Senior Operational Risk Analyst

Richard James Recruitment Specialists Ltd; Greater London; On-site; GBP 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

Richard James Recruitment Specialists Ltd is seeking an experienced Operational Risk professional to support development and implementation of risk controls across European trading entities. The role covers new business onboarding, risk assessment, and ongoing control testing to enhance risk management within a growing energy trading group.

The ideal candidate will bring 6+ years in energy trading risk, Basel II/COSO knowledge, and strong communication skills to influence senior stakeholders and

Qualifications

• Degree or equivalent.
• 6+ years in energy trading risk or Operational Risk roles.
• Experience in commodities/risk frameworks and Basel II/COSO knowledge.
• Familiarity with energy trading lifecycle and risk controls.
• Strong communication and ability to interact with senior management.

Responsibilities

• Act as SME on Operational Risk and provide guidance to senior management.
• Support development and maintenance of operational risk frameworks.
• Manage New Business Assurance and risk oversight for strategic initiatives.
• Develop operational risk agenda to meet audit/regulatory requirements.
• Design and operate Risk Control Self-Assessment and reporting to Risk Control Committee.
• Conduct incident investigations and extract learnings to drive improvements.
• Produce monthly Trader KPI reports with risk indicators and policy compliance.
• Onboard new starters to risk policies and access controls to ensure proper SoD.

Skills

Operational Risk

Data analysis

Communication skills

Stakeholder management

Risk governance

Education

Degree or equivalent

Tools

Endur

Symphony

Job description

Our client is a trader of Commodity and Energy products including, Gas, Power, LNG, Metals and Oil, based in Central London. They offer a unique chance to work within a growing and diversifying business, with a strong commercial appetite.

Working as part of the wider Risk Control function, the key role is to support the development and implementation of Operational Risk management across all European based trading entities. The role encompasses new business setup to Operational control review, monitoring and testing. We are looking for individuals who understand the Risks of operating an expanding multinational commodity organisation and have the drive and inquisition to improve the Risk and Control practices within it.

ROLE RESPONSIBILTIES:

• Act as a subject matter expert on Operational Risk, able to provide advice and guidance to senior management and the business on key operational risk matters.
• Support the development and maintenance of the operational risk frameworks to enable identification and assessment of major operational risks across core and emerging commercial and operational activities in line with recognised best practice and standards.
• Manage the New Business Assurance process and contribute to the risk oversight and control in relation to new strategic initiatives and operational capability projects.
• Support the development of the operational risk agenda to meet audit, policy or external regulatory requirements.
• Support the design and operation of the Risk Control Self-Assessment methodology and reporting of the output to the Risk Control Committee and parent companies.
• Conduct incident investigations and extract learnings and risk insights to drive performance improvements, gain approvals and provide focus to line department plans on business process & continuous improvement activity.
• Extract, validate and consolidate relevant data from source systems to produce an accurate and timely monthly Trader KPI report, providing management with clear visibility of trader performance, key risk indicators, policy compliance and areas requiring follow-up.
• Introduce new starters to the Risk Policy and other company policies, ensuring they understand their roles, responsibilities and key control requirements. Provide guidance on new starter system configuration and access controls to support effective segregation of duties (SoD) and maintain an appropriate control environment.
• Support IT projects by providing Operational Risk and control expertise, ensuring that new systems and technology solutions are appropriately designed, controlled and fit for purpose to support efficient and effective trading operations.

EDUCATION, SKILLS & EXPERIENCE REQUIRED:

• Degree, or equivalent.
• The successful candidate would preferably be from a commodities background with 6 years + within an energy trading and/or risk environment, including within Operational Risk or associated roles.
• A professional background within Commodities - qualifications in Risk, Accounting or Audit may provide an advantage
• Detailed working knowledge of operational risk best practice application and implementation. (e.g. Basel II, COSO)
• Detailed knowledge of operational risk & control processes and practices, including experience in their application; knowledge of Operational Rigour / Testing Frameworks and practices; proven experience in design and testing of controls.
• Working knowledge of the energy trading (Oil, Gas, LNG, Power etc.) and supply chain business; front- to-back office best practices.
• Working knowledge of the energy transaction lifecycle.
• Experience of controls and the setting up of controls environment (e.g. Basel II, COSO).
• A background within other management and control functions i.e. Commercial Finance, Risk Management, Accounting, Audit, Internal Control, Business Change and Business Assurance, or a related Risk Consulting Practice.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills; initiates communications within the team to learn and share knowledge and follows up to ensure message is received; ability to communicate well with front, mid and back-office personnel as well as senior levels of management; listens attentively, seeks to understand other’s viewpoints, and tests for understanding; ability to communicate complex issues simply.
• Able to take and maintain an independent approach and challenge where appropriate.
• Ability to balance operational risk management theory and practical best practice implementation with commercial and resource constraints.
• Ability to prioritise multiple tasks to meet deadlines in a fast-paced environment.
• Good interpersonal skills and a team player, able to build working relationships within, and across, teams/departments.
• Strong IT skills and aptitude; experience of working with large sets of data and producing reports; experience with energy trading risk management (ETRM) systems such as Endur and Symphony.