Director, Wind-down planning, Financial Services Advisory

Description

Director, Wind-down planning, Financial Services Advisory

Alvarez & Marsal

London

Alvarez & Marsal (“A&M”) is a global consulting firm with more than $2+ billion in revenues, c.7,500 staff and over 70 offices world-wide.  We offer a broad range of professional services including Restructuring, Transaction Advisory, Performance Improvement, Corporate Transformation, Financial Institutions Advisory, Tax, Valuations, and Disputes and Investigation Services. 

At A&M, we believe in the power of diverse teaming to solve complex problems, create value and drive change for our clients. We are a global market leader, and we are differentiated as a firm by our professionals’ unique, varied backgrounds that allow us to serve our clients across the globe with both a practical and innovative approach.

A&M FSI works with leading Financial Services Institutions across Europe and our expertise revolves around three core areas: Performance Improvement, Loan Portfolio Advisory and Regulatory Advisory. We work with clients across the financial services space and focus on banks, private equity investors, regulatory authorities, insurers, wealth and asset managers and other specialised Financial Services firms.

A&M’s professionals work on some of the world’s most high-profile cases in a rapidly transforming financial services landscape, striving for game-changing solutions that provide impactful long-term change. Drawing on extensive expertise in risk and regulatory, our team of senior ex-regulators and industry practitioners provide practical and credible strategies to adapt to a complex regulatory landscape where decisions are based on judgment rather than rules. We are looking for a Director to support our growing Risk & Regulatory team, helping to deliver and expand our services in a customer facing role.

Purpose of the Director role:

Within our growing FSI team, an opportunity exists for a Risk & Regulatory specialist at the Director level. We are looking to hire someone with a successful track record of the following: preparation of firms’ wind down plan, including assessment of adequate resources to support wind-down in an orderly manner, financial modelling (including stress testing), operational planning for the wind-down period and high-quality report drafting; in addition to an entrepreneurial approach to business development and networks across the financial services community.

Supported by the European FSI teams, you will help build the profile and reputation of A&M in the identification of Risk & Regulatory initiatives within Financial Services. You will reflect the operational distinctiveness that is A&M; a business savvy, solution-focused business entrepreneur who is determined to make a difference and not afraid to challenge the status-quo.

Key Responsibilities:

You will be at the heart of delivering wind-down planning services to financial institutions, where the regulatory perspective is central to a business-critical judgement. You will be actively involved in developing our business and be an integrated part of the Risk and Regulatory team. You will need to be willing to take initiative in developing expertise in PRA and FCA governance expectations for a wide-range of business models and sizes and proactively building networks with clients, professionals, regulators and wider A&M business units.

Some examples of client-related activities:

• Assessment of, and improving, firms wind down planning arrangements and documentation
• Drafting of high-quality wind down plans
• Analysis of risk management arrangements and adequacy of identifying any emerging risks that may challenge the firm’s viability
• Review and assessment of the adequacy of resources to support on-going activities and wind-down in an orderly manner
• Assessing the adequacy of the operational planning for wind down
• Guidance & interpretation of regulatory expectations & their impact strategy, revenue streams & wider business issues
• Benchmarking best practice and regulatory implementation across sector groups

Some examples of business development activities:

• Builds own network of contacts, referral sources with clients, professionals and regulators and proactively promotes A&M’s offerings to the market place
• Develops internal networks with wider A&M financial services practices: financial/operational/tax diligence teams, restructuring, disputes & investigations and performance improvement; and fosters sense of engagement with colleagues
• Prepares quality proposals and develops and leads pitches, where they can articulate their role in delivering the engagement, including ways of working with the client
• Applies knowledge and experience of sector/subject matter in preparation of regulatory-insightful marketing and proposal materials

To deliver on these responsibilities effectively, you will need to:

• Be an action-oriented self-starter with strong analytical skills and entrepreneurial flair, in line with the A&M culture and values
• Be proactive in developing and utilising networks of clients, professionals and regulators
• Be comfortable working independently as well as in a high performing team
• Have a strong background in the regulation of financial services, and an appetite to expand your knowledge and expertise further
• Responsible for coaching and personally developing a team
• Keep constantly on top of regulatory priorities and changes, and advise clients accordingly
• Be comfortable and credible in working closely with senior stakeholders in the client’s business and with professionals from leading financial institutions.

Eager to grow and develop the R&R practice, alongside senior management, developing forward-looking strategies and be involved in recruitment and upskilling of juniors

Requirements

Essential:

• Experience of the Financial Services sector, particularly in relation to regulatory expectations in wind-down and stressed scenarios, conduct and prudential risk and other relevant areas. This experience may have been acquired in a Financial Institution, a Consultancy / Big 4 Advisory firm or a Regulatory body
• Previous experience providing regulatory advice on wind down planning and/or implementation, in addition knowledge of recent FCA policy publications, is essential
• A strong consulting toolkit including how to frame a business issue, judiciously find and use internal and external data to test hypotheses and draw conclusions, business model using Excel, structure and write PowerPoint and Word presentations and reports

Desirable:

• Hands-on experience working closely with or directly within a regulator (e.g. PRA /FCA in supervision or authorisations or an EU equivalent) or consulting firm
• Knowledge of recent or pending UK and EU regulatory initiatives
• Additional European languages are desirable

Diversity & Inclusion

A&M’s entrepreneurial culture celebrates independent thinkers and doers who can positively impact our clients and shape our industry. The collaborative environment and engaging work—guided by A&M’s core values of Integrity, Quality, Objectivity, Fun, Personal Reward, and Inclusive Diversity—are the main reasons our people love working at A&M. Inclusive Diversity means we embrace diversity, and we foster inclusiveness, encouraging everyone to bring their whole self to work each day. It runs through how we recruit, develop employees, conduct business, support clients, and partner with vendors. It is the A&M way.

Voluntary Inclusion

It is Alvarez & Marsal’s practice to provide and promote equal opportunity in employment, compensation, and other terms and conditions of employment without discrimination because of race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, family medical history or genetic information, political affiliation, military service, pregnancy, marital status, family status, religion, national origin, age or disability or any other non-merit based factor or any other characteristics in accordance with all applicable laws and regulations.

Unsolicited Resumes from Third-Party Recruiters

Please note that as per A&M policy, we do not accept unsolicited resumes from third-party recruiters unless such recruiters are engaged to provide candidates for a specified opening and in alignment with our Inclusive Diversity values. Any employment agency, person or entity that submits an unsolicited resume does so with the understanding that A&M will have the right to hire that applicant at its discretion without any fee owed to the submitting employment agency, person or entity.