VP & Head of Market Risk Oversight

Role Overview

VP & Head of Market Risk Oversight at First Abu Dhabi Bank, based in Abu Dhabi. This role leads the Market Risk Oversight function, which is responsible for the measurement, monitoring, control and reporting of market risk exposures from Global Markets and Group Treasury activities.

Company Overview

Market Risk Oversight operates within the Market Risk Management department. The function ensures that businesses operate within the Risk Appetite approved by the board and maintains regular dialogue with Risk teams, Front Office, Product Control, IT, and Risk & Front Office Quantitative teams across all areas of the bank.

Role Purpose

The VP & Head – Market Risk Oversight will develop and maintain a robust Market Risk Oversight function in compliance with all regulatory guidelines and internal policies. The role requires continuous improvement of processes by identifying global industry best practices and leading initiatives to streamline processes and enhance risk monitoring and analysis, in line with changes in the bank's risk profile and market environment.

Key Responsibilities

General Accountability

• Act in consonance with the Group's vision and mission to facilitate the organizational objectives of growing stronger.
• Ensure the achievement of the bank's business plans by optimizing risk adjusted performance of Trading and Investments activities of Global Markets and Group Treasury.
• Provide an assurance to the GCRO through the Head of Market Risk Management that all material market risks pertaining to Global Markets and Group Treasury have been identified and monitored with proper controls and/or mitigation plans.

Market Risk Oversight Function

• Establish and maintain a robust Market Risk Oversight function ensuring that all open market risks are adequately monitored and reported in an accurate and comprehensive way.
• Be responsible for the MR Oversight function end-to-end and manage the execution of an appropriate Oversight and Governance framework.
• Have oversight on the MR Capital Oversight function to ensure the good functioning of the team and provide guidance where applicable.
• Ensure the department operates within the approved bank policies and regulatory requirements.

Risk Assessment & Reporting

• Provide executive management, directly or through risk committees, with a regular assessment of the market risk exposures and the risk profile of the Investments and Trading activities of the bank.
• Ensure reporting is accessible for senior management by provision of concise, informative reports and commentaries.
• Ensure that all risk reports are reviewed, validated and explained before and after dissemination to stakeholders.
• Active participation in preparation of MIS for senior management and senior committees and supporting Head of Market Risk Management.
• Ensure high quality service to internal and external stakeholders with regards to the accuracy and comprehensiveness of MR risk reports.

Risk Appetite & Compliance

• Ensure strict adherence to the market risk appetite approved by the board.
• Support regulatory submissions relating to Market Risk metrics and ICAAP exercise.
• Perform stress testing in accordance with regulatory guidelines.

Strategic Development & Process Improvement

• Drive the continuous development of the Market Risk Oversight function in line with market best practices, the bank's risk profile and the market environment.
• Be responsible for driving the MR Oversight function, defining requirements for and the implementation of strategic and tactical projects.
• Be the owner of initiatives and projects to automate processes and systems with an objective to streamline processes and increase efficiency.
• Play a leading role in developing process improvements, automating or improving internal processes, and ensuring change requirements are implemented and integrated into team operations appropriately.

Control Environment

• Deliver and maintain a strong, efficient control environment whereby adequate checks and controls are implemented to ensure the data reported to senior management is accurate and delivered on time.
• Ensure that the Business Continuity Plan is tested and learning points logged.

Stakeholder Engagement & Partnership

• Build effective partnerships with the Front Office and enablement teams to ensure accurate and comprehensive market risk oversight on a continuous basis.
• Act as the key point of contact for senior management with regards to market risk oversight associated with Trading and Investment activities.
• Active stakeholder for all ongoing projects pertaining to market risk oversight or impacting market risk reporting.
• Work closely with Front Office and enablement functions to achieve the role objectives.
• Liaise with Market Risk Middle Office for daily validation of market and static data, collateral and risk reports.
• Work with Market Risk Analytics team for valuation and risk methodologies and market data.
• Liaise with Product Control (IPV) to ensure the correct reflection of market data used for official valuation and risks.

Governance & Policy

• Lead engagement with Corporate Governance team to ensure all policies and SOPs pertaining to MR Oversight are regularly updated in a timely manner.
• Lead engagement with Group Internal Audit to address all recommendations in a timely manner.
• Work with Group Internal Audit to address all recommendations in a timely manner.

Technology & Systems

• Lead engagement with IT departments and systems service providers, ensuring issues are appropriately raised, enhancements correctly proposed and implemented where applicable.
• Coordinate with Technology teams to resolve IT related issues and implement relevant changes that improve quality and efficiency of MR Oversight processes.
• Coordinate with Group IT for implementation and development of projects related to Market Risk Oversight and MR Capital.

Cross-Functional Coordination

• Coordinate with Enterprise Risk Management for market risk capital and processes involved around RWA calculations.
• Act as an escalation point to ensure any issues are resolved in a timely manner.

Team Leadership

• Provide leadership and continuous guidance to the MR Oversight team and maintain a good working environment.

Qualifications & Experience

• Master's degree in Finance or Economics.
• 12+ years' relevant experience in the banking sector with at least 5 years in similar positions in the Market Risk or Treasury Risk function.
• Previous managerial experience is highly desirable.
• Extensive experience in Market Risk Oversight within the Investment Banking industry.
• Solid understanding and experience with Market Risk infrastructure and trading systems.
• Sound experience working with financial platforms such as Bloomberg and Reuters.
• Experience working on Murex platform for market risk management and other treasury platforms.
• Professional certification such as FRM or CFA is preferred.

Skills & Competencies

• Market Risk Oversight.
• Market Risk Management.
• Treasury Risk.
• Risk Appetite Monitoring.
• Risk Reporting and Analysis.
• Risk Governance.
• Stress Testing.
• ICAAP.
• Market Risk Capital Oversight.
• Regulatory Reporting.
• OTC Derivatives.
• Interest Rate Derivatives.
• FX, Credit and Structured Credit Products.
• Equities, Commodities and Fixed Income.
• Market Risk Infrastructure.
• Trading Systems.
• Murex.
• Bloomberg.
• Reuters.
• MIS Reporting.
• Stakeholder Management.
• Process Improvement and Automation.
• Leadership and Team Management.
• Business Continuity Planning.
• Corporate Governance.
• Internal Audit Management.
• Strategic Project Delivery.
• Strong Communication and Interpersonal Skills.
• Strong Planning and Organizational Skills.
• Excellent understanding of cash products and OTC Derivatives asset classes including Interest Rate Derivatives, FX, Credit and Structured Credit products, Equities, Commodities and Fixed Income.
• Ability to work accurately under pressure and tight deadlines.
• Solution-oriented approach with proven ability to work accurately under pressure and tight deadlines.
• Strong initiative and proactive problem-solving skills.
• High standards of confidentiality and ethics.
• Relevant IT skillset.