Investment Risk Associate

Business Area: Financial Risk

Place of Work: London

Contract Type: Permanent

When you join USS, the size and scale of our pension scheme means you will have numerous opportunities to learn and develop your career. Given our size you'll have real autonomy and influence as you collaborate closely with a wide-ranging team of experts.

About the role

In your role as Investment Risk Associate you will make a meaningful and valued contribution from the outset. This role will provide a great opportunity to be part of the IRO team.

They are highly collaborative with investment desks and focused on challenge of investment risks (market, credit, concentration, liquidity and ESG).

This is an exciting early career role driving the ongoing growth and development of investment risk reporting for the IRO team.

The wider team has oversight for both public and private markets, hence this is a great opportunity to collaborate extensively, and offers great visibility to senior management.

What you will be doing

As a trusted part of the Financial Risk you will be responsible for:

• Assist with day-to-day production of analytics and reports across the investment risk spectrum for all asset classes (across public and private markets).
• Provide analytical support for ad-hoc requests internally from IRO and externally across USS.
• Contribute to delivery of projects from end-to-end, including planning, gathering requirements and testing.
• Assist with the implementation & enhancement of automated reporting within IRO.
  Managing Processes & Future Focus
• Cooperate closely with other IRO team members and the Financial Risk Infrastructure and Engineering team to identify potential process improvements.
• Automate and redesign processes to achieve efficient risk reporting and analysis.

About you

We know that sometimes people can be put off applying for a job if they don't tick every box, if you're excited about working for us and have most of the skills or experience we're looking for, then please apply, regardless of whether you meet all the requirements outlined in this profile.

To be successful in the role you will have:

• Excellent communication skills and confidence to build strong working relationships with the rest of IRO and other teams as required.
• Early career candidate with some investment risk reporting/analytics experience, ideally in the investment management or pensions/endowments industry.
• Experience of automating risk reporting expected.
• Experience across at least one (public markets) asset class expected but broad multi asset class experience a plus.
• Experience of private markets highly desirable but the candidate should at least show some interest and understanding of the asset class.
• Knowledge of Excel, Python (though not expected to be to developer level) and SQL.
• Knowledge of Power BI desirable.
• Experience with external risk systems such as MSCI Barra One and/or Risk Manager expected.
• Self-starter with ‘can do’ attitude, highly organised and ability to prioritise.
• Experience in embedding risk management frameworks and processes.
• Further qualifications and/or CFA charter-holder status would be a benefit but not essential.

At USS, every individual contributes to building a secure financial future for our members and their families. We strive to create a work environment where everyone can thrive professionally while making a meaningful impact on the lives of others.

We're also committed to helping you build your career by providing opportunities for development. We put a focus on recognising and supporting each individual's unique career path, driving this forward with the support of an engaged and proactive management team.

Here at USS, we want you to thrive in and out of work with a friendly team, flexible culture and excellent range of benefits!

How we will reward you

• Great starting salary
• Generous annual leave package
• Access to a high quality pension scheme provided through Universities Superannuation Scheme
• Supportive people policies (including enhanced occupational sickness pay and family friendly pay)
• Financial contributions towards your personal development to help you maintain your physical and mental wellbeing
• Access to a range of health and wellbeing services i.e., private healthcare, discounted gym membership
• Learning and development opportunities to develop your skills, knowledge and talent
• Employee Volunteer Day’s to support the communities where you work and live
• Cycle to Work Scheme

Our people are what makes us different. We work together to create a diverse and inclusive culture that embraces individuality, where people are welcomed and feel comfortable in the knowledge that they can be themselves. Our purpose firmly states the importance of members, putting them ‘front and centre’ of what we do. This is embedded through our values:

• Integrity
• Collaboration
• Excellence

Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS) was established in 1974 as the principal pension scheme for universities and higher education institutions in the UK.

We work with around 330 employers to help build a secure financial future for more than 528,000 members and their families. We are one of the largest pension schemes in the UK, with total assets of around £75.5bn (at 31 March 2023). To find out more, please visit https://www.uss.co.uk

USSIM is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We strive to ensure our recruitment process is as flexible and inclusive as possible so we can attract diverse candidates and recruit the best talent.

We want all candidates to perform at their best during the recruitment process, so if you need any reasonable adjustments or if there is anything we can do to help support you through your recruitment journey please let us know by contacting resourcing@uss.co.uk.