Complaints, Claims & Incident Management Manager

Location: Hybrid / Stratford, London, UKjob type: Permanent / Full-timeSector and subsector: Business Operations | Risk ManagementSalary: Competitive salary

Job title: Complaints, Claims & Incident Management Manager

Reporting to: Head of Risk and Policy

Hours: Full time Mon-Fri 9am-5.30pm (37.5 hours per week)

Location: Stratford, London office – Hybrid working – must be willing to travel to all current & future Affinia office locations as required.

Affinia is the UK’s largest purpose-led, purpose-built Accountancy firm, focused on building stronger, more valuable relationships. With over 1,060 colleagues across the East, South East, London and the Midlands, we are dedicated to supporting our clients, colleagues and communities. We advise businesses, public sector organisations, charities and individuals throughout the UK and internationally across six Service Lines – Accountancy & Advisory, Tax and Planning, Audit & Assurance, Corporate Finance, Payroll and Corporate Recovery. Our team also offer in-depth sector expertise across a number of sectors, ensuring our clients receive the best short to medium and long-term advice, tailored to them. We are committed to delivering excellence in every aspect of our work, adapting to the evolving technology and regulatory landscape while consistently exceeding client expectations.

Our people are our most valuable asset. We are therefore committed to supporting our colleagues throughout their professional development, providing guidance and training at whatever stage of their career they join us.

Purpose of the role:

The Complaints, Claims & Incident Management Manager is responsible for leading the firm’s complaints, claims and incident management framework, ensuring operational incidents, client complaints, insurance claims, data protection incidents and regulatory matters are identified, investigated, managed and resolved effectively. The role serves as the firm’s subject matter expert for complaints handling, insurance claims, incident investigations, root cause analysis and risk mitigation activities.

Working closely with the Head of Risk & Policy, Chief Risk Officer, Service Line Heads, insurers, brokers and external advisers, the role protects the firm from operational, financial, regulatory and reputational harm through effective governance, robust investigations and proactive risk management.

The role has significant responsibility for supporting the firm’s insurance programme, including Professional Indemnity Insurance, Cyber Insurance, Directors’ & Officers’ Insurance, Crime Insurance and other corporate insurance arrangements, ensuring that claims and circumstances are managed appropriately and that lessons learned contribute to improvements in controls, policies and operational practices.

Accountabilities:

Complaints Management

• Manage the firm’s complaints process, ensuring complaints are logged, investigated, resolved and escalated in accordance with regulatory, professional and internal requirements.
• Provide advice and support to Service Line Heads on the handling of complex, sensitive or high-risk complaints, including response strategies and resolution outcomes.
• Monitor complaint trends, maintain the Incident Management Register and produce management reporting to the Audit, Risk and Compliance Committee (ARCC) that identifies recurring issues, emerging risks and improvement opportunities.

Insurance & Claims Management

• Lead the management of insurance claims, circumstances and notifications across all corporate insurance programmes, including Professional Indemnity, Cyber, Directors’ & Officers’, Crime, Employers’ Liability, Public Liability and Property Insurance.
• Assess complaints, incidents and regulatory matters to determine potential insurance exposure, notification requirements and claims implications, providing guidance to Service Line Heads and stakeholders.
• Manage relationships with insurers, brokers, loss adjusters and legal advisers, maintaining Insurance Log and Small Claim Bordereaux and supporting annual insurance renewal processes.
• Maintain and operate the firm’s incident management framework, ensuring incidents are logged, classified, investigated and escalated appropriately.
• Support investigations into significant incidents, service failures, control weaknesses and near-miss events, gathering evidence and preparing reports for senior management.
• Coordinate incident response activities through to closure, ensuring lessons learned are identified, communicated and embedded across the business.

Root Cause Analysis & Remediation

• Conduct root cause analysis for complaints, incidents, claims and control failures to identify underlying causes, systemic weaknesses and areas for improvement.
• Develop corrective and preventative action plans that address identified risks and strengthen the firm’s control environment.
• Monitor remediation activities through to completion, assessing effectiveness and promoting continuous improvement through lessons learned.
• Support investigations into regulatory breaches, compliance failures, and data protection incidents.
• Coordinate with the Data Protection Officer and IT teams on breach investigations, cyber events and notification requirements.
• Maintain accurate records, audit trails and supporting documentation for regulatory reviews and internal governance purposes.

Governance & Reporting

• Produce high-quality management information, reporting and trend analysis relating to complaints, claims, incidents and insurance matters.
• Provide insight, recommendations and emerging risk updates to the Head of Risk & Policy, Chief Risk Officer and ARCC.
• Produce reporting packs to support effective oversight and decision-making.

Risk Mitigation & Continuous Improvement

• Identify emerging risks, recurring themes and control weaknesses arising from complaints, claims and incident management activities.
• Recommend enhancements to policies, procedures, controls and operational practices that reduce risk exposure and improve resilience.
• Build strong relationships with Service Line Heads and support functions to promote proactive risk management, awareness and continuous improvement across the firm.

Skills/Qualifications:

• Ideally 7+ years’ experience in Insurance, Claims Management, Risk Management, Compliance, Incident Management or a related field.
• Demonstrable experience managing insurance claims, notifications, insurer relationships, complex complaints and incident investigations.
• Experience working within a regulated environment, preferably professional services and accountancy services.
• Strong analytical, investigative and problem-solving skills, with the ability to conduct root cause analysis and develop practical solutions.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills, including the ability to present findings and recommendations to senior leaders.
• Strong organisational skills, sound judgement and the ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.
• Degree or equivalent qualification in Risk, Insurance, Law, Business, Finance, Compliance or a related discipline.
• Professional qualification in Insurance, Risk Management, Compliance or Governance (e.g. CII, IRM or equivalent).
• Experience managing Professional Indemnity, Cyber, Directors’ & Officers’ or Liability Insurance matters and working with insurers, brokers and legal advisers.
• Experience supporting regulatory investigations, data protection incidents or cyber incidents.

Core Benefits:

At Affinia, our culture is driven by ambition and a commitment to positively impact all the communities we serve. We are dedicated to the success, development, and wellbeing of our colleagues, helping them achieve their goals and seize the opportunities that comes with our growth. Alongside a flexible and inclusive work environment, we offer the following core benefits:

• Auto enrolment Pension Scheme with True Potential.
• Death in Service.
• Professional membership support.
• Paycare – claim money back for Dental / Optical / Professional Therapies
• Dress for your Diary Policy.

Please note that this job profile is not an exhaustive list of duties but merely an outline of the key components of the role. You may be required by your line manager to take on additional responsibilities when requested.

Affinia is committed to being an Equal Opportunity Employer. Our policy is unequivocal: we do not tolerate discrimination based on age, disability, sex, race, religion, or belief, gender reassignment, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy, or maternity, or sexual orientation. We pride ourselves on being an inclusive organisation that actively promotes equality of opportunity for all, valuing the right mix of talent, skills, and potential. We welcome applications from a diverse range of candidates, and selection for roles is based solely on individual merit.

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