Head of Research at Rand Merchant Bank

Job Description

The Head of Research will be responsible for driving the research and macro strategy of the business in line with RMB’s vision of being a trusted adviser to our clients across the franchise footprint. The Head of Research will have the primary responsibility of providing sound, objective, and consistent economic research, entailing research on the financial market, fixed income, currency, provide sector advise to clients and other stakeholders and ensure prompt dissemination of research findings.

Responsibilities   

• Build a top-ranked and renowned research franchise that enhances the value proposition of the RMB brand  
• Take ownership of the Research department and ensure optimum efficiency in research findings, dissemination to clients and other stakeholders  
• Contribute to RMB house view through collaboration with the rest of the team and assume specific responsibility for RMB’s economic house view  
• Build and run various models to assist with forecasting and highlighting risks around the core views  
• Produce daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, and annual presentations to convey the house view and to cover thematic research  
• Put a process in place for cross-checking and sign-off of relevant reports  
• Sound understanding of internal and external stakeholders, their specific needs, and requirements, and how these fit together:  
• Liaise with internal stakeholders to identify their needs, and evaluate whether the research and inputs are correctly aligned  
• Collaborate with Relationship Managers on clients’ needs and feedback  
• Engage with clients directly and via the Relationship Managers to understand their needs and check progress                                  
• Find opportunities to leverage relationships and promote knowledge-sharing  
• Provide views, forecasts, and recommendations on asset classes, analysis of industry sector allocations, and company-specific research reports  
• Facilitate the organization and coordination of client roadshows, conference calls, and seminars  
• Working with various teams to generate sales and trading ideas that will be used for client engagement  
• Coordinate market intelligence activities; prepare competitive analysis reports and forward recommendations to the relevant business groups  
• Oversee the monitoring and maintenance of financial models and industry databases ensuring correct and up-to-date information for research reports  
• Supervise and coordinate the research, collation, analysis, and assessment of marketing information/indices that would provide adequate backup and support for the business’ decisions  
• Participate in the development and implementation of marketing and financial models for the business to support its trading, sales, and competitive strategies  
• Broad understanding of RMB’s products to be able to use research to support the selling of the products, e.g high-level knowledge of Fixed income and FX products  
• Responsible for facilitating the conduct of environmental/market research surveys and analyses of macro sectors to identify investment opportunities    
• Manage the view (take responsibility for the overall economic view of the team as it relates to the global and local economy and financial markets)  
• Strong collaboration with other research units in the group on research reports as required for specific industry and or thematic macro events  
• Supervising the collation of key economic data covering the globe, major trading regions, and Africa into suitably organized information to inform and guide the Bank’s policies and operations  
• Sound understanding of the group structure and business flows, including high-level understanding of the Bank’s revenue, costs, and capital drivers  

Qualifications and Experience

• Minimum of a first-degree qualification in Economics, Statistics, and other related degree- Preferably should be a CFA Chartered holder or in the process of achieving the qualification  
• Minimum of 10 years experience in financial markets research with a sound understanding of the Equity space  
• Experience in covering SSA market will be an added advantage  
• Strong relationship with both the domestic and international institution client base  
• Sound knowledge of the financial market and an appreciation of the dynamics of emerging markets  
• Outstanding qualitative and quantitative analytical skills combined with an ability to apply judgment and think strategically   
• Practical knowledge of computer software necessary for analyzing large volumes of statistical data  
• Up-to-date knowledge of the financial market changes and evolving dynamics  
• Strong attention to detail  
• High level of integrity, well organized and detail-oriented    
• Personable character and ability to engage with clients and stakeholders on research reports  
• Excellent verbal and non-verbal communication skills  
• Good leadership skills and willingness to be part of a team 

Competence  

• Excellent communication, report and analytical writing, presentation, and interpersonal skills   
• Strong Entrepreneurial drive  
• Strong work ethic and ability to operate in a fast-changing environment (building a business)  
• Ability to develop a wide network of business contacts and agents to accomplish professional objectives
• Ability to work under pressure and drive results   
• Applies effective analysis, logic, and creativity to identify and implement effective strategies    

Leadership & Management Skills  

• Take full responsibility for performance management of all direct reports, focusing on all aspects of sound people management:    
• Recruitment  
• Development  
• Performance Management  
• Remuneration and Rewards  
• Career path planning  
• On-the-job training, coaching & mentoring  
• Ensure appropriate coordination of departmental activities and assume accountability    
• Motivate, delegate, and empower appropriately, enabling direct reports to take responsibility and display appropriate creativity and initiative with agreed parameters   
• Monitor staff performance against agreed objectives and grow their skills where required   
• Ensure the transfer of institutional knowledge within the team    
• Promote and uphold RMB’s core values among staff and clients