Insurance Venture Lead

We're looking for an Insurance Venture Lead

As the leader of the Insurance Venture your mission is nothing short but to revolutionise the SME insurance industry. Say goodbye to painful processes and opaque fee structures. Say hello to insurance without lengthy forms, fine print, and no hidden fees, just an intuitive process that makes buying business insurance a joy. If things go as planned we’d expect you to build an operation that insures more SMEs per month than anyone else in the market.

Our right to succeed in this industry are a combination of our track record in solving complex problems, a deep and trusted relationship with more than 100,000 SMEs and our tech & data competency which enable us to build first in class underwriting and servicing capabilities. Add our determination to make a visible change to this industry and you have an explosive cocktail.

About us

Small businesses move fast. Opportunities often don’t wait, and cash flow pressures can appear overnight. To keep going, and growing, SMEs need finance and insurance that’s as flexible and responsive as they are.

That's why we built iwoca. Our smart technology, data science and five-star customer service ensures business owners can act with the speed, confidence and control they need, exactly when it's needed.

We’ve already cleared the way for 100,000 businesses with more than £4 billion in funding. Our passionate team is driven to help even more SMEs succeed, through access to better finance and other services that make running a business easier.

Our ultimate mission is to support one million SMEs in their defining moments, creating lasting impact for the communities and economies they drive.

That’s why we’ve started kicking the tires on solving more problems that we’ve identified over the years. SME insurance is top of the list. It’s a market that is in desperate need of change to stop SMEs being oversold, overpriced insurance. The Insurance Venture team acts as a startup within a scale-up. It operates as an autonomous unit reporting to the CEO.

Your mission

This role provides full ownership over the direction and operation of this new venture, with direct accountability for its success and long-term scaling. In this role you report directly to the CEO and Board on all deliverables and milestones, maintaining accountability for the venture's success. You build and own the team, you are responsible for the go-to-market strategy, an irresistible proposition, end to end implementation and PNL.

Growth and Milestones within 24 months

• Define the strategy: Create the strategy that enables us to deliver on our mission

• Create an Irresistible Proposition: Design and build a product and service that customers intuitively understand and value, delivering a solution so compelling and effective that customers cannot resist it.

• Regulatory Architecture: Secure the necessary regulatory status (Broker or MGA) and build a compliant, scalable governance framework.

• Drive Go-to-Market Strategy: Manage and define a comprehensive go-to-market strategy to ensure widespread customer awareness of our product and service, ensuring we reach the right SMEs at the right time.

• Build the team: Build and lead the founding team to achieve product-market fit, hiring best-in-class talent across underwriting, operations, and growth.

• Demonstrate demand: Learn how existing and new to iwoca customers respond to your proposition.

• Commercial Accountability: Manage the P&L and seed capital over 24 months of the new venture, establishing a robust financial reporting and governance cadence.

Requirements

Essential:

• Operate like a founder: Be the chief architect and driving force behind the new business. Execute and iterate at lightning speed while thinking multiple steps ahead at all times. Take an "everything is possible" approach and execute it.

• Deep insurance industry experience: A strong background in the insurance sector (Broker or MGA) with specific expertise in regulatory frameworks and managing license applications.

• Commercial and GTM Strategy: Commercial experience in a strategy or leadership role within Insurance. Must have a proven track record of defining and executing go-to-market strategies that attract and onboard clients.

• Strategic leadership: Proven ability to build and lead high-performing, cross-functional teams, ideally in a start-up or new venture environment.

• Tech & Data First Mindset: An understanding of how to build underwriting models and operations that leverage data and automation rather than relying solely on manual processes.

• Critical thinking: Exceptional critical thinking and problem-solving skills, with the ability to conceive, manage, and deliver complex strategic projects.

Salary

We expect to pay up to £150,000 - £300,000 for this role depending on your experience and capabilities. We’re open-minded, so definitely include your salary goals with your application. We routinely benchmark salaries against market rates, and run quarterly performance and salary reviews.

Our Culture

At iwoca, we prioritise a culture of learning, growth, and support, and invest in the professional development of our team members. We value thought and skill diversity, and encourage you to explore new areas of interest to help us innovate and improve our products and services.

Our Offices

We put a lot of effort into making iwoca a great place to work:

• Offices in London, Leeds, Berlin, and Frankfurt with plenty of drinks and snacks.

• Events and clubs, like bingo, comedy nights, football, etc.

Our Benefits

• Flexible working hours.

• Medical insurance from Vitality, including discounted gym membership.

• A private GP service (separate from Vitality) for you, your partner, and your dependents.

• 25 days’ holiday per year, an extra day off for your birthday, the option to buy or sell an additional five days of annual leave, and unlimited unpaid leave

• A one-month, fully paid sabbatical after four years.

• Instant access to external counselling and therapy sessions for team members that need emotional or mental health support.

• 3% Pension contributions on total earnings.

• An employee equity incentive scheme

• Generous parental leave and a nursery tax benefit scheme to help you save money

• Electric car scheme and cycle to work scheme

• Two company retreats a year: we’ve been to France, Italy, Spain, and further afield

And to make sure we all keep learning, we offer:

• A learning and development budget for everyone.

• Company-wide talks with internal and external speakers

• Access to learning platforms like Treehouse