APR Actuarial Associate Roles

APR are a specialist actuarial employer. We provide both resourcing and consulting solutions to our clients, who are who are primarily life and non-life insurers. If you join us as an actuarial consultant, you’ll spend the majority of your time on client projects, either as part of an APR consulting team, or as a resource seconded to the client. The projects themselves span a large range of areas of actuarial work; typical projects include:

• Providing specialist skills in short supply, such as coding or model development.
• Working on major change projects, for example:
  • those driven by regulatory developments, such as IFRS 17 or other PRA/FCA-led investigations or change.
  • those stemming from strategic business decisions such as acquisitions or risk transfer mechanisms, including actuarial systems migrations, reinsurance and capital management projects.
• Backfilling of BAU work, for example financial reporting and pricing support – great for developing core actuarial skills and knowledge.

By investing in key transferable skills like modelling, coding and data, our experience is that we can make it easier for APR staff to continue to apply their skills both across actuarial sectors rather than being pushed into a particular narrow specialism early in a career.

In selecting client projects for our employees and accepting extensions, we are mindful of the individual’s development goals and preferences, and to the variety of work and technical exposures that people expect when they join us.

In-house work

When not on client project, associates work between home and one of our London, Edinburgh or Dublin offices. A key focus in such periods is on your technical development.  For those in the first couple of years of their career, that’s likely to mean significant time developing higher-order skills in areas like Excel model development, data and coding skills, and other proprietary actuarial modelling software.  For example, many of our clients expect APR actuarial staff to hold strong skills in VBA and R as default and this is honed internally through extensive training and opportunity to participate in our regular Code Clinic.  For more senior staff, there is more likely to be an emphasis on specific proficiency gaps, wider business skills or training tailored to potential next projects.

There is also an expectation that you will contribute towards the development of APR’s business and many of our more senior staff spend some working on in-house matters part-time even when engaged by clients. Our actuarial staff actively participate in all areas of the business; recruitment, training and management may be as expected but also in less typical areas for actuaries such as business development and marketing, project resourcing and proposition development.  Giving significant responsibility even to junior staff is a key principle underlying our business model.

Even with staff being assigned to many different clients and projects, there are plenty of opportunities to collaborate within APR - our close-knit team is something we are very proud of. This collaboration might take the form of getting involved with internal APR work, attendance at training days or internal CPD events, or taking part in social activities.

Training and study 

There is an emphasis on associates qualifying as an actuary quickly but at a pace chosen by the individual and to this end we provide a comprehensive package of support.

• Be a part of technically challenging projects in insurance and consulting. Whether you prefer variety or the opportunity to specialise, we will take your project preferences into account.
• We place a strong emphasis on work-life balance – the weekly hours of most APR staff vary between 37.5 and 42. This reflective of our general culture and approach, which is built on integrity, honesty, and fairness.
• The opportunity to hone your technical and coding skills via APR’s existing expertise, internal training initiatives, and reputation amongst clients.
• The chance to work alongside some exceptional actuarial talents in an environment which champions mutual success.
• The wide range of clients and projects offer greater control over the direction of your career and future specialism.
• You’ll be joining a medium-sized, yet still fast-growing business, in which there are opportunities for those that want them to spend some of your time on non-actuarial work, helping us further develop APR. While not for everyone, many of our staff see this as a great way to develop a more rounded skillset.

Permanent Employed Associate

• You’ll be a fully salaried member of staff, with a competitive basic salary.
• You will earn two quarterly bonuses; one fees-based and one through APR’s profit share arrangement.
• When not on client projects, you’ll be based in one of APR’s offices (London, Edinburgh or Dublin), preparing for your next project or assisting in other areas of the business. This might include developing training material, training other staff, or helping with business development.

Retained Associate

• Paid at a daily rate for client work, based on a percentage of the equivalent market rate for a self-employed contractor, with access to APR’s profit share agreement.
• When not on client projects, you’ll have a guaranteed number of in-house days (paid at an agreed daily rate), which you’ll spend at APR offices, helping to develop the business and your own skills.
• The role allows you to benefit from the upsides of pure contracting, in terms of earning and flexibility, but with added job security.

APR's general philosophy on working practices is to be as flexible and pragmatic as we are able to be. A copy of the working practices policy will be provided during the offer stages of APR employment, but to give potential employees an idea of our approach we have summarised here the arrangements in two key areas:

• Location: we have a range of working practice bases available, each of which sets out the minimum expectations in terms of travel to client sites and attendance at APR offices. Feedback from our existing staff is that these different bases provide them with a welcome degree of freedom to operate in a way that works for them while meeting APR's business needs.
• Working hours: APR has a flexible approach as far as it is practical to do so. For example, one constraint is that some clients may have set working patterns or specified core hours of working, which we are required to honour.

As a caring employer we recognise that some staff may have specific reasons why they are unable to be as flexible as they or we might like, and we are committed to applying our policy in a way that is fair for all.

The table below will help you to gauge potential remuneration, should your application be successful. It is intended as a transparent guide; ultimately, the package we offer will be a competitive market rate for someone of your skills and experience. The below is not applicable for Retained Associates; nor does it make allowances for bonus payments.

A minimum of two years of relevant experience is required, whether that be in life, non-life, pensions, or another field. Further to this, we have listed some competencies which will make you stand out – although a successful candidate need not exhibit all, or even the majority, of these:

• Ability to adapt quickly to new areas of work
• Strong communication and client-facing skills
• Intellectual curiosity
• Technological competence
• Numerate ability
• Deep knowledge in a specific actuarial area
• Natural fit with our core values

If you can demonstrate the above, as well as any unique experience and skills you can bring to our team, we’d love to hear from you. We would also encourage people who have taken a non-standard career path to apply.

The precise way we will assess your application and decide whether you would be a good fit for the APR team (and vice versa!) is likely to vary depending on your experience. As a default, however, we will tend to follow the process below. This has been built to assess how successful we believe you would be at APR, and feedback from applicants at all levels suggests that they find this an engaging approach.

CV and online form – An opportunity to show us you’re qualified, motivated and want to join us.

Online Technical Assessment – A mainly numerical test to let you show us your mathematical competence and knowledge. We have provided a few sample questions to give an idea of what this test will involve here for details.

Telephone interview – A discussion with a senior member of staff on your reasons for applying to APR, as well as industry and technical knowledge.

Final Assessment – A two-hour session which will include a presentation by you, followed by a formal interview. Depending on your level of experience, we may ask you to take a technical assessment. This stage is done virtually as default, but can also be conducted face-to-face.

As a career-changer, having previously been a Government Statistician, a major positive of working at APR has been the organisation’s flexibility in recognizing existing skills whilst providing interesting, tailored, and relevant training. I have found the culture of the organisation to be highly supportive and inclusive, with colleagues sharing expertise and a sense that we all succeed together. There is genuine recognition & reward for efforts & achievements, and support to develop our careers, whether that be within a technical specialism or growing our roles within the wider business.

My main reason for applying to APR was the variety of actuarial projects on offer, having previously been exposed to a somewhat narrow range of experience in my previous job. 

However, since joining, I’ve been pleasantly surprised at the overall experience of working at a fast-growing company with a flat management structure. There are many opportunities to get involved in business development projects, and I greatly value the community feel across the company.

After spending three years rotating between various teams across my former insurance organisation, I chose to join APR. APR provided me with a rare opportunity to continue experiencing a variety of work, across both Life and General Insurance sectors.

With its open-minded culture, flexibility and excellent training, APR prepares employees for work in a multitude of areas. This allows different pathways to be explored and broadens your horizon.