Liabilities Middle Office Operations

Operations - Divisional Overview

The Operations division is an integral part of the independent control and support structure whose key mandate is to establish and maintain an effective control environment. Robust control and risk management drives our business.

Operations strategy is underpinned by 3 guiding principles:

• Payments: Pay our policyholders, Trustees and counterparties accurately and on time, within regulatory guidelines
• Policyholders: Follow the Regulator’s Treating Customers Fairly (TCF) guidance and ensure a best-in-class policyholder experience
• Data: Maintain accurate and complete data for risk and capital management

These 3 principles drive our processes and controls, and are essential for protecting our reputation, managing our risk and capital position, and managing our Third Party Administrators (TPAs).

General activities of the Operations team include:

• Act as an independent control over transactions of the Business
• Trade capture and risk mitigation to ensure bookings are an accurate reflection of business risk
• Execution and management of lifecycle events
• Support of project teams in department-wide initiatives
• Development of technology infrastructure to support the risk management and processing capabilities of transactions
• Close data analysis and reconciliations involving breaking down and data manipulation

The Liabilities Middle Office is responsible for ensuring all operational requirements across our Liability and Reinsurance contracts are serviced correctly. This role will suit a person who is enthusiastic, ambitious and hard-working, who has a desire to work in a fast-paced and demanding environment, who can work independently as well as being part of a small team, and who is able to communicate effectively and demonstrate initiative. It is key that the candidate understands the role that Operations plays in a financial services firm. The candidate must possess an analytical mind-set where they are able to formulate processes that achieve the required controls. 

The position available gives the candidate a lot of autonomy and it is important that they are self-driven to deliver against targets whilst managing time and expectations independently. The role would ideally suit a graduate or an analyst with 1-3 years’ work experience

Purpose of role:

• Complete a range of daily control activities which include ensuring front to back data flows are accurate, trade capture is correct and payments/funding occur accurately and on time
• Execution and management of lifecycle events such as routine data cleanses
• Monitor accuracy of liability and reinsurance data being maintained by TPAs which ultimately drives the P/L for the business. This is done through data reconciliations and the use of exception reporting
• Work with our TPAs to ensure operational service is delivered accurately and per SLA. This will involve resolving queries and working with our TPAs to refine and build process improvements
• Reporting of key risk metrics to management
• Perform a number of data reconciliations, analysing results and seeing issues through to completion
• Continuous process improvement is key in this growth business and supporting projects and technology change is a function of this role

Skills & Experience

Required:

• Minimum 2:1 degree from a leading university (please note strong candidates with exceptional work experience will also be considered should the degree criteria not be met)
• Demonstrable ability to manage multiple projects, tasks and own workload, whilst remaining focused on operational risks
• Ability to demonstrate collaborative working practises, soliciting feedback from others on work and ideas
• Ability to think about the big picture and deliver above and beyond core functions
• Accuracy and absolute attention to detail
• Strong communication skills to clearly articulate status and issues to others

Preferred:

• Strong MS Excel skills (VBA beneficial however not required)
• Some pensions, insurance and/or reinsurance knowledge
• Ability to work with complex documentation and identify operational controls
• Understanding of risk controls in an operational environment, including knowledge of RCSAs

Competencies

• Technical Skills - Demonstrates strong technical skills required for the role, pays attention to detail, takes initiative to broaden his/her knowledge and demonstrates appropriate analytical skills
• Drive and Motivation – Be a self-starter; successfully handles multiple tasks, takes initiative to improve his/her own performance, works intensely towards extremely challenging goals and persists in the face of obstacles or setbacks
• Client and Business Focus - Effectively handles difficult requests, builds trusting, long-term relationships with clients and service providers, helps the client to identify/define needs and manages client/business expectations
• Teamwork – Demonstrate evidence of being a strong team player, collaborates with others within and across teams, encourages other team members to participate and contribute and acknowledges others' contributions
• Communication Skills - Communicates what is relevant and important in a clear and concise manner and shares information/new ideas with others
• Judgement and Problem solving - Thinks ahead, anticipates questions, plans for contingencies, finds alternative solutions and identifies clear objectives. Sees the big picture and effectively analyses complex issues
• Creativity/Innovation - Looks for new ways to improve current processes and develop creative solutions that are grounded in reality and have practical value
• Influencing Outcomes - Presents sound, persuasive rationale for ideas or opinions. Takes a position on issues and influences others' opinions and presents persuasive recommendations

Inclusion 

Rothesay actively promotes diversity and inclusivity. We know that our success depends on our people and that by nurturing a culture that values difference, we create a stronger, more dynamic business. We welcome applications from all qualified candidates, regardless of race, colour, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability or age.