Volunteer vacancies
This page contains details of our current “Volunteer vacancies”. "Volunteer vacancies" are opportunities for members of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.
As a volunteer your support helps the profession to develop, and to achieve its strategic objectives.
Read about the benefits and how to get involved.
Current Opportunities
Our current volunteer vacancies are listed below. Click on any of the headings to find out more. If there is nothing, at present, which is attractive to you, please subscribe via the RSS feed below, to be kept up to date as new opportunites are advertised on this page, or contact Debbie Atkins, Volunteer Engagement Manager (pictured left), for more information.
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The Wessex Actuarial Society (one of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries’ Regional Societies) is keen to hear from experienced members who are confident speakers and who would like to volunteer to deliver a presentation at one of the 2013 events later this year.
Topics: Suggestions are requested in any of the following key practice areas, namely:
- Health and Care;
- Life; and/or
- General Insurance
Format and timing: The Wessex Actuarial Society events tend to be attended by approximately 50 members; last for one hour; and the talk would ideally take the form of a 45 minute presentation with 15 minutes for questions and answers. The Society can be flexible on dates/timing but would ideally like to schedule 3 presentations between now and the end of 2013 with the first taking place during June, if possible.
Location: The events are generally held in the Bournemouth area but can be held in Southampton or Eastleigh if easier for the speaker.
How to volunteer and to find out more: If you are interesting in discussing this and finding out more, please contact Matthew Wilmot, Society Secretary. Matthew will be delighted to follow up with all interested parties.
The working party which has been set up to look into "The Role of Actuaries in Life Offices" is looking for an additional member to join this group. In particular, we are seeking to hear from a Fellow who is an actuary in a UK Life Office, who is either an actuarial function holder, with-profits actuary, or another actuary in a senior role.
The role of actuaries in life offices is changing. Regulatory changes have seen the disappearance of the appointed actuary; and the creation of new positions such as the "with-profits" actuary and the "head of actuarial function". Meanwhile life offices have increased their resources on modelling (with actuaries to the forefront) and on risk management (with actuaries often involved – sometimes as Chief Risk Officer).
The objective of the working party’s research is to identify what roles actuaries have in life offices, along with trends, threats to and opportunities for actuaries.
The working party has already started its work, reviewing past literature and looking to use a combination of questionnaires and interviews to find out more about the roles that actuaries currently undertake, and understand the reasons behind the trends. Interviews may also provide insights for the role of actuaries under Solvency II. We intend to produce a written paper from our research and look for opportunities for making presentations.
Additional Support: To complement the existing members of this working party, the working party is now looking for this additional member, specifically an actuary in a UK life office, either an actuarial function holder, with-profits actuary or another actuary in a senior role. In particular, we are looking for this person to guide us with suggested questions that would be capable of being answered by questionnaires/interviews.
How to get involved: If you are a Fellow of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries with the relevant experience and a good, first hand, working knowledge of this topic, please contact Debbie Atkins, Volunteer Engagement Manager, to register your interest. When contacting Debbie please briefly describe your relevant experience and what you feel you could bring to this working party. A note of your ARN would also be helpful.
Do you work in the Life sector? Are you keen to ensure that members of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (IFoA) working in the Life sector are receiving the best opportunities to learn and grow through their continuing professional development (CPD) each year? Can you lead a committee to help ensure the syllabus and core reading is up to date? The Life Education and Continuing Professional Development (LECPD) Subcommittee is seeking to appoint a new Chair to take on these volunteer roles and to help drive this forward.
Scope of work
In addition to ensuring the IFoA is meeting the Education and CPD needs of members who work in the Life practice area, the Chair will lead the committee in specifically considering and focusing on the following:
- Volume of CPD events
- Format of events
- Location and accessibility of CPD for members who are based internationally and in the regions of the UK
- Innovation in terms of looking at, and testing, new delivery methods
- Analysis of feedback
- Changes to the ST2 and SA2 exam syllabus
- Review of the ST2 and SA2 Core Readings
View Task and Person Specification for the role of Chair of the LECPD Subcommittee
View Terms of Reference for the LECPD Subcommittee
Time Commitment – In total, approximately one day per month.
Application - If you are a Fellow of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries with at least 3 years experience and, having read the “Task and Person Specification” document, you would like to volunteer to be considered for the role of Chair, please contact Debbie Atkins, Volunteer Engagement Manager. When contacting Debbie, please provide a brief outline of your background and experience and a note of what you feel you would bring to this role. A note of your ARN would be helpful too.
Deputy Chair – at the same time as recruiting for a new Chair, we are also seeking to appoint a Deputy Chair. The appointment of Deputy Chair offers an opportunity to be considered as the Chair in future but this transition is not automatic. If you would prefer to be considered for this role, initially, please let Debbie know. The Deputy Chair will shadow and support the Chair with a view to taking on the role of Chair in the future.
The Stress & Scenario Testing Working Party of the Institute & Faculty of Actuaries is seeking 2 enthusiastic new members to join this group.
Skills and Experience: Members wishing to volunteer for this working party will have practical experience of leading or managing stress and scenario testing exercises, or using the outputs of such exercises, and will have sufficient time to make a meaningful contribution to the working party’s activities and outputs.
Time Commitment: This working party usually meets once every 3-4 weeks for 90 minutes and are in contact with each other in between meetings. Members may join the meeting via conference call. Minimum time commitment is around 10 hours per month.
At present, the Working Party is focussing on hot topics and current developments in stress and scenario testing, with the aim of producing a useful reference document for stress and scenario testing practitioners and stakeholders. Other activities will be scheduled, potentially including talks and networking events.
How to volunteer: If you would like to be considered for this volunteer role, please contact Debbie Atkins, Volunteer Engagement Manager. When contacting Debbie, please provide a brief description of your relevant skills and experience. A note of your ARN will also be helpful. All expressions of interest will be passed to the Chair of this Working Party, after the closing date, and a decision on who will be invited to join the group will be made, based on the information provided by the member, during early June.
Closing date: 29 May
Many of the societies, companies and associations linked with the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries provide support, to many incredible charities. This section of our volunteer vacancies web-resource highlights these opportunities, in one place, to enable members to see how they can get involved and to provide a contact point for more information.
The current opportunities include:
Supporting actuarial education in Ghana – The London based Worshipful Company of Actuaries together with the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries are seeking to hear from members, and their organisations, who would like to support this charitable initiative. This initiative has been established to further actuarial science by helping a particular university in Ghana to initiate and advance a masters course with the ultimate goal of having this training accepted and recognised as one of the IFoA’s accredited universities for actuarial exams. To enable this vision to be achieved, over the next 3 – 4 years, the profession is seeking support from members and their organisations and for them to volunteer to deploy their resources in the form of skills, knowledge, time and commitment to make this vision become a reality. To find out a bit more please download a letter which Adrian Waddingham CBE, a Past Master of the Worshipful Company of Actuaries, sent out earlier this year. Or to express an interest and find out more please contact Neil Hilary.
If you are a society, company or association linked with the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries and you would like to post details of a charitable opportunity on this section of our website, please contact Debbie Atkins, Volunteer Engagement Manager.
A Professional Development and Responsibility (PDR) role.
Are you a Fellow with at least 6 years experience who is an excellent communicator, with first class presentation skills? If yes, please consider taking this opportunity to help the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (IFoA).
The role: We are looking for Principal Lecturers to deliver the “Specialism Presentation” at the Professional Skills Courses (PSC). The Institute and Faculty’s Registrar, together with the Professional Awareness Committee (PAC), is expanding the speaker panel for courses to accommodate an increased demand for PSC events. We are also enhancing and professionalising the training, feedback and support provided to those members who act as Principal Lecturers.
Skills and experience required: As a Principal Lecturer, you would be asked to facilitate face to face and/or online courses, engaging with newly qualified Fellows and Associates, and students who have reached their sixth anniversary of membership.
We are seeking to build up a group of Fellows who have comprehensive understanding of subject specific material in relation to business to deliver the “Specialism Presentations”. As such you would need to have at least 6 years experience in one of the following practice areas:
- General insurance
- Investment
- Life
- Pensions
Time commitment and tenure: The time commitment would be up to 3 days per year, which would include training. Those invited to join the panel will attend an initial observation of both the online and face to face courses. You will then be asked to confirm your preference for the type of course you would help at. Once trained, it is hoped that a Principal Lecturer will stay on the Speaker Panel for 2, or preferably 3, years.
Principal Lecturers would be asked to help deliver 1 or 2 courses per year, and the time allocation per course is generally 5 hours. Face to face courses are held in London and Edinburgh, and we are considering expanding to Birmingham and/or Manchester. Online courses are delivered from your own location.
Training and development: Following each course facilitation you would receive confidential feedback. This can be reviewed with the Staff Actuary for the course, allowing you to understand how your presentation skills are received and, where necessary, to fine tune and develop them.
Panel members will also have the opportunity to attend an annual training session, where best practice will be shared with other panel members.
View PSC Course objectives – this will provide an overview of the course
View PSC programme timetable – this will show you where the “Specialism Presentation” fits in to the course
How to get involved: If you have the skills and experience and would like to find out more, and potentially get involved, please contact Debbie Atkins, Volunteer Engagement Manager. When contacting Debbie please provide a note of your relevant experience and your specialist area, plus your ARN.
* As this role falls within our “Professional Development and Responsibility” (PDR) criteria those selected to become part of the Speaker Panel would receive a nominal fee per lecture. Reasonable travelling expenses would also be reimbursed to those delivering a face to face presentation.
Our Education Directorate are seeking to hear from Associates and Fellows who already have experience of setting and marking the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries' exams (or equivalent experience) and who would now like to be considered to join a “bank” of volunteers who can be called upon, from time to time, to act as Independent Examiners.
The Role: Independent Examiners are appointed by the profession to assist in monitoring the quality and standards of accredited university degree programmes and university degree programmes with exemption recognition agreements. They report to our Deputy Registrar for quality assurance and will be invited to attend an annual review meeting for those appointed to accredited programmes.
The Key Tasks: If appointed as an Independent Examiner, it will be for an academic year and you will be assigned to a specific university.
During that year you will be asked to:
- Review and comment on draft exam papers and course materials.
- Meet with the university to which you have been assigned.
- Attend the university’s Exam Board at the end of the exam period to agree lists of students recommended for exemptions.
- Attend the Profession’s annual review meeting for accredited university programmes.
- Attend the Profession’s Independent Examiners meeting. (Members may dial in, if preferred).
Tenure: Once appointed to a programme this will be for an academic year, with a maximum term of four years for any one programme.
How to apply: If you would like to be considered as an Independent Examiner, please contact Debbie Atkins, Volunteer Engagement Manager. When contacting Debbie, please give a brief indication of your experience in setting and marking the profession’s exams, or equivalent. We are keen to appoint members who have experience both in actuarial practice and academics involved in teaching actuarial science courses and it would be helpful if you could highlight your relevant experience. Please also provide a note of your ARN.
* Professional Development and Responsibility (PDR) - please note, this is one of a number of opportunities whereby members can offer to provide "paid" support for a fixed service. View details about our PDR.
* In addition to the traditional volunteer roles and tasks which our members undertake each year, there are also a number of other opportunities whereby members can offer to provide "paid" support for a fixed service. These opportunities are not by definition, "volunteering" roles. However, we recognise that the fee paid is nominal and we, as a profession, are therefore extremely grateful to, and reliant upon, those members who provide this service to enhance and develop our profession. We think of this as being part of "Professional Development and Responsibility" [PDR].
As such our Education Directorate is seeking to hear from members who are qualified actuaries and who are willing to provide support in this way in helping to set, mark, and run the profession’s exams. We are seeking support from members who would like to act as:
- Practical Exam Assessors
- Exam Paper Setters
- Independent Examiners ( to review the university teaching and examining to demonstrate equivalence with the Profession’s exams)
- Exam Markers
- Guinea Pigs – to test our exams
- Exam Counsellors
If you are interested in offering your support, or finding out more about any of the above, please contact Debbie Atkins, Volunteer Engagement Manager. When contacting Debbie please indicate the area of interest to you. Please also confirm you are a qualified actuary and provide a note of your ARN.
The Actuary is seeking to build up a bank of volunteers who are willing to undertake the role of vettor during the course of each year.
Each vettor is likely to review one or two editions of the magazine a year. They receive the ‘first proof’ which is a mock-up of the entire magazine. The vettor is expected to read the entire magazine, including news from the Institute and Faculty etc. In doing so the vettor is looking for potential risk areas for any of the parties involved. This would also include gratuitous content.
Vettors are not expected to be on the look-out for spelling mistakes, problems with layout or any editorial work. Others have that duty at the same time.
View the vettors’ guidelines for detailed information about this volunteer role.
Important Timelines: Magazine proofs are produced around one week prior to the print deadline each month so a speedy turnaround is imperative. The vettor should have 5 clear days to perform their role. The magazine production team will provide advance notice of the edition each vettor is listed to review and the dates on which the proof will be supplied and vetting to be completed.
The role is best suited to qualified actuaries with at least 5 years experience.
How to offer support: If you would like to volunteer to become a vettor for The Actuary, or would like to discuss this in more detail, please contact Sharon Maguire, Managing Editor of The Actuary. Sharon will be delighted to hear from all members, throughout the year, who are keen to offer support.
The upcoming Health and Care Conference 2013 takes place at Celtic Manor on 15 – 17 May 2013. Grateful thanks go to the Chair and members of this year’s committee for everything they have done to create what is shaping up to be an excellent and informative event.
Already we are looking ahead to next year’s conference.
We are keen to recruit proactive, innovative volunteers to join the new committee. We are particularly keen to hear from members working in Direct Offices and members with expertise in the following areas:
- PMI
- Long Term Care
- Income Protection
- Critical Illness
In addition, we are also seeking to appoint a member to become the Deputy Chair of this committee for the coming year. Please take a look at the Task and Person Specifications for both roles:
View the "Task and Person Specification" - Committee Member
View the "Task and Person Specification" - Deputy Chair
If you would like to be considered for both, or either of these volunteer roles, please contact Debbie Atkins, Volunteer Engagement Manager, as soon as possible and by 30 May 2013 at the latest. When contacting Debbie please indicate which role is of interest to you and please provide brief details of your relevant experience in the Health and Care Sector. A note of your ARN would also be helpful.
After many years of excellent service to the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries, Sue Elliott is stepping down this summer as Chair of the Health and Care Practice Executive Committee (PEC). We are therefore seeking to appoint a new and experienced Chair to step into this volunteer role for the start of the new session in September.
View the Task and Person Specification
View Terms of Reference
Time Commitment and Tenure: To be able to devote time equivalent to between 1 – 1.5 working days per month. The appointment will commence from the start of the new Sessional year and will be for a period of two years, with an option to extend the appointment for a second term.
Actuaries have long been involved in financial planning for the NHS and the Health and Care arena is a growing area for actuarial work, as the Government looks for ways to restructure the welfare state to meet the changing needs, demands and expectations of a changing population. Evolving health provision models to meet changing needs is also a feature of the expansion of private sector work. Here actuaries work with other health professionals to find appropriate solutions for private medical insurance, income protection, critical illness, and long-term care insurance. The Heath and Care PEC is therefore an exciting, growing and important area for our profession and this volunteer role will help shape our future direction.
How to volunteer: If, having read the attached documents you feel you have the skills and experience, and time, to devote to this important and senior role, please contact Debbie Atkins, Volunteer Engagement Manager. When contacting Debbie, please provide a brief note of your profile within this practice area, your existing experience of chairing a committee and/or subcommittee within the IFoA, and a note of your ARN,
In his Autumn Lecture to the profession, Sir Harry Burns, Chief Medical Officer of Scotland, requested help in developing a model to support his investigations into the causes of low life expectancy, particularly in the west coast of Scotland. The Mortality Research Steering Committee wishes to establish a working party to deliver a cause of death model which can be used to help this research. Whilst the initial focus of the working party will be to provide support to Sir Harry Burns, the issues being investigated have the potential for much wider implications, both at home and abroad, and this provides a great chance for the profession to make a real difference to society.
Membership of this working party will provide a fantastic opportunity to get involved in practical actuarial issues affecting the wider community, and should also provide exposure to influential leaders in a range of fields.
No specialist technical knowledge is required, though actuaries with particular experience or interest in cause of death modelling or model validation would be particularly welcome.
How to get involved: If you would like to offer your support and to find out more, please contact Debbie Atkins, Volunteer Engagement Manager. When contacting Debbie, please provide brief details of your relevant experience. A note of your ARN would also be helpful.
As part of our digital strategy, in the next 8 – 12 months the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries will be engaged in two high level projects:
- the redevelopment of the Profession’s website with a user-centred focus; and
- the creation of a virtual learning environment (VLE).
To help us with this, we are setting up a Digital Volunteer Group - a group of people of all membership categories to be our experts in bringing forward ideas, commenting and guiding us through these projects so that the outcomes will truly reflect our members needs.
There are no formal criteria for members who would like to be a part of this group – all that we ask is that you have an interest in websites, and a familiarity with the profession’s own site, and/or an interest in or previous experience of online learning. We would also expect members to have an understanding of the ‘member journey’ concept. No special technical knowledge is required.
There are likely to be a variety of opportunities over the next few months to get involved – tasks will include exploratory meetings with our digital agency; testing of new proposals/information architecture; and feedback on design issues.
Membership of the Digital Volunteer Group is a great opportunity to get involved with two very important projects which will have long term benefits for the actuarial profession, so If this sort of thing interests you and you would like to join the Group, please contact Emma Pegg
Forthcoming opportunities for our digital volunteers
For the immediate future, we have the following volunteer opportunity coming up, in London in June, for user testing associated with the redevelopment of the website:
- User testing: proposed dates 10 and 11 June
This will involve one-on-one testing on some of the initial visual designs and must be done face to face at Precedent’s offices in London on the above dates. Sessions will last for up to an hour.
For this, we need a cross section of the membership, including:- 2 experienced Fellows;
- 2 newly-qualified Fellows;
- 2 student members who have completed up to 2 years of study;
- 2 student members with over 2 years of study.
If you would like to get involved in either of this specific opportunity, or the more general online testing and feedback, please contact Emma Pegg, as soon as possible.
With a print readership of over 25,000 and an increasing online presence The Actuary is a key platform for news, views and jobs in the actuarial community and the leading publication for the actuarial profession in the UK.
The current Editor is due to step down this year, and SIAS (Staple Inn Actuarial Society) is currently looking for a highly-motivated and enthusiastic successor to lead the editorial team of the magazine going forward.
Do you think you have the energy and dedication to take a role in guiding an expanding specialist production team? Do you have the creative flair yet the eye for detail to preside over a high quality publication?
This is a challenging role and we require a volunteer with strong communication skills, an ability to work under the pressure of meeting publishing deadlines and the commercial awareness to take the magazine forward. However the Editor will be working with a strong team of experienced publishing staff and specialist editors.
View the detailed description of the role
If you think you have got what it takes, and would like to find out more, please submit your expressions of interest, including a CV, to Alvin Kissoon no later than 30 June 2013.
The General Insurance Current Issues newsletter provides a summary of current issues for General Insurance actuaries in sections covering ‘Market News’, ‘Claims and Legal Issues’, ‘Solvency II’, ‘Government and Regulatory Issues’ and ‘International Developments’.
This newsletter is sent out three times per year (January, May and September).
We are currently looking for volunteers to take on a short term project in order to provide a brief write-up (anything from between 500-1500 words) on one of the above noted areas. The next issue is due in September which would involve a couple of hours of work in August.
To find out more or to volunteer to provide support, please contact Dawn McIntosh, Communities Manager for General Insurance. Dawn will be happy to provide you with more information and to discuss this with you.
The Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) Research and Thought Leadership Committee is seeking to complete the skills set on their committee by appointing one, or possibly two, members with extensive experience and insight into Resource and Environment issues. Their steer will be invaluable to the work of this committee. The role would ideally suit a member of the current Resource and Environment Group.
If you would like to offer your assistance and to be considered for this volunteer vacancy, please contact Debbie Atkins, Volunteer Engagement Manager. When contacting Debbie please can you briefly indicate your experience in this field. A note of your ARN would also be helpful.
The Pensions Practice Executive Committee (to be called the Pensions Board, from September) is seeking members with experience of working in defined contribution arrangements to form part of a new volunteer advisory group.
Its main role will be to work with the Pensions Consultations Subcommittee to draft clear, analytical and constructive consultations responses that aim to influence the profession’s key stakeholders. It may also be asked to provide a “DC Viewpoint” on topics under discussion by the Pensions Practice Executive Committee.
Please see the detailed task and person description.
Please see also the Terms of Reference of the PPEC to which this group will report.
If you have relevant knowledge, experience or skills and would like to volunteer to be considered as a member of this group, please contact Debbie Atkins by 28 June. When contacting Debbie please provide a brief note of your relevant knowledge, experience and/or skills. A note of your ARN would also be helpful.
The Professionalism Awareness Committee (PAC) is accountable to the Professional Regulation Executive Committee on all aspect of professionalism education including developing and promoting events and projects to raise awareness of professionalism.
PAC is looking for a General Insurance practitioner to serve on the committee and represent the General Insurance Community. The PAC meets 6 times a year in London (each meeting approx 2 hours).
Skills and Experience: You should have a keen interest in business ethics and professional skills and also have experience of the ethical dilemmas which actuaries face in their daily lives. Experience of serving on an in-house ethics / professionalism committee would be useful and above all a desire to pass on the benefit of your experience to less senior members of the profession.
If you would like to offer your assistance and to be considered for this volunteer vacancy, please contact Debbie Atkins, Volunteer Engagement Manager. When contacting Debbie, please can you briefly indicate your background and relevant experience. Your ARN, if you have one, would also be helpful.
The Finance and Investment Practice Executive Committee (PEC) is seeking to appoint one, possibly two, new members in order to enhance the range of services and the community of members practising in this area.
The PEC acts as a source of expertise within the profession on matters relating to the finance and investment practice area, and has a key role in promoting, supporting and championing the interests of practice area members.
View Detailed Task and Person Specification
(please note, when reading this document, the intention is to change this committee to a Board from September)
Involvement: The PEC meets four times each year (meetings are held at Staple Inn, London, but attendance can be by conference call), and volunteers will also be involved, between meetings, in progressing the PEC’s aims.
If you are a member of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries with extensive experience in finance and investment and you would like to offer your assistance and to be considered for this committee, please contact Debbie Atkins, Volunteer Engagement Manager, by 24 June 2013. When contacting Debbie, please can you briefly indicate your key reason for wishing to join this committee; what you feel you can bring to the role; and a brief synopsis of your relevant background and experience. A note of your ARN would also be helpful.
The Pensions Education and Continuing Professional Development (ECPD) Subcommittee is looking to appoint one additional member to join the committee. To complement the existing skills of this committee, we are seeking to find a member who is an investment specialist.
This Committee plays an important role in shaping the content provided in the profession’s CPD events. They seek to ensure there is a good mix of professionalism, current issues, and hot topics. The work involved includes listening to members’ feedback and identifying topics and potential speakers and in creating and developing an excellent and varied programme.
If you are a Fellow of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (IFoA) and have an enthusiasm for planning CPD events, we would like to hear from you.
Skills and Experience: We are ideally looking for volunteers with:
- Investment experience, especially in dealing with providing investment advice to clients
- an awareness of current issues in pensions
- an ability to come up with ideas and to identify hot topics
- a willingness to pro-actively help organise an event programme (this includes making contact with the potential speakers and the Chair of an event, including securing their support)
- a desire to develop CPD online would also be an advantage but is not essential; and
- experience of organising CPD events is also desirable but not essential
Time Commitment: 2 hour meetings every 4-6 weeks from September through to July. Plus approximately another hour per month for follow up emails/calls etc. This would equate to approximately 2 - 3 hours per month in total. The meetings are held at Staple Inn Hall, in London - attendance via telephone conference call is possible.
How to volunteer: If you would like to volunteer to be considered for this committee, please contact Debbie Atkins, Volunteer Engagement Manager. When contacting Debbie, please give brief details of your relevant experience. A note of your ARN would also be helpful.
The Pensions CPD Committee is currently organising five one day events, to be held throughout the UK, during the autumn of 2013. These will be on the subject of “Current Issues in Pensions” (CIP). The Committee would like to appoint five members, specialising in pensions, to act as the volunteer Chairs.
The five events will be held in:
- Bristol (29 October)
- London x 2 events (6 November and 26 November)
- Glasgow (14 November)
- Leeds (19 November)
These events are one day events, usually attended by around 100 members, focusing on pensions' ‘hot topics’ and being delivered by speakers from various organisations. This year, these events are being further developed and they will now provide a mix of plenaries and workshops allowing delegates a mix of options. As Chair, you would have a high profile at this event and would act as facilitator; deliver the introductions; have a timekeeping role; and would prompt questions from the floor. We are therefore looking for volunteers who are confident and engaging speakers and/or who ideally have some experience of acting as a chair at events and/or forums.
The programme, and choice of speakers, for each of these CIP events is organised by a Sub-Committee of the Pensions CPD Committee. This Sub-Committee will meet, via conference calls, from 2013. At these meetings the Sub-Committee will discuss potential speakers and topics. Once appointed, the Chairs would be expected to join the Sub-Committee and to take an active role in these conference calls, assisting in designing the event programme, proposing and inviting speakers and developing the technical aspect of the marketing material (with assistance from the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries). As volunteer Chair you would be able to claim CPD for attending these meetings, as attendance will be monitored and the content will be relevant to your practice area - this should be recorded as services to the profession. Further details would be supplied at the first conference call.
As Chair, you would attend the event free of charge.
How to volunteer: Please contact Debbie Atkins, Volunteer Engagement Manager, by 28 May 2013. When contacting Debbie please provide brief details of your relevant experience plus a note of the location, or locations, which are of interest to you.
The Financial Reporting Group (FRG) of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries is made up of members from across practice-areas and reports to the International Committee. The FRG is seeking volunteers to help with a number of upcoming projects focused on insurance from June to Autumn 2013.
Skills and Experience:
Volunteers should ideally be
- actuaries working in insurance (life or non-life) (*)
- significant experience in financial reporting and insurance accounting
- experienced in reviewing draft standards, assessing potential unintended consequences or implementation issues and drafting points for consideration
- good availability from June 2013
- keen to help the FRG develop views
(*) members from wider practices such as pensions and employee benefits who are interested in helping the FRG more generally on a longer term basis are invited to register interest as well.
What is involved:
Volunteers will be asked to help with one or both of the following activities, to:
- help the FRG develop and draft views regarding the forthcoming IASB Insurance Contracts Exposure Draft, in order to feed these views to the IAA, which is developing a global actuarial profession response; and to assist in drafting a response from the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries, and/or
- join one or more IAA working group in order to develop IAA response to the new Exposure Draft and the development of related International Actuarial Notes.
Time Commitment:
This is a short term, project based volunteer task which is envisaged to last for 3 – 6 months, although there may be a requirement to extend this time frame slightly, depending on the findings. Volunteers will be asked to attend regular conference calls (dial in details will be provided and we will do our best to accommodate different time zones).
Registering interest:
If you would like to offer your support, please contact Daniel de Burca, Policy Coordinator at the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries. When contacting Daniel please provide a brief note of your relevant skills and experience and a note of your ARN. Daniel will follow up with all interested members.
The aim of the UK Asbestos Working Party is to monitor the insurance industry’s ongoing exposure to UK asbestos-related claims and to help those people responsible for estimating such liabilities to understand the issues that have an impact on the future liabilities and to assist them in making related judgements.
In January 2010, The Institute and Faculty of Actuaries’ UK Asbestos Working Party released its updated estimate of the future cost of UK asbestos-related claims to the insurance industry. The estimates were, in part, based on a survey of aggregated asbestos-related claims numbers and costs for a large proportion (estimated to be around 80%) of the UK Insurance Market.
If your organisation has exposure to UK asbestos-related claims and you would like to participate in this survey (on an anonymous basis) please contact Dawn McIntosh at the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries. Dawn can also be reached by phone on +44 (0)20 7632 2144. Dawn will be happy to forward you a template to complete. Any data that you are able to provide will be greatly appreciated.
The working party recognises the need to maintain confidentiality and that most organisations that are willing to contribute to the surveys would prefer that their answers are kept anonymous and have taken steps to ensure that no members of the working party will be able to identify the data from any particular company.
In addition to individual appointments which are made to some of our members directly, from time to time, the Profession is invited to put forward a senior member to represent our Profession on bodies such as the Groupe Consultatif and the IAA and other Professional Bodies. The member takes on a volunteer task or role for the organisation, usually membership of one of the standing committees of the organisation, but occasionally a specific project such as Solvency II, for which suitable practice experience would be required.
To allow the Profession to consider all appropriate members for the task in hand, we hold a “bank” of names of members who would like to be considered for these committee positions or one off tasks as and when they arise. If you are a Fellow of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries and would like to find out more, please contact Debbie Atkins, Volunteer Engagement Manager, to register your interest.
Organisations with at least 3 qualified actuaries who are members of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries are encouraged to appoint a CPD Co-ordinator. A CPD Co-ordinator need not be a member of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.
Read about the role of a CPD Co-ordinator
Engaging with Employers: The Institute and Faculty of Actuaries wants to engage with employers more closely. CPD Co-ordinators provide a mechanism for the Profession to promulgate new ways of obtaining CPD within employers' offices; to share opportunities for teams and/or individuals within organisations; and also for us to receive feedback and suggestions from the organisations that are owned by or employ our members. To help share best practice and encourage networking and the sharing of ideas, CPD Co-ordinators are invited to attend a half day CPD Co-ordinators' annual briefing, at Staple Inn Hall, in London, each autumn.
Getting involved: If you would like to volunteer to take on this role for your organisation, or to check whether your organisation has appointed a CPD Co-ordinator already, please contact Debbie Atkins, Volunteer Engagement Manager. When contacting Debbie please provide a note of your ARN, if applicable.
As part of our International strategy of “proactive engagement” we have set up up the first in a series of International Feedback Groups. The first two focus on the following:
- One to help the Profession to provide a more comprehensive offering to members based in China and South East Asia; and
- One to help the Profession to provide a more comprehensive offering to members based in India.
These International Feedback Groups are made up of members living and/or working in these countries and operate in much the same way as our pioneering ‘400 Club’. During the course of each year, we will send members of each group up to a maximum of four online surveys. These surveys can be completed online at a time that suits you, over a two to three week period. The results will help the Profession in tracking our International strategy and in better understanding how we can serve the varied and evolving needs of our International members.
Your input will also be a valuable resource for the Profession’s International Committee.
If you are a member of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries and are either based in China / South East Asia or in India, or have an excellent knowledge of, or connections in, these countries and would like to be part of either of these groups, please contact Debbie Atkins (Volunteer Engagement Manager). When contacting Debbie please provide a note of your name, ARN, and brief details illustrating your main reason/s for wishing to be involved. It would also be helpful to know if you are a current member of the ‘400 Club’.
Some members have expressed a desire for the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (IFoA) to help facilitate opportunities for members to provide financial education in schools. A pilot scheme is therefore being run in Scotland.
If you are a member of the IFoA and live and/or work in Scotland, please consider volunteering to share your knowledge of finance with young people in Scotland’s schools.
The Financial Education Partnership:
We have teamed up with the Financial Education Partnership (FEP) which is administered by the Chartered Banker Institute, and is an initiative shared by a number of organisations, all of whom are dedicated to providing financial education for young people today. Through the FEP, volunteers deliver workshops on financial capability and a range of other topics, to secondary and primary pupils in schools throughout Scotland.
The FEP delivers a full programme and is always looking to recruit more facilitators to volunteer their time to go out to the schools and deliver these pre-prepared workshops.
Success:
In the last academic year, FEP volunteers visited 124 schools in Scotland and delivered 682 workshops reaching an estimated 24,000 primary and secondary pupils Scotland-wide. Without the volunteers, none of this would have been possible.
Training and Materials:
As a volunteer facilitator, the FEP would provide all the workshop materials to you and also provides regular training courses including presentation skills training for volunteers who have never done any presentation work before. As part of the training, they cover all the workshop materials, and how to deliver in schools.
Topics:
The materials cover a range of topics from money management and budgeting to team working and interview skills, volunteers sign up to help students make the transition from school to the workplace, but also to ensure that pupils leave with the ability to make informed, financial decisions throughout their adult life.
8 different workshops are offered. View details of the Managing your Money workshop material.
Time Commitment:
Whilst it is hoped volunteers will deliver at least three workshops per year, there are no set number of workshops you are required to deliver, you can do as many as you wish. The required time commitment from volunteers would generally be anything from two days per year upward, depending on the level of involvement. This could be broken down as:
- Attending a full day training course on the workshop material, with options to attend other courses if desired (one day)
- Attend a real classroom workshop as an observer (one hour plus travel)
- Deliver at least three classroom workshops per year (one hour per workshop plus travel).
If you are interested in finding out more, and in volunteering to provide assistance, please contact Debbie Atkins, Volunteer Engagement Manager. When contacting Debbie please provide a note of your ARN. Debbie will put you in touch with Chris Finlay at the Chartered Banker Institute.
As part of their remit to engage with members living and working in Scotland, the Scottish Board is launching a new initiative in 2013. This new initiative will be called “Knowledge Sharing Scotland” and will deliver technical and professional CPD training, to small (20 – 40) groups of actuaries in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Stirling, throughout the year.
The purpose is to better engage with employers of actuaries; to bring these sessions to their offices, provide networking, offer CPD, and to deliver additional events and valuable knowledge to members living and working in Scotland.
The group is being chaired initially by Andy Frepp, a member of the Scottish Board, and the programme will be advertised on the "Regional actuarial activity" webpage from January 2013.
At present, the Scottish Board are seeking to hear from members who would be prepared to volunteer to support this new resource either as:
- A speaker at a future event, and or
- To host a lunchtime event in their office
If you would like to offer your support, or find out more, please contact Debbie Atkins, Volunteer Engagement Manager. When contacting Debbie please indicate the type of support you would be willing to provide with as much detail as possible. A note of your ARN would also be helpful.
The call for speakers is now open.
The following six residential conferences are being organised by the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries during 2013:
- Health and Care Conference - May 2013
- Pensions Conference - June 2013
- Risk and Investment Conference - June 2013
- GIRO Conference - October 2013
- Life Conference - November 2013
- Momentum Conference (for students and newly qualified actuaries) - December 2013
Details of how to volunteer to be considered as a speaker at one of these conferences, and a note of the relevant deadlines / closing dates for expressing an interest, can be found here.
At the start of our CT9 practical exam “Business Awareness”, this begins with an hour’s presentation on actuarial issues relating to the Financial Services industry. The delegates are typically 18 months into membership and we provide the presenter with a script and slides for the presentation.
We run approximately 20 courses, in London and Edinburgh, every year.
We ideally aim to have a senior industry big-hitter to fill this slot, to enable them to personalise the presentation with their own experiences, and we are building up a panel of volunteer presenters whom we can call upon. If you feel you are an experienced Fellow with at least 15 years experience as a qualified actuary, who enjoys speaking in public, and who would like to join this eminent group, please contact Neil Hilary, staff actuary, at the Profession.
Neil will be delighted to discuss this with you further.