Cluster Manager - Axis - Begusarai

Job purpose

The role is centered on nurturing a strong and forward-moving partnership with the bank in the assigned cluster. It involves supporting the bank partner’s strategy, following bank norms and agreed operating guidelines, delivering operational excellence, and ensuring high-quality pre-sales and post-sales support. The position is expected to deliver fast execution, help drive ABSLI’s business objectives, and contribute to business expansion.

Job context and challenges

This role sits within the bancassurance distribution model, where the bank enables an insurance company to offer products to its customer base. ABSLI partnered with a nationalized bank in July 2023 to distribute insurance through non-branch banking channels and Bharat Banking.

The open-architecture environment gives customers the freedom to choose life insurance solutions from more than one insurer at competitive pricing. At the same time, it reduces the risk of mis-selling and operates within a regulatory framework that includes RBI and IRDAI oversight.

Dimensions

The job has an impact across the following areas:

• Manpower: Spread across the dedicated cluster
• Branch spread: Alternate and retail

Key accountabilities

Business targets: Drive performance on key business measures such as premium, SP/branch activisation, product mix, and persistency to support growth and profitability.

• Develop a productive working relationship with the bank partner and aim to be the insurer of first choice.
• Plan and deliver business outcomes through the team of FLS and SPs mapped to the bank.
• Increase SP activisation and drive a higher number of policies through the FLS team to expand distribution of ABSLI products.
• Promote the right product mix as defined by the organization to strengthen growth and profitability.
• Spot and execute new business opportunities within the assigned area to deepen penetration.
• Roll out organizational programs and activities that improve visibility, reinforce branding, and strengthen the bank relationship.
• Train bank staff on ABSLI products and evaluate their understanding so the brand stays top-of-mind.
• Ensure business is sourced through the correct process and maintain zero tolerance for mis-selling.

Pre- and post-sales support: Provide efficient, competitive support and service to the bank partner and its customers.

• Enable FLS team members to sell ABSLI products independently by helping them assess customer needs accurately.
• Support the team in closing important sales calls through mentoring and example-setting.
• Guide the FLS team so internal coordination runs smoothly and bottlenecks in policy logging and issuance are resolved quickly.
• Train the team on end-to-end policy logging and issuance so processes are completed correctly the first time and leakage is minimized.
• Create effective ways to address customer queries and protect persistency levels.
• Equip the team to cross-sell and upsell ABSLI products based on customer needs.

Partner relationship management: Strengthen the bank relationship and position ABSLI as a preferred partner.

• Stay well-versed in the bank’s product range and key features, alongside ABSLI offerings.
• Build a team capable of supporting the bank in meeting its business goals.
• Visit bank branches regularly and engage with bank partners.
• Create differentiated strategies to improve mindshare and product mix based on branch potential.
• Support bank branches in increasing their overall life insurance business share.
• Coordinate with regional and zonal training teams to ensure regular product training and in-branch branding for bank staff and FLS teams.
• Design contests and recognition platforms to improve engagement among bank staff.

People development: Build a motivated, high-performing team.

• Attract, hire, and retain talent, while providing the team with the right support and handholding.
• Track team performance every day and coach FLS members who are in the middle or lower performance bands.
• Co-create recognition initiatives that help build a capable and driven cluster team.
• Provide clear, constructive feedback and maintain team morale for stronger sales performance.
• Ensure balanced performance across the team so members can qualify for contests, initiatives, and incentives and remain engaged.

Business quality and profitability: Focus on renewals, quality, and cost discipline to protect profitability.

• Deliver profitability and persistency targets for the relationship in the assigned zones.
• Keep expenses within the approved expense gap.
• Plan and monitor renewals while ensuring the sales team maintains strong persistency focus.
• Keep business leakage within permitted limits.
• Track and manage product mix across the circle to meet channel targets.

Direct reports

This role represents ABSLI at the assigned branches and is accountable for sales performance, new business acquisition, and relationship management across the mapped area/branches.

Key relationships

Internal stakeholders: FLS team, Training team, Operations, HR

• FLS team: Daily interaction for reporting, coaching, counselling, reviewing sales calls, and related support.
• Training team: Engage as needed to discuss training and counselling requirements for the cluster and jointly design interventions.
• Operations: Work daily to coordinate policy login and issuance.
• HR: Stay in regular contact for hiring, retention, and counselling on team-related concerns.

External stakeholders: SPs, Branch manager, Cluster Head

• SPs: Regular engagement to connect and encourage.
• Branch manager: Ongoing relationship building, product discussions, and feature updates.
• Cluster Head: Regular collaboration to achieve targets, resolve concerns, and respond to bank escalations.

Additional information

The role requires strong adherence to process, active field engagement, and a deep focus on sales quality, service delivery, team capability, and partner engagement. The selected candidate will be expected to help the cluster grow while maintaining compliance, persistency, and profitability discipline.