Treasury Risk Assistant at the African Development Bank (AfDB)

Location: Côte d’Ivoire
Grade: GS7
Position N°: 50000934
Reference: ADB/17/535

The Complex
The Vice Presidency for Finance oversees the financial management of the Bank Group. This encompasses the Bank Group’s treasury activities including borrowings from the capital markets and investment activities; controllership functions including financial reporting and loan administration; strategic resource mobilization and the strengthening of the non-statutory financial resources and instruments; the overall asset/liability management for the Bank Group.

The Hiring Department/Division
The overall objective of the Financial Management Department (FIFM) is to safeguard and improve the Bank Group’s risk bearing capacity while looking to optimize efficiency to benefit clients, shareholders and staff.

The role of the Treasury Risk Management Division (FIFM2) is the management of treasury risk and the oversight of treasury activities that enable the Bank to make informed treasury investment and borrowing decisions with adequate and manageable hedging mechanisms. The Division’s objectives are:

• To identify, measure, monitor and mitigate market and credit risks in the Bank’s Treasury operations;
• To ensure the timely reporting of the Treasury Department activities;
• To build an efficient control framework to ensure the adherence to the Bank’s policies, Assets and Liabilities Management (ALM) guidelines and to International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS);
• To provide efficient information systems and analytical support tools to the Treasury Department to improve the decision-making process.

The Position

• As part of the Treasury Risk Management Division, the Treasury Risk Assistant will be primarily responsible for producing key inputs to Treasury activities, performing first level independent controls on treasury transactions compliance with Asset and Liability Management guidelines and maintaining up-to-date market and credit data referential in the Bank Treasury systems.

Duties and Responsibilities
Under the supervision of  the Division Manager -Treasury Risk Management the Treasury Risk Assistant will perform the following:

Update market data and marked-to-market valuations related to Investment and liability activities:

• Maintain market data and perform first levels verification
• Load daily Market Data and rates fixings levels in Treasury Systems, and, advise daily on market data loading status after validation by Treasury Risk Officers;
• Obtain quotations from counterparties for securities and transactions for which no market quotes are available;
• Ensure the reliability of market data loaded in Treasury systems on a daily basis for valuations and analyze significant variances from previous days;
• Run and report marked-to-market valuations for Treasury portfolios
• Run Investment and Borrowing Derivatives Portfolios valuations in Treasury Systems.
• Analyze daily gaps and develop first level explanation to substantial moves;
• Ensure that the valuation of positions and securities complies with established procedures and report exceptions;
• Produce daily reports on derivatives and investment valuations.

Control, process, support and monitor Treasury Activities:

• Transactions compliance:
  • Ensure compliance with guidelines for all new transactions entered by the Treasury Department;
  • When required, define in Treasury systems the financial instruments traded;
• New transactions Market data Compliance:
  • Discuss the valuation source for illiquid and moderately liquid transactions or securities with front office staff in consultation with Treasury Risk officers;
• Front and Back-Office Support:
  • Update events on trades lifecycle and fixed income securities in the system when required by Back-Office;
  • Investigate first level issues on payments, debt service and valuation. Provide timely feedbacks to Back-Office or escalate persistent issues to officers in charge.

Produce analytical inputs and reports on treasury activities and risk:

• Ensure the accuracy and timely production of daily and weekly reports needed to monitor treasury transactions.
• Assist and provide support on the production of ALCO Committee and Financial Control Department reports.
• Assist and provide support to the production of evolving risk measures and reports.

Maintain up-to-date credit data on counterparties, monitor and alert on compliance breaches with guidelines and policies:

• Maintain issuers and other counterparties database, monitor and update credit static data including rating downgrade changes;
• Check daily the compliance of counterparty credit exposure with authorized credit limits. Escalate any breach to Treasury Risk Officers;
• Determine counterparties eligibility and define new ones in the system in consultation with Treasury Risk Officers;
• Update and monitor the Authorized counterparty list: depository, banks, brokers, International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA) and International Securities Market Association (ISMA) Agreements...)
• Provide advice to Back-Office on collateral eligibility and applicable haircuts in compliance with the credit support agreements;
• Compile weekly counterparty credit exposure report for the Division Management.

Assist in the improvement and optimization of treasury risk management and control framework:

• Perform User Acceptance Tests during the upgrade of treasury related IT systems;
• Assist in new risk measures implementation;
• Maintain and update Treasury Risk procedures manual;
• Contribute to the development and enhancement of existing or new reports.

Selection Criteria
Including desirable skills, knowledge and experience:

• Hold at least a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Finance, Banking, or related discipline.
• Have a minimum of five (05) years of relevant experience working in International Financial Institutions or Investment Banks, with a large scope of treasury or fixed income activities.
• Professional Certification in fixed income or capital markets, securities operations or in risk management is desirable
• Attention to details with the aptitude to follow procedures with minimal error rate
• Commitment to organize workload efficiently in order to deliver quality reports and financial data inputs while respecting incompressible deadlines
• Ability to anticipate potential delays and raise alert when necessary to Treasury Risk Officers
• Ability to analyze and translate Financial market and credit data
• Ability to find existing information in procedures, guidelines, policies and data providers
• Experience of using Summit, Bloomberg, Reuters, Trioptima and/or Numerix
• Private sector experience is advantageous
• Innovation & Creativity
• Communication
• Client Orientation
• Problem Solving
• Team working and relationships
• Operational Effectiveness
• Ability to communicate effectively (written and oral) in English or French preferably with a working knowledge of the other.
• Competence in the use of standard MS office applications (Word, Excel, Access, and PowerPoint) and SAP.