Area Manager - HDFC BB - Puducherry

Role overview

This role focuses on generating insurance business through an assigned relationship or channel partner within a defined area or zone. The position requires influencing bank relationships so they can in turn drive customer investments in Birla Sunlife Insurance, while also delivering strong pre-sales and post-sales service support to both the partner and the end customers. A key objective is to meet business targets and sustain quarter-on-quarter growth.

Job context and challenges

The role operates in a market where performance can be affected by volatility, especially because the business largely involves unit-linked products. It also depends heavily on the HDFC branch banking model in an open architecture setup, where the bank’s own priorities may vary, making alignment important. Another challenge is balancing internal process requirements with the expectations of channel partners.

Key responsibilities

• Deliver premium and revenue targets to support the company’s overall growth.
• Maintain regular engagement with channel partners, including multiple branch heads within the bank.
• Identify key decision-makers, map the stakeholder network, and share the relevant information with RH/ZH stakeholders.
• Drive participation in organisational recognition and reward initiatives.
• Create new branch-level activity ideas to improve customer penetration.
• Ensure that changes in processes, rules, and regulations are communicated through appropriate training modules.
• Keep sales and service operations running smoothly, including sales calls, policy issuance, and complaint resolution.
• Manage bank customer needs with suitable products and quality service.
• Build strong working knowledge of both insurance products and bank products.
• Handle relationships across all levels to achieve desired outcomes.
• Develop new business opportunities within the assigned area and relationship base to improve productivity and topline.
• Find creative ways to deepen database penetration through partner collaboration.
• Monitor FLS review mechanisms with a target of 40% activation, 2 cases per active, and 50K ATS focus.
• Maintain the intended product mix of Trad 50%, ULIP 40%, and Term 10%.
• Generate 15% more business than TATA and share inputs for new products and sales pitches based on channel understanding.
• Assess training needs for both internal teams and channel partner teams.
• Review business performance regularly and provide relevant updates to senior stakeholders.
• Connect with customers through welcome calls.
• Resolve customer queries and support renewals so that persistency targets are achieved on time.

Requirements

• Strong relationship management skills for working with channel partners and bank branches.
• Ability to coordinate with multiple stakeholders and decision-makers in a branch banking environment.
• Understanding of insurance products, particularly ULIP, term, and traditional offerings.
• Knowledge of banking products and open-architecture distribution models.
• Capability to manage sales processes, service delivery, issuance, and complaint handling.
• Skill in analysing business performance, tracking targets, and improving persistency.
• Ability to identify training needs and support capability building for partner teams.
• Comfort with market-facing work in a performance-driven and volatile business environment.

Additional information

The role is based in Puducherry and is a full-time, onsite position.

The organization names mentioned in the source include Birla Sunlife Insurance and HDFC branch banking as part of the business context.