MBA Future Leaders Program 19/20

About the Future Leaders Program

“We are not here to mass-recruit. We don’t bring in a big group of MBAs and then hope for the best ones to emerge and the others to leave us.

What we are looking for is a handful of special individuals who are seeking a personalized experience that will give them opportunities, challenges, and freedom to explore – ultimately, for them to become the future leaders of this FTSE100 company. 

Yes, we do insurance – bet you think it’s boring? Most of us thought that too. But then we discovered Admiral and the strategic opportunities and challenges of the industry – one where you can really make a difference. And we never left…

If you are curious, pragmatic, nice to work with and are not afraid of making your own way, we want to hear from you. We need leaders who want to have impact - and we’ll help you get there.”

~Admiral – Building CEOs, one at a time~

So who are we and what can this role offer you? 

Admiral Group is a FTSE 100 financial services company, with a market cap of over £6bn and operations in the UK, France, Italy, Spain, the USA, Mexico, India and Canada. A  great company culture is integral to who we are, and in 2019 Admiral was voted the best big company to work for in the UK by the Sunday Times. Founded by two INSEAD MBAs, our company highly values the insights, ideas, and experience that an MBA brings, so we are always on the lookout for talented people to drive our business forward. 

In the UK, the role reports directly to our Group CEO designate, Milena Mondini, and focuses on three areas – strategy, new ventures, and product – both in the UK operations and internationally. You’ll be working as an internal senior strategy consultant for CEOs and senior management to solve real business problems. No prior knowledge or experience in insurance or financial services is required - rather we look for the willingness to learn and develop yourself in the role, as well as leverage your past experience and skills. You’ll also have the opportunity to work on projects based in our international offices in France, Italy, Spain and the USA. 

Working as part of our MBA team means taking ownership from day one – we expect you to run your projects autonomously and produce tangible business results - going above and beyond to make a meaningful and sustainable impact. You’ll need to deliver value to our business, be able to make decisions, and always be on the lookout for improvements and innovative solutions. This is a role at the forefront of pioneering change and you will need to use your initiative, creativity and leadership to make it happen!

If you impress us after 12 months on the program, we expect you to move into a senior position within the company, setting you up for a successful, rewarding and exciting career with us.  

Most of Admiral’s CEOs and many of our most senior managers started their Admiral careers in this role. 

Visit our Future Leaders Linkedin page to read more about the program and get to know our current MBAs. 

Project scope includes:

The three key focus areas for projects are: Group strategy, new ventures, and product development. 

Specifically, this may include:

• Assessing new ventures - either an extension to an existing business line, or something entirely new to us
• Reviewing the organic growth potential of new business ideas (both high level strategic analysis and detailed financial planning)
• Supporting in-country management teams in solving real business problems
• Providing leadership to help share best practice across the group
• International projects

Main Responsibilities

You’ll be expected to:

• Work together with the company's senior executives to understand the key strategic issues facing the business
• Act in a very entrepreneurial way to provide outcomes, methods and procedures on new assignments
• Provide an expert resource on strategy development for the business, including involvement in and collaboration with various teams to proactively suggest potential projects
• Structure and execute operational and strategic initiatives by developing work plans, gathering and synthesizing relevant data, analyses and developing final recommendations
• Communicate findings and share results with senior management and the broader organization
• Drive proposals through to implementation and final results
• Work together with various stakeholders to take products from ‘test and learn’ into ‘production’ phase

Location 

You could be based in either Cardiff, Paris, Rome, Seville, or Richmond, Virginia (USA). We usually recommend spending an initial six-month period in our HQ in Cardiff to get familiar with the business at Group level and to network with our senior managers and CEOs. However, this can be discussed based on personal circumstances. 

Specific requirements of the role: 

• MBA from a top business school
• Fluent English (verbal and written)
• Proven experience working in an advisory role, either in a consulting firm, as an in-house consultant or in a demonstrably similar setting (project based, financial and strategic analysis, exposure to senior management, etc)

Desirable traits and attributes: 

• Entrepreneurial mindset and a keen interest in developing businesses
• Analytical and strategic skills, but also pragmatic and results-oriented
• Ability to take responsibility for your projects, whilst still collaborating effectively with colleagues across the business
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills
• Willingness to roll up your sleeves and get involved
• Appetite to work across the Group’s international operations
• Personality and a sense of humour (we believe work should be fun!)
• Passionate about making things happen
• Fluency in one of our operational languages (French, Italian, Spanish) would be a bonus

About the Recruitment Process

To apply for this role, you will need to submit your application online and attach your CV together with cover letter. You’ll also need to enter some personal details. 

If your profile looks right for us, we will invite you to complete an online mathematical test, similar to the numerical portion of the GMAT exam. 

Following this, and depending on your score, you would be invited for a first stage Skype interview with our Executive Recruitment Team. 

If you impress us during this first interview, you will be invited for up to two additional Skype interviews with members of the Business Development Team.

The final stage of our process is an assessment day, which consists of 3-4 interviews with senior managers split over 2 days. This would usually take place in the office within which you'd prefer to be located, however, we are currently running this stage virtually due to COVID-19.

**Start dates are flexible - we will work around your graduation date as well as the current circumstances surrounding Covid-19**

Salary, Benefits and Work-Life Balance

We do not have a set salary for this position, as it will be dependent on the successful candidate's experience. We are happy to see CVs from all candidates who meet the requirements, and will be happy to discuss the remuneration package.

At Admiral, we are proud to be a diverse business where we put our people and customers first. We have great benefits to ensure employees have a great work-life balance; it's one of the reasons we're voted no. 1 in the 2019 Sunday Times Best Big Companies to Work For in the UK. We want you to have an element of freedom to define a working lifestyle that supports this, so accommodate flexible hours wherever possible.

If you would like to be considered for this opportunity, please complete an online application form.

Please note, we are unable to accept CVs via email.

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