Head of Complaints & Quality - M&G plc.

At M&G, our purpose is to give everyone real confidence to put their money to work. With a heritage dating back more than 175 years, we have a long history of innovation in savings and investments, combining asset management and insurance expertise to offer a wide range of solutions. Our two distinct operating segments, Asset Management and Life, work together to provide access to balanced, long-term investment and savings solutions. Through telling it like it is, owning it now and moving it forward together with care and integrity; we are creating an exceptional place to work for exceptional talent. We will consider flexible working arrangements for any of our roles and offer workplace adjustments to ensure you have the support you need to succeed in your role. Role Purpose This role leads the complaints and quality agenda across Customer & Adviser Services and M&G Life operations, ensuring strong ownership of complaint outcomes, regulatory performance and customer experience. The role is accountable for end-to-end complaints performance, including delivery against FCA and Financial Ombudsman Service expectations, while using complaints, root cause analysis and quality insight to identify systemic issues, eliminate failure demand and improve customer outcomes. Operating at scale, the role spans a large, complex environment including in-house and outsourced operations, third-party partners and multiple customer journeys. In addition, the role owns the training and capability framework across Customer & Adviser Services, ensuring colleague capability is directly shaped by customer insight and quality outcomes. This is a senior leadership role combining performance ownership, insight, continuous improvement and influence to drive measurable customer, regulatory and operational outcomes. Key Accountabilities 1. Complaints Performance & Customer Insight Leadership • Own end-to-end complaints performance, including volumes, outcomes, timeliness and regulatory compliance • Ensure delivery against FCA and Financial Ombudsman Service expectations • Lead analysis to understand why customers complain and where outcomes fail • Provide clear, insight-led reporting into senior leadership forums • Use complaints as a primary lever for strategic improvement, not just reporting 2. Root Cause Analysis (RCA) • Own and lead RCA methodology across Customer & Adviser Services • Identify systemic drivers of failure demand, rework and poor outcomes • Translate insight into clear, prioritised actions with named ownership • Ensure RCA drives measurable reduction in repeat issues 3. Driving Improvement Across the Business • Work across Operations, Product, Digital and third parties to resolve root causes • Influence senior stakeholders to own and deliver change • Track delivery of actions and ensure paced execution and outcomes achieved • Reduce repeat complaints, operational inefficiency and customer detriment 4. Continuous Improvement & Efficiency • Identify and remove process inefficiencies, duplication and waste • Deliver targeted improvements that reduce cost-to-serve • Simplify complexity into scalable, sustainable solutions • Drive measurable reductions in failure demand and rework 5. Quality Framework Ownership • Own and evolve the quality framework across Customer & Adviser Services • Implement a consistent, outcome-focused quality assurance approach • Integrate quality insight with complaints, RCA and performance management • Drive standards, calibration and continuous improvement 6. Training, Capability & Standards (CAS Ownership) • Own the design, build and delivery of training across Customer & Adviser Services • Establish a joined-up capability framework aligned to customer outcomes, quality standards and regulatory expectations • Ensure training is directly driven by complaints insight, QA outcomes and RCA findings • Define and embed clear standards for what good looks like • Deliver measurable capability uplift, improving consistency, quality and efficiency • Ensure training translates into sustained performance improvement, not activity 7. Third-Party Oversight • Own complaints and quality frameworks across outsourced partners • Ensure consistent standards and performance expectations • Provide governance, oversight and performance challenge where required • Drive alignment between internal and external delivery environments 8. Regulatory & Conduct Alignment • Ensure full compliance with FCA complaints handling requirements • Maintain strong alignment with conduct risk frameworks • Provide forward-looking view of customer risk and emerging issues • Work closely with Risk and Compliance on readiness and response 9. Leadership & Scale of Operation • Lead a high-performing complaints, quality and capability function • Operate across a large-scale, multi-site and outsourced operation • Build a culture of accountability, ownership and continuous improvement • Act as a trusted advisor to senior leadership on customer outcomes and performance Candidate Profile Essential Experience • Financial services experience within a conduct-regulated environment • Proven ownership of complaints performance and regulatory outcomes • Experience across large-scale operations including third-party environments • Background in complaints, quality, insight or continuous improvement • Experience building training or capability frameworks at scale Capabilities • Strong analytical mindset with ability to translate insight into action • Proven ability to drive outcomes through influence, not control • Strong focus on delivery, pace and measurable impact • Highly credible communicator with senior stakeholder influence Differentiators • Experience reducing failure demand and complaint volumes at scale • Strong understanding of FCA and FOS expectations and regulatory risk • Experience improving end-to-end capability across large operations • Lean / continuous improvement toolkit Impact & Success Measures Reduction in compla