Deal Origination Specialist

Let's Write Africa's Story Together!

Old Mutual is a firm believer in the African opportunity and our diverse talent reflects this.

Job Description

The Deal Origination Specialist is responsible for proactively identifying, sourcing and qualifying prospective transactions, building and maintaining relationships that keep a healthy, proprietary deal pipeline flowing into the transaction execution process. The role sits at the front end of the deal lifecycle and translates market intelligence, divisional strategy and networking activity into qualified opportunities that meet Old Mutual Insure’s strategic investment and partnership appetite. The role must engage across the Group’s divisions to understand their strategic priorities, identify areas of alignment and translate these into pipeline strategy, synergy opportunities and targeted origination themes.

Critical objectives and responsibilities include the following :

Deal sourcing

Identify and source potential transactions through market research, networking, cold outreach and intermediary relationships.

Build and maintain a qualified prospect pipeline aligned to OMI’s strategic investment and partnership criteria.

Conduct structured market scanning and sector intelligence to maintain an up-to-date target universe.

Monitor sector, competitor, regulatory and new entrant activity to identify emerging opportunities, market gaps and potential risks.

Analyse market data and sector reports to translate insights into deal strategy, pipeline priorities and early opportunity notes.

Engage with different divisions across the Group to understand their strategic priorities and translate these into pipeline strategy, synergy opportunities and targeted origination focus areas.

Convert divisional strategies into defined target sectors, partner profiles, acquisition themes and synergy hypotheses to guide proactive sourcing activity.

Maintain an active view of the short-term insurance ecosystem, including brokers, UMAs, administrators, distribution partners, affinity groups, InsurTechs, claims and service providers, and niche underwriting businesses.

Use insight into customer segments, distribution models, broker economics, partner value propositions and value-chain dynamics to shape commercially relevant origination themes.

Dual-track pipeline

Maintain an accurate, up-to-date deal flow and relationship data tracker of live opportunities (prioritisation dashboard)

Apply scoring criteria to rank opportunities and maintain dual-track pipeline.

Grade and prioritise relationships or counterparties by quality and strategic relevance.

Track outreach, conversion and pipeline metrics and report on origination activity regularly.

Coordinate prioritisation forums, stakeholders and timelines across the dual-track pipeline.

Maintain a clear view of strategic synergies across divisions and use this to inform opportunity prioritisation, partner targeting and pipeline conversion activity.

Deal qualification and structuring support

Conduct preliminary assessment of deal feasibility and strategic and or financial fit.

Test early-stage opportunities against strategic fit, revenue potential, operating model fit, customer and distribution synergies, reputational risk, regulatory complexity and integration feasibility before handover to execution teams.

Support early-stage due diligence by gathering company, industry, financial and relevant information.

Assist in structuring term sheets and initial deal parameters ahead of formal underwriting, deal forum review.

Collaborate with transaction execution team or multi-disciplinary due diligence team to hand overqualified opportunities.

Relationship management and partner engagement

Build and maintain trusted strategic relationships with investors, business owners, brokers, advisers, UMAs and other industry stakeholders to support a sustainable origination network.

Represent OMI in the market through industry conferences, trade shows and deal community forums to strengthen visibility and access to quality opportunities.

Manage early-stage client and partner engagement, acting as a trusted point of contact and ensuring clear communication, follow-through and handover where required.

Coordinate regular touchpoints and reviews with broker and intermediary partners to keep them active against OMI mandates and prioritising relevant opportunities.

Develop incentive or success-fee arrangements with sourcing partners, with appropriate legal and finance input.

Governance and compliance

Operate within insurance, investment and regulatory policy parameters.

Escalate risk, compliance or reputational concerns arising from prospective deals.

Ensure documentation supporting origination decisions is complete and audit-ready.

Additional responsibilities include:

Develop and maintain origination playbooks, target-sector theses and opportunity themes aligned to OMI and Group strategic priorities.

Maintain a structured relationship coverage plan across brokers, intermediaries, industry bodies, founders, investors, advisers and relevant Group stakeholders.

Prepare concise opportunity notes for prioritisation forums, including strategic rationale, synergy potential, pipeline status and recommended next steps.

Track post-engagement lessons learnt and market feedback to improve sourcing quality, qualification discipline and relationship conversion over time.

Monitor competitor moves, sector developments and emerging partnership models relevant to OMI’s growth, acquisition and partnership strategy.

Knowledge/experience, skills and qualifications required :

• •Bachelor’s degree in finance, Economics, Business or a related field of study.
• •8 – 10 years’ relevant experience in short-term insurance, business development, sales, strategic partnerships, distribution, deal origination and/or commercial opportunity development. Corporate finance or M&A experience is advantageous but not the primary requirement.
• •Demonstrated track record of deal sourcing, business development or inside-sales activity is highly valued.
• •Strong understanding of the short-term insurance value chain, including distribution, underwriting, claims, operations, partner channels and customer value drivers.
• •Master’s degree in finance, Economics or related field (advantage).
• •Existing network within relevant investor, advisory or intermediary communities (advantage).
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• •Short-term insurance market knowledge, value-chain understanding, market research and data analytics, competitor assessment, commercial acumen, scenario planning and market mapping.
• •Stakeholder management, contracting/ incentive design, relationship building, influencing.
• •Business development, sales orientation, strategic account engagement and ability to translate divisional strategy into pipeline opportunities and synergies.
• •Knowledge of the short-term insurance ecosystem, customer segments, distribution models, broker economics, partner value propositions and commercial value drivers.
• •Pipeline management, prioritisation frameworks, project coordination.

The Recruitment Process:

• •TA Interview: This will be a discussion with our Senior Talent Acquisition Specialist to give you an understanding of our business, our culture & values and more context on the role. It will also allow us the opportunity to get to know you more and ensure OMI can meet your career aspirations.
• •Panel Interview: This will be with 2 members of the Senior Leadership of the Hiring Team and 1 member of the HC Senior Team.
• •Technical & Psychometric Assessments: These will depend on the role and will sometimes happen concurrently with Vetting through an external service provider, as well as Internal Verification.
• •Final Feedback.

All About OMI:

https://www.oldmutual.co.za/about/old-mutual-insure/

Please note that, unfortunately, we cannot accept any applications after the c