Business Development Officer – Travel Channel

NCBA Bank Kenya Plc, part of NCBA Group, is a leading financial institution in Kenya. Founded in 2019, it operates in the banking and financial services sector, providing a range of financial solutions.

The Business Development Officer for the Travel Channel at NCBA Group is tasked with achieving significant growth in travel insurance sales. This involves cultivating strong relationships with a diverse range of partners, including travel agencies, tour operators, airlines, online travel platforms, visa and education consultants, corporate travel accounts, brokers, and bancassurance partners. The role requires developing and activating these channel relationships, actively building and converting sales opportunities, and ensuring all customer interactions adhere to compliance standards. Additionally, the officer will coordinate policy issuance and provide support for claims, utilizing performance data to continuously enhance customer acquisition, retention, and overall experience.

1. Deliver on gross written premium, policy-count, and profitability targets for the Travel Channel.
2. Cultivate and maintain a robust pipeline of travel partners, including agencies, tour operators, airlines, and corporate accounts.
3. Improve quote-to-policy conversion rates, average premium values, renewals, and cross-selling opportunities across various travel propositions.
4. Monitor channel loss-ratio and campaign performance trends, implementing corrective actions when targets are not met.
5. Maintain accurate sales forecasts, CRM records, and monthly performance reports.
6. Acquire, activate, and retain priority travel partners, completing due diligence and establishing measurable activation plans.
7. Manage partner relationships through structured contact plans, business reviews, and service-level follow-ups.
8. Provide training to partner staff on approved products, sales processes, and customer disclosures, maintaining training records.
9. Design seasonal campaigns and identify opportunities for market, product, pricing, and digital journey enhancements based on partner and competitor insights.
10. Track active partner ratios, partner productivity, campaign results, and partner retention, addressing identified improvement actions.
11. Coordinate accurate quotations, policy issuance, amendments, and cancellations within agreed service levels.
12. Act as the primary escalation point for partner and customer inquiries, collaborating with internal departments for resolution.
13. Monitor service turnaround times, document delivery, complaints, and root causes, implementing remedial actions.
14. Guide customers and partners on claims notification procedures and escalate urgent travel assistance cases.
15. Track claims service feedback and recurring issues, without making claims admissibility decisions.
16. Provide clear, approved information on benefits, exclusions, limits, emergency assistance, and claims procedures.
17. Ensure distribution activities comply with product terms, company policies, and regulatory requirements.
18. Support clear disclosures, customer-needs assessments, accurate documentation, data protection, and timely escalation of complaints or conduct risks.
19. Maintain an audit-ready register of partners, due-diligence records, agreements, training evidence, and activity reports.
20. Escalate underwriting, pricing, claims, compliance, or partner-conduct exceptions within specified timelines.
21. Maintain an annual development plan covering travel insurance, consultative selling, partner management, CRM/data analytics, and regulatory updates.
22. Complete mandatory training within prescribed timelines and apply learning to improve channel performance and audit readiness.
23. Share market intelligence, lessons learned, and effective practices with relevant internal teams.

1. Bachelor’s degree in Insurance, Business, Marketing, Tourism, Travel Management, or a related discipline from a recognized institution.
2. Mandatory professional insurance qualification such as CII/ACII or AIIK.
3. Sound knowledge of general insurance, with a practical understanding of travel insurance benefits, exclusions, policy wording, emergency assistance, claims notification, and distribution controls.
4. Proficiency in CRM, Microsoft Office, and data-analysis/reporting tools for pipeline and performance management.
5. At least 5 years of relevant experience in insurance or financial services.
6. Minimum of 3 years of experience in business development, account management, or channel sales.
7. Demonstrated experience in developing partnerships and driving measurable growth, with a preference for exposure to travel insurance, travel trade, airline, tourism, student travel, or digital distribution.
8. Experience using sales analytics and market insights to improve conversion, retention, partner productivity, and campaign return.
9. Experience collaborating with Underwriting, Product, Claims, Operations, Marketing, Risk, Compliance, and external partners.