Graduate Programme 2019 - Business Consulting - Actuarial

Job description

Our people are at the heart of our continued success. Being part of KPMG is being part of a community of talented and innovative people, working together to have a positive, lasting impact on clients. No one type of person succeeds at KPMG; a diverse business requires diverse personalities, characters and perspectives. Whoever you are, there is a place for you here.

About the programme

Acting as an expert adviser to the insurance industry, our Actuarial team help organisations to manage financial risk. Here, you’ll be given the chance to use detailed analysis of past events to create accurate models of the future – and crucially, advise on their financial implications.

It’s a highly technical role, best suited to graduates who are numerate, extremely ambitious and able to communicate complex ideas to non-specialists. Our Actuarial Graduate Programme is a great opportunity to build a varied career, gain the Actuarial qualification in three to five years, benefit from a range of training options and help clients to solve complex business challenges.

Key skills required

We look for graduates who are highly numerate – and studying a numerically based honours degree or post graduate degree in a numerical subject (for example, Engineering or Physics). 

You’ll also need to be motivated to qualify as an Actuary and ideally be someone who might previously have considered investment banking or other similar roles.

You could find yourself:

- Supporting a major client in a retender of their retail contract to determine their requirements for a Partner arrangement

- Conducting client interviews and data analysis to help determine the best sourcing strategy for the finance function of a global oil company

- Performing research to help us develop innovative thinking we can take to our clients

As technology is a large part of the role that we do in Customer, it is also important that you demonstrate an interest in technology.

What are we looking for you to show us?

During the recruitment process, you will need to demonstrate KPMG's Global Behavioural Capabilities which will give us confidence you’ll be successful in the firm. By this, we mean the skills and behaviours that every person here at KPMG shares. To us, ‘behaviours’ are more than the way you act – they represent the set of values that underpin our business.

KPMG's Global Behavioural Capabilities are:

- Career Motivation

- Delivers Quality 

- Drives Collaboration and Inclusion 

- Strives for Continual Improvement 

- Exercises Professional Judgement 

- Makes an Impact

- Seizes Business Opportunities 

- Demonstrates Innovation and Curiosity 

- Resilience 

Further information on these behaviours can be found at www.kpmgcareers.co.uk/behaviouralcapabilities

What your job will involve

Within Actuarial, there are two different areas which you could join: Life Actuarial Services and General Insurance.

Life Actuarial Services

Life Actuarial Services provides advice to the Life Insurance industry, who in turn provide investment related products (such as endowments or insurance bonds) or protection products (such as term assurance policies or critical illness cover).

General Insurance

General Insurance covers the spectrum of business and personal risks, with types of insurance ranging from standard car and house to more exotic insurances covering satellites, oilrigs or hurricane damage. Changing regulations, new products and developing markets mean that nothing stands still in this challenging and demanding business area. 

The General Insurance Actuarial team advises general insurance companies, reinsurance companies, Lloyd's syndicates, banks and corporations on a wide range of issues. These include start-ups and close-downs of insurance businesses, transactions, risk modelling, capital management liability valuation and catastrophe modelling.

Your training and development

From day one you’ll be on a structured path towards gaining a professional qualification, studying towards the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries' exams on subjects including:

- Financial mathematics and modelling

- Probability and statistics

- Financial reporting and economics

- Actuarial risk managements

- Life and general insurance

Exams are held twice a year, and you can sit as many papers as you like in one sitting.  At KPMG we encourage and reward quick qualification and expect our students to qualify in three to five years. 

Studying is primarily undertaken by a correspondence course; you will also receive internal support from KPMG and attend external tutorials. You will need a high level of commitment.

What do we look for?

Within our recruitment process, we look for more than just your academic results. This wider perspective helps us ensure that we are giving you the best opportunity to demonstrate your potential. We assess your application against KPMG’s Global Behavioural Capabilities and a number of other metrics, including technical background and/or experience, to build our confidence in whether you will be a success at KPMG. 

As a general rule, you'll be expected to meet the following requirements: 

- Minimum grade A GCSE* Maths 

- Minimum grade A GCSE* English Language 

- Minimum of 340 UCAS Tariff points*

- Minimum 2:1 degree in a numerate degree in one of the following: Maths (excluding Actuarial Science), Economics, Physics or Engineering

* or equivalent

Please note that we only consider a candidate's top 3 A-level grades and do not accept General Studies.

Additional details

Salary is competitive 

Your KPMG experience

At KPMG, your long-term future is every bit as important to us as it is to you. That’s why our aim is to give you experiences that will stay with you for a lifetime. Whether it’s great training and development,  the chance to work with a wide range of clients or volunteering opportunities - you’ll gain a wealth of experiences on which to build a rewarding career. We’re proud of our culture – it’s one that recognises hard work, encourages new ways of thinking and embraces diversity and inclusion. We also have an innovative spirit which inspires what we do and how we do it – striving to be better lies at the heart of who we are.

We’re at our best when you’re at your best – that’s why we’ve created ‘Our Deal’ and ‘The Academy’. They’re our way of recognising and rewarding our colleagues for giving their best at work. Through ‘The Academy’, you’ll have access to communities which will support and develop you so that you build your skills and career. From preferential banking to cash towards student loan payments and your birthday off, we’re making sure that our people have an amazing experience.

 
Applying with a Disability

KPMG are proud to be an inclusive, equal opportunity employer and we seek to attract and retain the best people from the widest possible talent pool. As a member of The Employers’ Forum on Disability we’re committed to ensuring that all candidates are treated fairly throughout the Recruitment Process. Should you be successful after the initial application stage, please discuss with your recruitment contact any reasonable adjustments to our Recruitment Process that you may require.

KPMG’s commitment to diversity:

KPMG consistently features in the Sunday Times Best Big Companies to work for, which has been recognised with a special achievement award to mark our 10 years in the Top 25. We pride ourselves on being a place where your individuality is valued; you can be yourself and still achieve your potential. We believe that your individuality helps us to deliver the best results to our clients. Diversity of background, diversity of experience, diversity of perspective - that's the KPMG difference. But, don't take our word for it, find out more about diversity at KPMGhere .

Policy for Agencies
KPMG has a commitment to sourcing candidates directly and as such we do not accept speculative CV’s from agencies. Please check here to see our policy on agencies:Policy