Financial Risk Specialist

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Role Profile
Job Title: Financial Risk Specialist
Division: NTMA Risk

Reports to: Senior Market Risk Manager

Job Family: Risk
Career Stream: Professional

Career Zone: Professional / Specialist

Contract Type: 12 month contract

** Closing date for applications is 03/04/25 **

Summary of the Business
The National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA) provides asset and liability management services to the Irish Government. It has evolved from a single function agency managing the National Debt to a manager of a complex portfolio of public assets and liabilities.
Businesses managed by the NTMA include borrowing for the Exchequer and the management of the National Debt, the State Claims Agency, the New Economy and Recovery Authority ("NewERA"), the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund, National Development Finance Agency and the NTMA Future Ireland Funds business unit with responsibility for the management of the Future Ireland Fund and Infrastructure, Climate and Nature Fund.
The NTMA also assigns staff to the National Asset Management Agency, the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland (SBCI) and Home Building Finance Ireland (HBFI).

Working at the NTMA offers excellent benefits including:

1. Flexible work options including hybrid working and variable work hours
2. An extensive wellbeing programme
3. Excellent learning and development opportunities that allow for full career development within the organisation
4. A diverse range of initiatives: LGBT+, Gender Matters, Disability Awareness, Sports & Social, Volunteering and lots more
5. Reimbursement of annual professional membership fees
6. Career average Defined Benefit Pension Scheme

Role Summary

The successful candidate will play a key role in providing support for the day to day running of the NTMA Risk unit, across the counterparty credit, liquidity and market risk functions, and in a number of significant projects which are either currently in progress or due to commence in the near future. As a member of the NTMA Risk team, the Financial Risk Specialist will also provide support and challenge to the various business units (including FDM, ISIF, FIF, ICNF and SBCI) and in their management of financial risks.

The Financial Risk Specialist will also play a key role in the NTMA's Financial Risk Management Framework, providing support to the NTMA Enterprise Risk Management Committee, the Investment Committees, Counterparty Credit Risk Committee and the Market and Liquidity Risk Committee.

Principal Accountabilities

- Provide support where necessary for the preparation of daily, weekly, and monthly risk management information and dashboards for senior management and committees, along with monitoring and reporting against financial risk limits and KRIs.
- Work closely with NTMA Risk colleagues and the FIF and ICNF management teams to support the onboarding and subsequent processes with the custodian for the new funds.
- Provide support for NTMA staff in defining NTMA Risk's operating model for new investment mandates including specifying system requirements, analysing policy implications, and the design of risk reporting.
- Support the development of risk policies, limits, and KRIs in respect of the new funds.
- Provide FIF and ICNF with independent and effective second line challenge on risk-taking.
- Support other significant financial risk and systems projects, as required.
- Participate in the financial risk policy review process, analysing the financial risk implications arising from new funding strategies, investment strategies, markets, products, processes, or regulatory requirements.
- Continuous review and enhancement of risk reporting as the NTMA's business needs evolve.
- Ad hoc reporting to senior management on any important change to risk exposures.
- Valuation of fixed income products (including Bonds, Repos, Loans, Deposits, Swaps and Short-Term Paper).
- Maintenance and benchmarking of yield curves.
- Play a key role in major risk projects.
- Ongoing development and maintenance of the Agency's core treasury risk systems.
- Ad hoc analytical/research supporting the NTMA business units and external agencies.

Experience/ Skills Required for the Role
- At least 10 year's relevant risk management experience in the financial services industry, ideally sovereign wealth funds, investment or pension funds, institutional asset ownership, or global equity investment organisations.
- A strong post-graduate degree in a relevant quantitative discipline (e.g. Maths, Economics, Engineering).
- Proven track record in monitoring, measuring, and managing substantial financial risk exposures across a diverse range of complex specialised portfolios.
- Excellent understanding of global financial markets and a strong product knowledge.
- Experience in valuing complex and/or illiquid products and an understanding of accounting implications.
- A firm understanding, and proven experience of analysing and reporting on the financial risks arising from a multi-asset portfolio, including multi-factor analysis and the valuation of derivatives and alternative assets.
- Experience in on-boarding new funds, defining and implementing operating models, and configuring multi-asset investment and treasury risk systems would be beneficial.
- Excellent understanding of risk methodologies such as VaR and multi-factor stress testing.
- Strong understanding and experience in curve construction.
- Excellent attention to detail. Clear and concise verbal and written communication skills. Ability to draft and present papers on complex issues to a broad range of audiences.
- A high level of numeracy with strong analytical and IT skills (e.g. Excel/VBA, Power Query/PowerBI, SQL, Python, R-Studio, Java).
- Strong understanding of treasury and portfolio risk management systems (e.g. PORT Enterprise, Barra One). In-depth knowledge of Bloomberg. Knowledge of Findur would be a distinct advantage.
- Highly motivated with a willingness to take initiative and responsibility in a small team. Flexibility, adaptability, and ability to deal with a fast pace of change.

Pension Abatement

If an appointee has previously been employed in the Civil or Public Service and that appointee is entitled to or in receipt of a pension from the Civil or Public Service or where a Civil/Public Service pension comes into payment during the appointee's re-employment that pension will be subject to abatement in accordance with Section 52 of the Public Service Pensions (Single Scheme and other Provisions) Act 2012.

Please note: In applying for this position, you are acknowledging that you understand that the abatement provisions, where relevant, will apply. It is not envisaged that the employing Department/Office/Body will support an application for an abatement waiver in respect of appointments to this position.

Applicants will be required to complete a pre-employment declaration to confirm whether they have previously availed of a Public sector pension scheme.

The NTMA is proud to be an equal opportunities employer. We recognise that a diverse and inclusive workplace informs better decision making, creative thinking, innovation and drives business performance. We are strongly committed to ensuring that our workforce is representative of our society.