GLOBAL DERIVATIVES OPS EUROPEAN SETTLEMENTS TEAM LEADER, GLOBAL ASSET MANAGEMENT, C£55,000 PLUS EXCELLENT BENS, CITY

GLOBAL DERIVATIVES OPS EUROPEAN SETTLEMENTS TEAM LEADER, GLOBAL ASSET MANAGEMENT, C£55,000 PLUS EXCELLENT BENS, CITY

The Role
Global Derivatives Operations – European Settlements Team Leader

The Team
Global Derivatives Operations

The Global Derivative Operations team plays a key role in the continued success of this business within the Company including supporting the continued business growth, managing the control environment and reducing risk, increasing efficiencies and strengthening relationships with internal and external clients.

The Global team is responsible for the Middle Office and Operations functions supporting business across all products and funds which trade a variety of derivatives. These cover all asset classes including credit, rates, inflation, and equity derivatives. Products traded include IRS, Swaptions, CDS, Index, Structured Credit, Inflation Swaps, Repo, TRS (on a variety of underlyings), FX variance and Equity Swaps across a range of G10 and emerging market currencies.

The Person
The Company is looking for a high-quality candidate to join the team and help deliver on key operational goals including their medium and longer-term change and strategic agenda and supporting the ambitious business plans in this area. You will be working as part of a growing Global team, and liaising closely with business product and trading groups, other operations and technology groups, legal, as well as external counterparts, custodians and prime brokers.

This is an excellent opportunity to learn about the investment management and hedge fund business as well as derivative products and lifecycle management at one of the largest money-manager in the world.

Roles and Responsibilities

The European Settlements Team Leader role is based in the UK.

• The role is responsible for the settlement of cash as relates to OTC derivative contracts. This will include, but will not be limited to, periodic swap coupon payments, swap termination fees and swaption premiums.
• There will be close liaison with counterparties, custodians, fund administrators & other teams internally which are responsible for & / or impacted by cash management.
• Thought leadership is required – the successful candidate need to be able to drive forward the cash agenda, specifically with regards to interest claims, outstanding cash items, overdrafts, aging, risk profile and chasing for use of funds. Responsibility for productivity and team capacity also forms part of this role.
• Responsibility for the settlement function has particular importance in an Investment Management business such as this. There are legal and fiduciary responsibilities, as well.
• In addition to the settlements aspect of this role, there is a Lifecycle Management element.
• Equally as important, this entails ensuring that Fund Administrators are notified of all relevant lifecycle events – new trade, termination by unwind etc. – as relates to OTC Derivatives. This part of the role includes driving forward the automation agenda, defining the control and reconciliation frameworks around this function and ensuring that multiple 3rd parties are performing to their SLAs.

There is also the potential for this to become a Global role. The opportunity exists for the successful candidate to propose a Global structure, with aligned processes and a consolidated organisational structure.

• Own and lead the European Settlements Team
• Proactively define, build and manage relationships with counterparty’s Custodians / Fund Administrators and ensure issues are addressed
• Lead the people agenda for the Settlements Team, including the setting of key target objects for team members, conducting regular appraisal sessions and playing a full part in the year-end process
• Cash settlement and processing function
• Lifecycle management function
• Organising/chairing regular meetings with internal groups (front office, legal, projects, senior management, other locations)
• Act as a point of escalation to resolve high risk, outstanding issues. Recognise that these issues exist through sound monitoring and oversight
• MIS analysis. Setting clear measurable targets and objectives based on numbers
• Feeding business knowledge into the Project Management team
• Highlight automation needs and implement process improvement
• Responsible for migration of processes from current systems to strategic, future-state architecture

Experience Required
• OTC Derivatives Operations experience, with familiarity of cash settlements
• OTC Derivatives Operations experience, familiarity of lifecycle management and understanding of operational model which uses 3rd party providers
• Knowledge of OTC Derivatives industry market practices
• Working knowledge of OTC Derivative products, e.g. credit, rates, equity
• Ability to communicate effectively with traders, counterparties 3rd parties etc., using persuasiveness and knowledge to resolve issues
• Identifying high risk issues and escalating appropriately