Head of Small Corporate

Details
Reference number

439628

Salary

£61,250 - £75,671

A Market Supplement of 15% is attached to the role.

A Civil Service Pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%

GBP

Job grade

Grade 7

Contract type

Permanent

Business area

UKEF - Risk Management Group - Risk Approval Division

Type of role

Risk Management

Working pattern

Flexible working, Full-time, Job share, Part-time

Number of jobs available

1

Contents

• Location
• About the job
• Benefits
• Things you need to know
• Apply and further information

Location

Westminster, London

About the job
Job summary

The principal role of the Department is to support UK companies exporting to foreign markets by providing insurance, loans and guarantees against non-payment or non-performance by UK exporters and overseas buyers. To perform its statutory function, UKEF must assume significant credit risks on behalf of UK exporters. Consequently, the financial success of the Department is crucially dependent upon sound credit risk assessment, particularly given the elevated default risks associated with emerging markets and SMEs. The Risk Assessment Division (RAD) is responsible for providing probability of default (PD) ratings and loss given default (LGD) assessments on all non-sovereign risks assumed by the Department.

RAD's case work is split currently into three teams:

• Corporate & Strategic Sectors (incl. SME & Trade Finance);
• Project Finance;
• Specialised Products Risk (Aerospace, Financial Institutions and Active Portfolio Management).

Job description

The role holder is responsible for managing Senior Credit Risk Analysts (SEO) who assess the credit risks of existing exposures and proposed transactions within their area. The role holder is highly experienced on the credit features of the particular sectors and are responsible for managing the case work that falls within it; they lead on complex cases which may include novel features, negotiations with exporters/buyers, and supervise the case work of more junior analysts within the division. They are responsible for the credit risk approval of cases within their delegated authority.

Main Activities

• Managing, producing and aiding the production of high-quality credit analysis (including credit ratings & LGD assessments as required) on casework (which may include novel and unusual features) relating to corporate obligors, large and small.
• Ensuring proposed business is within UKEF risk appetite.
• Demonstrating subject matter competence in the team's sectors and industries, as well as trade finance products and emerging markets.
• Liaising with UK exporters, overseas counterparties and other stakeholders including leading meetings, often with senior management, to understand the business and transaction structure.
• Credit risk approval for cases within delegated authority.
• Presentation of analysis and recommendation for approval to risk colleagues and the Enterprise Risk & Credit Committee (ERiCC), including providing support to more junior analysts presenting their cases.
• Lead in the development of new elements of UKEF's risk policies, procedures & frameworks, as well as continuous improvement of internal process efficiency and robustness.
• Identification and implementation of training and up skilling analysts (and non-analysts) as required.
• Lead on any assigned corporate contribution roles supporting the general management of the Risk Management Group and UKEF.
• Responsibility for the motivation of a team to deliver timely and robust risk assessments.
• Review financial information for initial enquiries where necessary. The role holder provides advice on whether a case is likely to meet the minimum credit risk standard and, if not, to suggest acceptable alternative structures where possible.

This list is not exhaustive, and you may be required to carry out additional duties according to business needs.

Person specification

UK Export Finance is looking for motivated individuals with a desire to learn about the business. Successful candidates will be provided not only with functional training to enable them to do well in their role, but also with personal development to help them to achieve their career ambitions. Please note that the person specification below outlines at which stage(s) you will be assessed on how you meet the criteria for the role(s) including:-

A= assessed at application stage I = assessed at interview stage P = assessed at presentation stage

Essential
Qualifications

• GCSE Maths and English equivalent or above and/ or relevant professional development. (A)

Knowledge

• Significant knowledge of credit analysis (A, I, P)
• Understanding of financial accounts including typical analytical adjustments to assess cash flow, working capital, liquidity and debt sustainability;
• Ability to assess industry risk within unfamiliar / new sectors or geographies;
• An understanding of the key credit risk factors of major corporates, including UK SMEs and an understanding of credit risk factors associated with trade finance;
• Expert knowledge of a range of credit risk structuring and assessment tools for analysing qualitative and quantitative risk factors to produce probability of default ratings (PDs) and loss given default assessments (LGDs);
• Knowledge of transaction structuring including the use of covenants.
• Understanding and experience of typical banking products including loans or trade finance products (bonding, LCs, working capital facilities).
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office. (A)

Skills/Ability

• Ability to interpret complex data and make sound, commercially balanced decisions; strong planning and organisational skills to manage priorities and meet deadlines. (A, I)
• Clear written and verbal communication, including leading meetings and presenting complex information effectively; ability to build collaborative relationships across teams. (A, I, P)
• Capacity to work independently while seeking guidance when appropriate. (A, I)

Experience

• Demonstrated success in credit risk analysis within a relevant organisation, including producing credit ratings and assessments for corporates or SMEs; experience applying credit risk rating models and advanced risk measurement techniques. (A, I)
• Experience managing or mentoring junior team members. (A, I)

Other Requirements e.g. travel, languages

• The role may require travel within the UK and occasionally overseas. (I)

Behaviours

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Seeing the Big Picture
• Making Effective Decisions
• Leadership
• Communicating and Influencing

Technical skills

We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:

• Presentation
• Questions

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £61,250, UK Export Finance contributes £17,744 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

• Learning and development tailored to your role
• An environment with flexible working options
• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
• A Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%

Things you need to know
Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles , and will assess your Behaviours, Experience and Technical skills.

All applications will be sifted against our essential criteria outlined in the personal specification.

• Statement of suitability - you should fully articulate in 500 words how you meet the essential criteria outlined in the person specification within the Information Pack.

For the initial sift your application will be evaluated against:

• Experience - CV / Application and Statement of Suitability

In the event of a high volume of applications, an initial sift will be carried out on the following essential criteria:

• Significant knowledge of credit analysis (A, I)
• Understanding of financial accounts including typical analytical adjustments to assess cash flow, working capital, liquidity and debt sustainability;
• Ability to assess industry risk within unfamiliar / new sectors or geographies;
• An understanding of the key credit risk factors of major corporates, including UK SMEs and an understanding of credit risk factors associated with trade finance;
• Expert knowledge of a range of credit risk structuring and assessment tools for analysing qualitative and quantitative risk factors to produce probability of default ratings (PDs) and loss given default assessments (LGDs);
• Knowledge of transaction structuring including the use of covenants.
• Understanding and experience of typical banking products including loans or trade finance products (bonding, LCs, working capital facilities).
• Clear written and verbal communication, including leading meetings and presenting complex information effectively; ability to build collaborative relationships across teams. (A, I)
• Demonstrated success in credit risk analysis within a relevant organisation, including producing credit ratings and assessments for corporates or SMEs; experience applying credit risk rating models and advanced risk measurement techniques. (A, I)

If you are successful following the sift stage, you will be invited to an initial interview; this will include the following assessment:

• Behaviours - a formal panel interview where you will be interviewed across all four behaviours highlighted.
• Seeing the Big Picture (Lead Behaviour)
• Communicating and Influencing
• Leadership
• Making Effective Decisions
• Technical - you will be assessed across your technical expertise and acumen, in relation to the essential criteria:
• Presentation - a topic to be agreed by UKEF and will be provided to relevant candidates, to be prepared in advance.
• Questions

Details of interview panel members will be e-mailed to all successful candidates who are invited for interview.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.

Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check .

See our vetting charter .

People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles .

The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.

The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.

Diversity and Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy .

Apply and further information

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans initiative.

Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Contact point for applicants
Job contact :

• Name : UKEF Recruitment
• Email :

Recruitment team

• Email :

Further information

Should you have a complaint or wish to raise any concerns regarding the recruitment process, please e-mail your complaint to the Head of Pay and Resourcing (UKEF) at and include "Complaint" in the subject heading. Should you remain dissatisfied following UKEF's investigation then you can refer your complaint to the Commission -

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