Head of Vitality Life R&D

About The Role
Team – Enterprise R&D LAB
Working Pattern - Hybrid – 2 days per week in the Vitality London Office. Full time, 37.5 hours per week.
We are happy to discuss flexible working!
Top 3 skills needed for this role:

• Strategic product innovation
• Stakeholder influence and communication
• Cross-functional leadership

What this role is all about:
At Vitality, we're committed to continually evolving our products and propositions to meet the changing needs of our members. This is a rare opportunity to be at the centre of the research, development and innovation agenda for VitalityLife, shaping future product strategy, driving commercial growth and bringing new ideas from concept through to market delivery. As Head of VitalityLife R&D, you will provide strategic leadership across product development, pricing, implementation and innovation, while acting as a trusted adviser to senior stakeholders across the business.
Key Actions

• Develop, own and deliver the VitalityLife R&D strategy
• Lead the conception, design and evaluation of new product structures
• Assess and model the financial impact of product propositions using actuarial judgement and validated assumptions
• Present recommendations to senior executives, including ExCo and strategic forums
• Own and produce end-to-end product specifications for implementation
• Be in charge of complex design and business definition workshops across digital, IT, operations and change teams
• Monitor product performance and identify opportunities for optimisation and strategic intervention
• Identify, evaluate and develop new business line opportunities
• Provide senior technical and commercial leadership across the organisation
• Lead and develop teams supporting product development and implementation activities

What do you need to thrive?

• Postgraduate degree in a quantitative subject and/or Qualified Actuary (FIA/FFA)
• Significant experience operating in a senior leadership capacity
• Experience developing and launching complex financial or insurance products
• Strong commercial acumen and strategic thinking capability
• Advanced Excel and data analysis skills
• Exceptional presentation and communication skills
• Ability to influence and question senior stakeholders effectively
• Experience of conducting cross-functional teams and complex business initiatives
• Strong analytical and problem-solving capability
• Experience working with life protection products
• Desirable experience using R, Python or SQL
• Experience within management consulting, strategy or technology-led environments

So, what's in it for you?

• Bonus Schemes – A bonus that regularly rewards you for your performance
• A pension of up to 12%– We will match your contributions up to 6% of your salary
• Our award-winning Vitality health insurance – With its own set of rewards and benefits
• Life Assurance – Four times annual salary

These are just some of the many perks that we offer! To view the extensive range of benefits we offer, please visit our careers page. Fantastic Benefits. Exciting rewards. Great career opportunities!
If you are successful in your application and join us at Vitality, this is our promise to you, we will:

• Help you to be the healthiest you've ever been
• Create an environment that embraces you as you are and enables you to be your best self
• Give you flexibility on how, where and when you work
• Help you advance your career by playing you to your strengths
• Give you a voice to help our business grow and make Vitality a great place to be
• Give you the space to try, fail and learn
• Provide a healthy balance of challenge and support
• Recognise and reward you with a competitive salary and amazing benefits
• Be there for you when you need us
• Provide opportunities for you to be a force for good in society

We commit to all these things because we want you to feel that you belong, and are supported to be happy and healthy.
About The Company
We're incredibly proud to be recognised for the culture we've created — recently being named one of Glassdoor's Best Places to Work 2026, and in 2024 we were delighted to be awarded Top 10 Places to Work in the Sunday Times Awards.
Vitality is a multi-award-winning UK insurance brand, here to make the world a healthier, happier place.
We've been a purpose and values-driven business from day 1- long before it became fashionable. Our core purpose is to make people healthier and enhance protect their lives. Vitality pioneered shared-value insurance. We incentivise people to live healthier longer lives – they benefit, our business benefits, and society benefits. We're successful because we attract, develop, and retain the best people – and because we care.
Plus, you get to join our 1.7+ million members with access to our unique health insurance and healthy living programme. Just to make sure you know our products inside and out.
Ready to find out if we're the right fit for you? We can't wait.
Diversity & Inclusion
At Vitality, we're committed to diversity and inclusion because it's good for our employees, for our business, and for society. We welcome applications from individuals of all backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives.
Vitality's approach to sustainability
Vitality is a business that drives positive change. We reward people for making and sustaining healthier choices. But healthy people also need a healthy environment. To learn more please visit our Careers page. #LI-Hybrid
If we are fortunate in receiving a high volume of quality applications we may need to close this vacancy early. If you are interested, please submit your application as soon as possible.