Operational Risk Manager

Rothesay is the UK’s largest pensions insurance specialist, purpose-built to protect pension schemes and their members’ pensions. With over £68 billion of assets under management, we secure the pensions of more than one million people and pay out, on average, approximately £200 million in pension payments each month.

Rothesay is dedicated to providing excellence in customer service alongside prudent underwriting, a conservative investment strategy and the careful management of risk. We are trusted by the pension schemes of some of the UK’s best known companies to provide pension solutions, including British Airways, Cadbury, the Civil Aviation Authority, the Co-Operative, Morrisons, Smiths Industries and Telent.

At Rothesay, we are striving to transform our industry. We believe deeply in creating real security for the future and our leadership in finding new and better ways to do that is the key to our success. To do that, we need the very brightest original thinkers to bring creativity as well as rigour. Rothesay is a rewarding place to work, where quality people can thrive and prosper. We pride ourselves on the connections our people build, many of whom have been with us for over ten years.

Job Title:               Operational Risk Manager

The Operational Risk team - parts of Rothesay’s wider Risk department - is responsible for second line assurance of the Group’s non-financial risks. This is a small, experienced team which interacts closely and collaboratively with all parts of the business as well Rothesay’s key third parties.

The work of the team is varied covering a mix of BAU operational risk management as well as targeted assurance work to support the continued growth of the business and new initiatives. The team aims to provide insight and guidance to the business as well as robust review and challenge over the control environment.

This is a key role in the team requiring strong interpersonal skills, an ability to carry out review work independently, and a deep knowledge of best practice operational risk management tools and techniques applied to a range of financial services activities.

The preferred candidate should have recent experience of working in operational risk at a senior level within the financial services industry.

Job Responsibilities

As a senior member of the team, your responsibilities will include:

• engage on an ongoing basis with senior stakeholders in the business and other assurance functions to ensure operational risks are being appropriately identified, managed, assessed and reported;
• lead the delivery of in-depth assurance reviews around specific areas of the business and the surrounding control environment, particularly areas of change and growth;
• support the team’s technical work including stress testing, scenario analysis, and operational risk quantification;
• work with teams across the business to provide informed and robust review and challenge of their Risk and Control Self-Assessments (‘RCSA’);
• carry out root cause analysis / lessons learned reviews of operational risk events and oversee 1st line remediation activity;
• provide 2nd line oversight of third-party relationships and business projects;
• supporting the continued development and enhancement of Rothesay’s operational resilience, business continuity, and crisis management frameworks;
• deliver general and targeted training to the business to enhance the understanding and ownership of operational risk within the 1st line;
• direct the analysis of risk data and information and produce risk reports for Rothesay’s risk committees; and
• work collaboratively with other teams within the Risk function and other assurance functions (compliance, internal audit, etc.) to support and strengthen our integrated assurance model.

Skills and Experience Required

Required

• practical experience of applying best practice operational risk management tools and techniques;
• excellent oral and written communication skills, e.g. engaging workshop facilitation, high quality report writing, etc.;
• ability to build strong relationships with peers across the 3 lines of defence;
• pragmatic, commercial approach to operational risk management to enable continuous improvement of the control environment and risk aware culture without overly constraining the business; and
• a desire to support the ongoing improvement of the Operational Risk Management framework and deliver increased value to the business.

Desirable

• good awareness of regulatory requirements and expectations in relation to operational risk management, third-party risk management, and operational resilience;
• knowledge of operational risk modelling and statistical analysis;
• financial services experience, particularly insurance / pensions; and
• experience of communicating work to a senior audience and engaging with external stakeholders, e.g. regulators

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.

Disclaimer This position description is intended to describe the duties most frequently performed by an individual in this position. It is not intended to be a complete list of assigned duties, but to describe a position level.  The role shall be performed within a professional office environment. Rothesay Life has health and safety polices that are available for all workers upon request.  There are no specific health risks associated with the role.