Head of Special Projects

Role Overview

The Head of Special Projects will work closely with the MD & CEO to shape business strategy, identify growth opportunities and lead selected strategic initiatives from concept to implementation. The role connects customer needs, distribution dynamics, product choices, business economics and organisational capabilities to develop practical recommendations for building and scaling the business.

This is a broad business strategy and execution role with an enterprise-wide perspective. The individual should be comfortable working with financial numbers and understanding how channels operate on the ground, which products can succeed through them, what capabilities are required, and what makes a proposition viable for customers, partners and the company.

Key Responsibilities

1.

Business

Strategy and Opportunity Development

- Work with the CEO and leadership team to shape medium- and long-term strategy, including customer segments, growth priorities and choices on where to compete.

- Identify and evaluate new business opportunities through market research, customer and partner interactions, field insights and competitive analysis.

- Integrate distribution, product, operational and financial considerations; articulate assumptions, trade-offs and risks.

- Translate broad ideas into clear proposals covering the opportunity, strategic fit, business model, required capabilities and recommended next steps.

2.

Distribution

Channels and Partnerships

- Evaluate potential channels and partnerships, including opportunities through the promoter groups network and relevant financial services and distribution ecosystems.

- Understand channel dynamics such as customer access and trust, seller behaviour, partner incentives, sales processes, productivity, training, servicing and collections.

- Develop viable distribution models that integrate the customer and partner propositions, product fit, commercial arrangements and operating requirements.

- Assess channel economics with Finance, including achievable volumes, acquisition and servicing costs, partner remuneration, productivity, profitability and capital implications.

- Work with business owners to design pilots, support partnership discussions and recommend whether to launch, refine or scale opportunities.

3.

Customer

Propositions and Product Strategy

- Identify customer protection and savings needs, particularly among underserved and unserved segments, and translate them into commercially viable propositions.

- Assess product-channel fit, considering affordability, simplicity,



customer behaviour, sales capability, servicing and long-term customer outcomes.

- Work with Product, Distribution and Operations to evaluate product options and build an integrated product and channel roadmap.

- Evaluate product opportunities based on customer value, competitive positioning, expected demand, persistency, claims experience, profitability and capital requirements.

- Coordinate selected proposition pilots and launches with functional owners; use results to recommend changes and scaling decisions.

4.

Operating

Model, Organisation and Capabilities

- Determine execution requirements for proposed business models, including people, roles, skills, processes, technology, service capacity and governance.

- Assess staffing and deployment models for new initiatives, including central teams, field support and partner-facing resources.

- Work with functional leaders to evaluate build, buy, partner or outsource options and define practical implementation approaches.

- Identify cross-functional dependencies and execution bottlenecks; develop solutions that balance growth, cost, customer experience and control.

5.

Strategic

Projects and Execution

- Lead selected CEO-sponsored cross-functional projects, such as new distribution models, retail business development, partnerships, operating model changes and business improvement initiatives.

- Bring relevant teams together, resolve interdependencies and drive agreed actions through to completion.

- Use pilots and structured experimentation to test critical assumptions before committing significant resources.

6. CEO Decision Support and Strategic Alignment

- Act as a thought partner to the CEO on complex business questions, developing clear options and evidence-based recommendations supported by commercial judgement.

- Interpret financial and business information to explain performance drivers and implications for strategic decisions.

- Work with Finance and other functions on scenarios covering growth, product and channel mix, costs, profitability and capital needs.

- Prepare strategy papers and decision materials for leadership, Board and shareholder discussions,



and support alignment on strategic priorities.

- Support focused reviews of CEO-sponsored initiatives, highlighting material issues, decisions required and corrective actions.

Qualifications & Experience

Education

- MBA or equivalent postgraduate/professional qualification in business, strategy, finance, economics, actuarial science or a related discipline. Relevant experience and demonstrated capability will also be considered.

Experience

- Typically 812 years of relevant experience in corporate strategy, business development, strategy consulting, a CEOs office, business management or cross-functional transformation.

- Experience in insurance or financial services, with a practical understanding of customers, distribution models and business economics.

- Demonstrated ability to assess opportunities across customer proposition, channel, product, operating model, resources and financial viability.

- Experience taking strategic initiatives beyond analysis into pilots, launch or implementation.

- Strong analytical skills and financial fluency, including the ability to interpret business models and assess scenarios with Finance colleagues.

- Ability to engage senior stakeholders and communicate transparent recommendations through concise writing and effective presentations.

Key Competencies

- Ability to connect the dots across functions and see the business as a whole.

- Strategic thinking combined with practical commercial judgement.

- Customer orientation and curiosity about how distribution works on the ground.

- Structured problem solving in ambiguous situations.

- Ability to balance growth, customer outcomes, profitability, capital and execution capacity.

- Ownership, resourcefulness and strong follow-through.

- Ability to influence and collaborate without relying on direct authority.

- High integrity, sound judgement and discretion.

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

- Quality and usefulness of recommendations in shaping strategic choices.

- Development of viable business opportunities with clear customer, partner and company value.

- Delivery of assigned strategic projects against agreed outcomes and milestones.

- Evidence from pilots that supports sound decisions on scaling or changing course.

- Business impact of implemented initiatives, measured through relevant indicators such as channel productivity, customer adoption, persistency, profitability, cost or service improvement.

- Alignment and effective collaboration across functions on CEO-sponsored priorities.

📌 Head of special Projects (Bengaluru)
🏢 Stellaspire
📍 Bengaluru