.

We are not engaging recruitment agencies for this role.