Senior Associate / Associate, Portfolio Risk, GCC Pension Fund (Role Based in GCC)

JR United Kingdom; Southampton; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading firm is seeking a seasoned investment professional to join their Portfolio Risk team. This essential role involves monitoring investment risks, performing quantitative analyses, and ensuring compliance with regulatory frameworks. Ideal candidates will have substantial experience in investment risk, strong analytical capabilities, and relevant qualifications.

Qualifications

• 5 - 10 years experience in investment risk, ideally in pension funds.
• Strong analytical skills and proficiency in risk platforms.
• Knowledge of regulatory frameworks for pension funds.

Responsibilities

• Monitor portfolio exposures and assess market risks.
• Perform quantitative risk analysis and maintain risk dashboards.
• Collaborate to evaluate risk-return profiles of strategies.

Skills

Analytical abilities

Quantitative abilities

Programming (Python)

Programming (R)

Data analysis (Excel VBA)

Data analysis (SQL)

Education

Bachelor's degree in Finance

Master's degree in Finance

Degree in Risk Management

Degree in Econometrics

Degree in Mathematics

Degree in Statistics

Degree in Engineering

Tools

Bloomberg PORT

RiskMetrics

Barra

Job description

Background:

Our client, a prominent GCC-based Pension Fund, is seeking an experienced investment professional to join their Portfolio Risk team. As a Senior Associate / Associate, you will assess and monitor investment risks across a diversified portfolio. The role plays a vital part in aligning investments with the fund’s long-term goals and regulatory requirements.

Key Responsibilities:

1. Monitor portfolio exposures and assess market, credit, and liquidity risks across asset classes.
2. Perform quantitative risk analysis using VaR, stress testing, and scenario analysis.
3. Develop and maintain risk dashboards, alerts, and reports for leadership and committees.
4. Support implementation and refinement of risk frameworks, policies, and controls.
5. Ensure compliance with risk limits, governance, and regulations.
6. Collaborate with teams to evaluate risk-return profiles of investment strategies.
7. Analyze portfolio sensitivity to economic, interest rate, currency, and geopolitical factors.
8. Contribute to model development, back testing, and validation.
9. Communicate key risk insights to stakeholders.

Qualifications & Experience:

1. 5 – 10 years experience in investment risk, portfolio analytics, or financial risk management— preferably within pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, or asset managers.
2. Strong analytical and quantitative abilities with proficiency in risk platforms such as Bloomberg PORT, RiskMetrics, or Barra.
3. Solid programming and data analysis capabilities (e.g., Python, R, Excel VBA, SQL).
4. Familiarity with asset allocation models, risk-adjusted performance metrics, and portfolio construction principles.
5. Understanding of Islamic finance is a plus, particularly for Sukuk and Sharia-compliant investment structures.
6. Knowledge of regional and international pension fund regulatory frameworks, including capital adequacy requirements.
7. Bachelor's or Master's degree in Finance, Economics, Risk Management, Actuarial Science, or a quantitative discipline such as Mathematics, Statistics, or Engineering.
8. Professional certifications preferred: FRM, CFA, or PRM (or currently pursuing one).