Pension Protection Fund

Pension Protection Fund

Risk Practice Leader

RolePurpose

The Risk Practice Leader is responsiblefor improving the PPF’s prospects of meeting its long term funding objective through intelligent and efficient application of risk management. The roleholder is responsible for the design, relevance and development of processes and of the quality and timeliness of their outputs. The Practice Leader liaises with relevant stakeholders and customers to ensure that the practice plans and objectives are aligned with PPF objectives and business plans.

The Practice Leader is responsible for the development of the intellectual and physical resources of the practice and is able to benchmark performance against best practice.

The Practice Leader reports to the Executive Director of Financial Riskand liaises closely with the PPF Chief Risk Officer for professional guidance and interpretation.

The roleholder supports the Chief Risk Officer in his/her advice to the Board and, if appropriate, provides that advice personally to the Board or PPF committees.

Main Responsibilities

Business performance

To monitor PPF’s “on balance sheet” and “off balance sheet” risks.
To regularly report on risk and performance analytics

To ensure that the processes undertaken by the risk practice are aligned with PPF business objectives and plans;
To create and maintain SLAs for main operational activities, liaising with users on a regular basis to ensure compliance, help planning and solve problems;
To ensure that service levels and KPIs are met, problems identified and plans to rectify the problem are put into place.

Customer satisfaction

To liaise regularly with the users (customers or stakeholders) of the process outputs;
To work with others to ensure that the financial risk processes are applied robustly including mitigation and action plans.
To develop an understanding of customer requirements, create solutions and plan resources and activities accordingly;
To manage relationships internally and externally, managing expectation and troubleshooting where necessary.

Process improvements

To maintain a programme of process improvements through regular review and development;
To identify, evaluate and own financial risk processes.
Benchmark performance where appropriate against industry best practice;
To challenge constructively the purpose and efficiency of processes, improving both where possible.

Technical Leadership

To develop the intellectual and technical capabilities of the risk practice;
To act as technical coach to members of the practice area to help them increase their specialist knowledge and expertise in the given area;
To ensure that market and professional knowledge is maintained at a high level within the risk practice;
To lead and participate in cross team working, planning and development;
To contribute in conjunction with the Chief Risk Officer, other practice leaders and other members of the Financial Risk Directorate leadership team to the analysis, interpretation and management of the financial risks facing PPF.

Collaborative Leadership

To work collaboratively with other Practice Leaders to ensure work is integrated andsynergies with other practice areas are highlighted and exploited;
To build up relationships with key areas of the business to ensure that the risk team and FRM directorate are working collaboratively with other areas of the business;
To champion the ICARE values of the PPF and act as a role model for team in helping to integrate them into the PPF way of working;
To take accountability for work and decisions in practice area and ensure that any impact on other teams or areas is highlighted and discussed with them.

Planning and Resourcing

To prepare and maintain the annual plan and budget of the Risk Practice;
To ensure that the annual plan and budget meets PPF requirements and is congruent with other departmental plans and objectives;
To monitor the plan and budget periodically, maintaining its integrity and building and agreeing remedial activities to keep the plan and budget on target;
To create and maintain a resource plan for the Risk Practice, coordinating with other practice leaders and HR in the recruitment of appropriate permanent staff and secondees to meet requirements;

Staff Leadership Responsibilities

To lead and manage the riskpractice team on a day to day basis to meet business and customer needs and to ensure effective performance management of team members is carried out effectively;
To create and maintain a co-operative, supportive and personally stimulating and fulfilling culture;
To ensure that Performance Development Reviews are carried out and that there is active informal performance assessment and feedback and development of direct reports frequently;
To ensure that Balanced Scorecards are set for each individual that feed from the team, Directorate and overall PPF Balanced Scorecard;
To ensure that learning & development needs are identified for each direct report;
To ensure health and safety is implemented effectively within the team, and contributes to its implementation throughout the organisation as a whole.

Personal Development

To identify own training, learning and development needs and ensure these needs are met successfully.
To ensure that any relevant requirement for Continuous Professional Development (CPD) is satisfied.

Other

To perform any other reasonable duties, as necessary.

The post holder is expected to comply with all the relevant policies and procedures of the Pension Protection Fund.

This job description is not exhaustive, and the post holder may be required to undertake other responsibilities commensurate with the grade of the post. The job description will be subject to regular review, and may be altered in the light of changing circumstances following consultation with the post holder.

Person Specification

Criteria / Essential / Desirable / How tested
Qualifications and experience / Fully qualified risk professional
Leadership experience in financial risk management
Direct experience across Market, Liquidity and Interest Rate risks
Experience in team leadership and management / Budgetary responsibilities / Application Form/Interview
Application Form/Interview
Application Form/Interview
Application Form/Interview
Knowledge / Knowledge of relevant risks eg market; counterparty; liquidity; collateral; credit; demographic risks
A good understanding of the policy surrounding the Pension Protection Fund and related pension issues / Knowledge of leading risk systems and software / Application Form/Interview
Application Form/Interview
Skills / Ability to communicate highly technical material clearly
Good analytical, numerical and judgemental skills
Good people and customer skills
Strong planning and organisational skills
Effective leadership and team-working skills
Excellent influencing skills / Application Form/Interview
Application Form/Interview
Application Form/Interview
Application Form/Interview
Application Form/Interview
Application Form/Interview
Personal Attributes / Self motivated and inquisitive
Ability to build a team
Committed to continuous professional development and learning of his team members
Good Listener
Willing to learn and develop in his/her role
Willing to encourage team members to learn and develop in their roles
Capable of effective challenge / Interview
Interview
Interview
Application Form/Interview
Interview
Interview
Interview

Note: “Application form” in the above table includes any curriculum vitae and covering letter provided as well as the application form itself.

Please see next page for role Competency Profile.

JOB COMPETENCY PROFILE FORM

Job Title: / Risk Practice Leader
Assessed By: / Martin Clarke
LEVELS
KEY COMPETENCIES / Deliver / Enhance / Advocate
Shaping the future
Commitment to Stakeholder / 
Continuous Improvement / 
Making things happen
Goal Oriented / 
Takes Responsibility / 
Working collaboratively
Working Together / 
Develops Self and Others / 
Working style
Personal Proficiency / 
Lives PPF values / 