Head of Department – Band 4

As a Head of Department, you will hold a management role with accountability for a large operational function. You will lead multidisciplinary teams (typically supported by Supervisors/Managers) and be responsible for delivering high quality operations, strong service performance, and a culture of continuous improvement.

The Head of Department owns the strategy, governance and operational excellence of eligibility processes, driving accuracy, automation, customer satisfaction and cost efficiency. The position requires deep understanding of healthcare operations, strong leadership and the ability to transform complex processes in a high-volume, high-precision environment.

The position requires deep domain expertise, strategic leadership and the ability to drive operational innovation while managing large, diverse teams in a dynamic and customer-centric environment.

This role reports to the Head of Operations and the role is based in Bengaluru

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

1. Strategic Leadership

• Create and execute the departmental Strategy & Roadmap (multi-year plan).
• Communicate strategic priorities to stakeholders and ensure teams remain aligned.
• Translate organisational strategy into clear operational objectives and success measures.
• Lead digital transformation, automation and process‑reengineering initiatives to improve accuracy, turnaround time and customer satisfaction.
• Drive a strong performance culture with a focus on innovation, continuous improvement and service excellence.

2. Operational Leadership

• Lead the day-to-day management of departmental operations across locations.
• Ensure productivity, turnaround time, quality and customer satisfaction targets are met.
• Own the capacity plan for the department, monitoring staffing needs and proactively addressing risks.
• Drive operational discipline, performance management and continuous improvement.
• Implement global SOPs, KPIs and operational frameworks for predictable and scalable delivery.
• Optimize resource utilization, productivity, and quality through robust planning and governance.
• Oversee end-to-end for group onboarding operations including policy setup, membership updates, renewals and endorsements.
• Oversee end-to-end for Cigna Solution operations for our subrogation partners including admin, eligibility memberships update and claims processing.
• Drive adherence to service levels (SLAs), accuracy targets, turnaround times (TAT) and process quality benchmarks.

3. People Leadership

• Inspire, motivate and develop leaders and teams across the department.
• Provide coaching, performance management, and succession planning for all management layers.
• Promote a positive culture, high engagement and a collaborative team environment.
• Ensure effective recruitment, onboarding, development and retention practices.
• Lead, coach, and develop large operational teams, building leadership capability.
• Partner with cross‑functional and global stakeholders to drive integrated outcomes

4. Change & Innovation

• Contribute to organisational transformation initiatives and lead department‑level change.
• Identify opportunities to enhance processes, customer experience and operational efficiency.
• Embed a mindset of innovation, problem solving and continuous improvement.

5. Collaboration & Stakeholder Management

• Partner effectively with cross functional leaders across Operations, the wider organisation and external partners.
• Maintain strong communication channels with stakeholders internally and externall to ensure seamless delivery.
• Use data insights to challenge performance and drive evidence-based decision making.

6. Reporting, Compliance & Governance

• Produce accurate management information, operational reports and trend analysis.
• Ensure compliance with risk, audit and operational governance frameworks.
• Quantify and communicate the operational impact of enhancements and issues.
• Ensure adherence to regulatory requirements, audit standards and internal controls.
• Establish governance mechanisms to mitigate operational, regulatory and financial risks.

YOUR PROFILE

Experience

• Minimum 12+ years leading large operational healthcare insurance, claims, enrollment, eligibility operations, subrogation or policy administration.
• Proven experience delivering complex operational outcomes at scale.
• Demonstrable success in people leadership, coaching and organisational development.
• Strong strategic and operational execution background.

Skills & Capabilities

• Excellent communicator with the ability to influence and engage diverse audiences.
• Skilled in stakeholder management across multiple functions and levels.
• Highly data driven with strong analytical ability (Excel, BI tools).
• Experienced in driving service improvement and customer focused enhancements.
• Strong organisational, planning and prioritisation skills.
• Able to manage ambiguity and lead teams through change.
• Skilled in negotiation, problem solving and process improvement.
• Manage operational budgets, cost structures, and financial targets for claims operations.
• Drive cost‑efficiency and improve claims cost ratio.

Behaviours

• Results driven, accountable and committed to achieving shared goals.
• Demonstrates flexibility, adaptability and resilience.
• Strong interpersonal skills, fostering trust and collaboration.
• Forward‑thinking with a continuous improvement mindset.

KEY COMPETENCIES (Band 4 Leadership Level)

• Leading leaders
• Strategic thinking & roadmap execution
• Managing ambiguity
• Stakeholder balancing
• Organisational savvy
• Driving engagement
• Building effective teams
• Tech savvy leadership
• Global perspective
• Data driven decision making

About The Cigna Group