New Market Project Manager - (Japanese speaking)
About Zego
At Zego, we understand that traditional motor insurance holds good drivers back. It's too complicated, too expensive, and it doesn't reflect how well you actually drive. Since 2016, we have been on a mission to change that by offering the lowest-priced insurance for good drivers.
From van drivers and gig workers to everyday car drivers, our customers are the driving force behind everything we do. We've sold tens of millions of policies and raised over $200 million in funding. And we’re only just getting started.
About the role
We're seeking for a proactive Project Manager to launch a new proposition from zero to one. This will include defining the detailed proposition, carrying out market research, working side-by-side with leadership, and coordinating internal and external stakeholders. If you love building, this is the role for you!
This represents a strategic initiative for Zego, which will attract cross-functional investment across product, data science, engineering, and commercial. As the dedicated project manager for this proposition, you will be in charge of creating it from scratch.
Purpose of the role
Sitting within the CEO Office, this is a high-visibility role at the heart of one of Zego's most important strategic bets: validating our core telematics insurance thesis in Japan.
You will lead the end-to-end delivery of this new proposition, from evaluating feasibility and running proof of concept through to full validation. That means owning the programme day-to-day, coordinating across all workstreams, managing senior stakeholders on both sides, and ensuring the initiative hits its milestones on time and with rigour.
This is a rare opportunity to build something genuinely new, with the backing of leadership and the potential to reshape motor insurance in one of the world's largest markets.
What you will be doing
- Own programme delivery end-to-end: manage the full partnership timeline, run working groups with senior stakeholders across Zego and our Japanese partners, surface risks and dependencies early, and keep all workstreams moving in the right direction
- Act as the primary bridge between Zego and our Japanese partners: build trusted relationships with senior counterparts, navigate cross-cultural working styles, and ensure clear, accurate communication flows in both directions — in Japanese and English
- Drive proposition definition and validation: work closely with product, data science, engineering and commercial teams to define the proposition, test assumptions, and move from concept to validated product
- Keep leadership informed and aligned: distil programme complexity into clear, concise updates for senior stakeholders at Zego and partner organisations, flagging decisions that need to be made and recommendations to move forward
- Coordinate across functions: serve as the connective tissue across a cross-disciplinary team, ensuring everyone is aligned, accountable, and unblocked
What you will need to be successful
- Japanese language fluency: fluent Japanese (JLPT N1 or native) and fluent English — comfortable running meetings, writing documents, and negotiating in both languages. This is a non-negotiable requirement for the role
- Project or programme management experience: 4–7 years of experience managing complex, cross-functional programmes — ideally in technology, insurance, or financial services, whether in a strategy consulting or in-house environment. You keep things on track without letting anything slip through the cracks
- Cross-cultural expertise: demonstrable experience working across Japan and the UK (or comparable international environments). You understand that effective collaboration across these two cultures requires genuine cultural intelligence, and you know how to navigate it in practice
- Startup mentality: self-starting, proactive, and comfortable with ambiguity. You move fast, make sound commercial judgements, and have a strong desire to build something new in a VC-backed environment
- Cross-disciplinary communication: a confident communicator who can work fluently across technical and non-technical teams — engineering, data science, product, and commercial — and distil complexity into clear updates for senior stakeholders on both sides
- A genuine passion for building something that has the potential to transform motor insurance in Japan
What’s it like to work at Zego?
Joining Zego is a career-defining move. People go further here, reaching their full potential to achieve extraordinary things.
We’re spread throughout the UK and Europe, and united by our drive to get things done. We’re proud of our company and our culture – a friendly and inclusive space where we can lift each other up and celebrate our wins every day.
Together, we’re setting the bar higher, delivering exceptional work that makes a difference. Our people are the most important part of our story, and everyone here plays a role. There’s loads of room to learn and grow, and you’ll get the freedom to steer your career wherever you want.
You’ll work alongside a talented group who embrace each other's differences and aren’t afraid of a challenge. We recognise our achievements, learn from our mistakes, and help each other to be the best we can be. Together, we’re making insurance matter.
How we work
We believe that teams work better when they have time to collaborate and space to get things done. We call it Zego Hybrid. While some of our team choose to come into our central London office once a week, we’re flexible - some people prefer being in once a month or even quarterly. It’s all about finding the right balance between collaborative face time and focused home-working, so we can achieve great results while maintaining a healthy work-life balance.
Our approach to AI
We believe in the power of AI to meaningfully improve how we work - helping us move faster, think differently, and focus on what matters most. At Zego, we encourage people to stay curious and intentional about how AI is leveraged in their work and teams to drive practical impact every day. This is your chance to do the most meaningful work of your career - and we’ll provide you with the tools, support, and freedom to do it well.
Benefits
We reward our people well. Join us and you’ll get a market-competitive salary, private medical insurance, company share options, generous holiday allowance, and a whole lot of wellbeing benefits. We also offer an annual flexible hybrid working contribution, which you can use to support with your travel to the office or towards your own personal development. And that’s just for starters!
There’s more to Zego than just a job - Check out our blog for insights, stories, and more.
We’re an equal opportunity employer and we value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, or disability status.
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