Market Risk Lead

Canada Life UK looks after the retirement, investment and protection needs of individuals, families and companies. We help to build better futures for our customers, our intermediaries and our employees by operating as a modern, agile and welcoming organisation.

Part of our parent company Great-West Lifeco, Canada Life UK has operated in the United Kingdom since 1903. We have hundreds of respected and supported employees committed to doing the right thing for our customers and colleagues.

Canada Life UK is transforming to create a more customer-focused business by providing our customers with expertise on financial and tax planning, offering home finance and annuities propositions, and providing collective fund solutions to third party customers.

Job Purpose

Credit risk and asset optimisation team is responsible for developing industry leading asset solutions for insurance balance sheet, covering Solvency II capital, rating, structuring, risk management and valuation.

As Market risk lead, the role holder will:

• Lead Solvency II Partial Internal Model ("PIM") for market risk, including calibration, reporting and model use.
• Serve as the point of contact for regulatory engagement in relation to market risk PIM and proactively address query / request from the PRA.
• Own the risk management framework for market risk, including setting risk limits and management actions, provide high-level strategic advice on ALM and risk mitigation to asset managers and Investment Committee.
• Conduct research on market risk management, reflecting economic and market trends and provide "House View" on managing and modelling market risk.
• Set priorities for market risk team and lead training, mentoring and support to team members.

The role holder will join a dynamic and supportive team, consisting of highly skilled technical specialists in their respective area. There is a truly collaborative team culture that encourage people to acquire new skills and push boundary, whilst providing adequate support. It suits someone who has extensive of management and modelling market risk and has a passion for innovation and delivering results. This is a strategic role as the idea is the output from the modelling needs to be embedded into the decision making of the company i.e. it informs the front office traders where to trade to manage our market risks.

Duties/Responsibilities

Lead development and maintenance of Solvency II Partial Internal Model ("PIM") for market risk

• Develop market risk PIM methodology, assumptions and calibrations
• Design reporting process for market risk SCR and business requirement for system implementation.
• Maintaining market risk PIM to ensure its methodology reflecting emerging market practice and regulatory expectation

Own the risk management framework for market risk

• Set market risk management framework for the business and balance requirements from multiple accounting bases.
• Develop system / tool that enables the regular monitoring of market risk exposure and implementation of risk mitigation actions.
• Complex technical role with detailed understanding of market risks (research and analytical and modelling skills)

Serve as the Subject Matter Expert on market risk and provide technical inputs to asset managers, pricing and ALM on the management and mitigation of market risks.

Prepare and present modelling proposals to various boards and committees. Using your subject-matter expertise the role holder will advise and influence senior internal stakeholders across our UK business, including our CFO, CRO, Chief Actuary. Astute communication and negotiation skills with the ability to interact with c-suite and regulator. Produce and embed MI to help set the trading strategy to control and influence scope of market risks.

Provide guidance, training and mentoring to a team of qualified, part-qualified actuaries or finance professionals in order to optimise the performance of the team in line with the Divisions objectives.

Knowledge/Skills/Experience

Technical Expertise

• Significant experience in market risk management and modelling in the context of life insurance industry, particularly for annuity business.
• Familiar with techniques for market risk modelling and experience with setting risk limits.
• Good understanding of risk mitigation techniques, experience with derivative solutions would be an advantage.
• Strong commercial awareness and understanding of the needs of the business. Able to apply technical finance / quantitative techniques and understand business/commercial implications.
• Deep understanding of Solvency II regulations, Knowledge of IFRS17 accounting rules would be an advantage but not essential.

Communication

• Strong communication skills, demonstrating a clear and articulate standard of written and verbal communication in a complex environment, tailored for all levels of management.
• Proven track record of delivering presentation of modelling concept to C-suite stakeholders.
• Relationship Building
• The ability to develop and maintain strong relationships across wider business, acting with integrity and role modelling the company values at all times.
• Being able to win trust through demonstration of competency and achieve buy-in from wider business on key modelling agenda.
• Experience of working collaboratively with oversight function such as risk and audit to achieve positive results.

Taking Initiative

• Actively explore opportunity to improve the management of market risk within the organisation.
• Being delivery-focused, willing and capable of making decisions in order to progress issues, and able to exercise sound judgement and commercial sense to understand the importance of different issues and assess when matters need to be escalated.
• Able to effectively plan, organise the activities for the modelling team to advance business objectives and able to spot conflicting priorities early and readjust resource allocation accordingly.
• Ability to lead and drive modelling agenda and adapt for changing business needs and regulatory landscape.

Qualifications (For the job and not the person)

• Undergraduate degree in Finance / Maths or equivalent disciplines
• Fellow of Institute of Actuaries (or equivalent)

Benefits of working at Canada Life
We believe in recognising and rewarding our people, so we offer a competitive salary and benefits package that's regularly reviewed. As a Canada Life UK colleague, you'll receive a competitive salary and comprehensive reward package including a generous pension and bonus scheme, along with, income protection, private medical insurance and life assurance. We have a fantastic number of other benefits and support services as well as regular personal and professional development.

How we work at Canada Life
Our culture is unique and incredibly important to us. We care about doing the right thing for our people, customers and community and helping others to build better futures. Our blueprint behaviours shape and influence how we work, and are central to the relationships we have with others. Every day we are encouraged to be more curious, own the outcome, face into things together and find a way forward.

We want colleagues to have rewarding careers with us so we invest in the development of our people, technology and workplaces. That's why we offer a range of training, flexible working and opportunities to grow and develop.

Diversity and inclusion
Building an inclusive workplace with a diverse workforce where everyone can feel they belong and achieve their potential regardless of gender, ethnicity or any other characteristic is a key commitment for us. We are proud of the progress we're making in DEI, and we continue for it to be a significant focus.

"At Canada Life we believe in the power of great people from different backgrounds, experiences and perspectives coming together to build better futures. Emerging talent is crucial to our growth and creating an environment that continues to inspire us all." Nick Harding, Chief People Officer, Canada Life UK

We appreciate that everyone has different work and life responsibilities. We're happy to discuss flexible working arrangements, including part time, for any of our roles should this be a requirement for.