About the job

Job summary

The Portfolio Management Division (PMD) is one of the four Divisions within UKEF’s Risk Management Group (RMG).  PMD is a centre of excellence for monitoring customers and exporters after they have been approved by credit officers or UKEF’s Enterprise Risk & Credit Committee (ERiCC). The Division  provides a clear demarcation of the first and second line of defence roles, which are fundamental to risk management and allows UKEF to be even more proactive in managing emerging risks in the portfolio and taking expedient action to mitigate them. PMD is made up of four branches:

 

• Active Portfolio Management (APM) – see below.
• Post-Issue Management (PIM) – Monitors UKEF’s Medium- to Long-Term (MLT) transactions after the guarantee has been issued. There are currently around 165 deals totalling over £30bn.
• Credit Risk Management (CRM) – Responsible for ongoing credit risk monitoring for existing deals (Large Corporate & Aero), including annual rating reviews and assessment of Loss Given Defaults (LGDs) for these entities.
• Climate & ESG Risk (CESG) – Responsible for UKEF's climate change and ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) risks management related to financial and credit risk.

 

PMD works closely with the Business Group (BG), Legal & Compliance Group (LCG), Strategy, Sustainability & Impact Group (SSIG), Chief Finance & Operating Officer's (CFOO) Group, Digital Data & Technology (DDaT) Group, and the other three divisions within RMG.

Job description

The APM Branch identifies packages and transfers UKEF risk with financial intermediaries. Once transactions have been approved, APM monitors risk concentration and explores methods to reduce portfolio risk. APM works closely with all aspects of the business to develop a co-ordinated strategy to optimise UKEF’s use of funds. APM delivers two key benefits: increases capacity under country limits; and reduce the likelihood of cash-calls on the exchequer. APM supports UK exporters and ensures this is carried out in the most cost-efficient way.

 

This role is the Head of APM who will have the responsibility for the day-to-day operational leadership for UKEF’s portfolio management activities. The Postholder will be responsible for oversight of UKEF’s £1.5bn book of private market re-insurance.

 

The portfolio covers tranches of existing agreements, with different clauses and insurers. There are 8 tranches so far, each tranche covers multiple loans to overseas buyers, both Sovereign and Corporate, and extends for up to nine years from the date of signature.

 

We expect this role to add to the intellectual capacity of UKEF’s Risk Management team at the senior leader level and provide an anchor for talent management. As we move onwards into more challenging risk environments, it is important to have a function that is agile and forward looking.

Person specification

Leadership and Management

1. Leading, Managing and motivating the APM team (total of approx. 2 FTE).
2. Management of the team to ensure all existing portfolio management tools and managed, controlled and maintained.
3. Management of the team to identify and prepare portfolio opportunities for UKEF.
4. Management of the team to prepare opportunities, present and engage with financial counterparties.
5. Managing the team to deliver any necessary procurement activities.
6. Engaging at Senior levels across UKEF, Financial Institutions, Exporters, overseas buyers and UK counterparties. As well as industry professionals to understand and review potential portfolio options for UKEF.

1. Liaising with multiple stakeholders – both within UKEF and outside (within the wider government - notably HM Treasury (HMT) and UK Government & Investments (UKGI) - and in the domain of risk experts, such as other Export Credit Agencies (ECAs), Insurers and Banks). This is another core aspect of the role given we need to be at the forefront of Industry best practices. Internal stakeholders include - BG, CFOO, LCG, SSIG, ERiCC and the Audit Committee (AC).

1. Coaching, Mentoring and Leading from the front on the People Agenda. Provide guidance to team members, to develop their technical, project management and negotiating skills as well as their wider analytical skill set. Actively contributing to the One Risk One Team Agenda for RMG.

 

Specific activities within the Head of Active Portfolio Management responsibility:

1. Overseeing and ensuring any changes to existing private market cases are done consistently and reported to the private insurance partners. Following the correct procedures in the documented agreements. Dealing with any questions or challenges from the private reinsurers.
2. Managing the relationship with our appointed broker, the standby broker and private market insurance companies who bid on our transactions.
3. Responsible for reviewing the portfolio of existing and future transactions. Selecting appropriate transactions for private insurance. Analysing the VFM and portfolio impacts using complex modelling and industry benchmarks. Managing the process to ensure UKEF can take most appropriate tranches (bundles of deals) through to the market. Managing the market responses, requirements and information flows to deliver signed insurances to UKEF.
4. Responsible for ensuring UKEF upholds its side of the agreements and acts appropriately. Managing responses through the various agreements and laws relevant to insurances.
5. Analyse, review and propose risk management options for UKEF. Managing the process through the risk acceptance and review.
6. Engagement with industry experts, brokers, insurance providers to ensure our proposals are understood and managed appropriately.
7. Use commercial judgement and risk expertise when negotiating structures and deal proposals.
8. Oversee, and seek continual improvement of; the policy environment, processes and controls across the Branch.

1. Provide efficient, timely and collaborative service and risk expertise to key stakeholders as required, including but not limited to BG, PIM, Enterprise Risk Division (ERD), ERiCC, AC, Risk Committee (RC), Executive Committee (EC), the Board, and other Civil Service departments.
2. Ensure that staff are trained, and continue to be trained, with the appropriate skillset to analyse appropriately the multiple asset classes on which UKEF is asked to opine.

General

1. Contribute to RMG’s policies and strategic projects.
2. Personal Delegated Authority up to £ tbd (dependent upon relevant experience)
3. Budget authority in line with business requirements.

 

This list is not exhaustive; the role may be required to carry out additional duties according to business need.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £73,150, UK Export Finance contributes £19,750 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

Things you need to know

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours, Experience and Technical skills.

You will be invited to complete the online application form. The application form must be completed by 23.55 on the day of the closing date
for it to be accepted.

All applications will be sifted against our minimum selection criteria outlined in the personal specification.
You will be asked in the relevant sections of the application form to provide examples of evidence against a range of the success profiles (refer
to appendix 1). Where applicants are asked to apply with a personal statement, you should fully articulate in 750 words how you meet the
essential criteria outlined in the person specification within the Information Pack.

For the initial sift your application will be evaluated against:

1. Experience
2. Technical
3. Behaviours

If you are successful following the sift stage, you will be invited to an initial interview; this will include the following assessment:

1. Behaviours/Technical/Experience - a formal panel interview where you will be interviewed across all four behaviours highlighted and your technical ability to successfully carry out the role.
2. Technical - a short presentation (this will be on a topic determined by UKEF and will need to be prepared in advance).

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check (opens in a new window).

See our vetting charter (opens in a new window). People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window). The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria. The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.