Senior Manager: Financial Risk Management at South African Reserve Bank

Brief description

The main purpose of this position is to provide leadership to the Financial Risk Management (FRM) team in the Financial Markets Department (FMD) by developing policies, processes and procedures in terms of central bank best practices, to evaluate and recommend risk management systems, and to ensure that all risks emanating from FMD’s domestic and international market and foreign reserves management operations are managed and effectively reported to relevant offices and committees in the South African Reserve Bank (SARB).

Detailed description

In addition to the general accountabilities listed above, the successful candidate will be responsible for the following key performance areas:

• Provide leadership to the FRM team and act as a coach and mentor to risk analysts through a systematic skills transfer process.
• Provide strategic leadership to the RM team through research on best practises and methodologies, coupled with the strategic initiatives of FMD.
• Enhance the forecasting and modelling capabilities in the FRM team.
• Facilitate the implementation of knowledge acquired from the latest research (e.g. journal articles) on risk management topics.
• Coordinate reporting on market developments relating to counterparties.
• Research and recommend strategic benchmarks and risk budgets for foreign exchange reserves portfolios.
• Develop a framework and models to report overall risk and performance of both internally and externally managed portfolios.
• Develop a framework and models to report overall risk and activities of the domestic market operations.
• Recommend and implement changes to processes and tools that will result in continued process improvement.
• Maintain up-to-date workflow documentation and note changes in processes as they occur for business continuity purposes.
• Keep abreast of industry best practices and technology improvements pertaining to the FRM team’s functions.
• Manage key activities of the FRM team, and maintain close contact and liaison with internal and external stakeholders.

Job requirements

To be considered for this position, candidates must have:

• have a relevant postgraduate degree in Finance, Mathematics and/or Economics or an equivalent qualification;
• have a business background in finance, investments and risk management (i.e. portfolio management and risk management quantitative research);
• have at least 10 years’ relevant work experience with at least 5 years’ experience in a management role, and proven professional leadership and ability to lead, coach and mentor team members;
• be proficient in Microsoft Excel, including the use of macros and other risk solutions;
• have proven quantitative and qualitative analytical skills, including familiarity with financial modelling techniques;
• have excellent communication skills in both verbal and written English, including report writing;
• have proven capacity to multi-task, deliver results, and respond quickly and effectively to requests;
• be an original thinker with quick learning abilities, strong initiative and drive, and attention to detail; and
• be an assertive team player with strong interpersonal skills, and the commitment to working in a team-orientated environment and resolving conflicts smoothly.

The following qualifications will be an added advantage:

• a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA), Professional Risk Manager (PRMIA) or Financial Risk Manager (FRM) qualification;
• sound background of financial accounting;
• programming experience in Visual Basic, C, C++, SQL and MatLab;
• working knowledge of Barra or a similar analytical tool; and
• familiarity with Bloomberg or other major trading and risk systems.