Director - Investment Operations and Collateral Management

Job Responsibilities and Requirements

The Director of Investment Operations and Collateral Management acts as a leading role in the Investment Services Department to manage critical day-to-day operations as well as working with key stakeholders to ensure the achievement of the broader objectives of the organization.  This role is considered to be one of subject-matter expertise, whereby thorough knowledge of the operations of the team and the broader Investments organization is leveraged to influence change and to promote the departmental goals.  The role requires working closely with senior management of both Delphi and TM-related entities, portfolio managers, third-party vendors, and other key stakeholders within the organization and to lead highly-visible projects on behalf of the Investments team.

The Director of Investment Operations and Collateral Management will have a solid understanding of various fixed income, loan (middle-market and mortgage), derivatives, and equity instruments in order to best leverage this position as one of influence to make strategic decisions.  He/she will have prior experience in assessing collateral needs and usage across a variety of collateral programs and will independently propose strategies and solutions to optimize the company’s collateral usage.  Additionally, the Director of Investment Operations and Collateral Management will have a working knowledge of risk-based capital and the ability to interpret various statutory compliance guidelines to provide guidance and advice to senior management on proposed portfolio transactions.

The Director of Investment Operations and Collateral Management will be a champion of incorporating technology and best-in-class processes to implement optimal workflows, controls, analytics, and reporting capabilities.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

Operational Oversight

• Acts as a point of contact to field and resolve inquiries around trades, cash management, collateral, new investment structures, and data quality.
• Ensures accurate and timely reporting of transactions by using technology and implementing appropriate controls to proactively identify discrepancies.
• Works with vendors and investment managers to resolve outstanding and/or incorrect transactions quickly and to implement processes to minimize processing delays.
• Creates workflows that can respond to quickly-changing market conditions and business needs.
• Develops personnel to handle ad-hoc requests in conjunction with competing demands in times of urgency.
• Serves as a center of excellence for respective area of responsibility.  Demonstrates technical knowledge to critically analyze problems and proposes and implements solutions that are based on data-driven evidence.
• Participates and contributes to wider organizational initiatives outside immediate area of responsibility by proposing solutions and best practices from prior experience.
• Proactively engages other teams to identify areas of synergy and to reduce redundant processes.

Transaction Processing

• Oversees processing of transaction fundings and cash movements in various custodial systems.  Approves transactions in custodial systems across all accounts.
• Ensures activity is processed timely and accurately in time-sensitive situations.
• Reviews transactions from the accounting system and researches discrepancies.
• Reviews custodial and third-party reconciliations produced by accounting vendor and researches/resolves discrepancies, as needed.
• Onboards new asset managers and new custodial accounts.
• Maintains updated wiring instructions for all active accounts.
• Populates transaction descriptions accurately and with sufficient detail to identify for reporting purposes.
• Creates and maintains operating framework to monitor and catch unprocessed transactions through dashboarding and KRI’s.

Collateral Management

• Ensures collateral is posted to meet minimum requirements across all collateral programs.
• Has solid understanding of the Federal Home Loan Bank collateral program offerings, capital stock requirements, and collateral advance policies.
• Assesses appropriate liquidity facilities for use in varying market conditions including funding agreements, repurchase agreements, securities lending, and/or other available facilities.
• Proposes and optimizes collateral usage based on statutory guidelines and risk-based capital impact.
• Works with senior management to meet liquidity needs based on assets available in the portfolio.
• Maintains relationship with key collateral counterparties to stay abreast of latest product offerings.
• Produces monthly reconciliation of all collateral positions and rectifies discrepancies in a timely manner.
• Produces and maintains dashboard of collateral programs, usage, capacity, and rates.
• Ensures internal systems comprehensively identify assets pledged to various collateral counterparties.
• Provides information necessary for disclosures to regulators, rating agencies, and financial reporting purposes.

Evaluation of Strategic Investments

• Works with senior management and portfolio managers in researching and implementing new investment structures and opportunities to enhance yield and to improve the allocation of capital.
• Provides assessment of compliance with statutory guidelines, internal guidelines, and other constraints.
• Demonstrates working knowledge of risk-based capital framework and NAIC statutory ratings to evaluate impact to overall capital requirements.
• Proposes various options to optimize capital-intensive and/or operationally-intensive programs.
• Works with senior management to evaluate and support reinsurance transactions.

Management of Controls Framework

• Builds and maintains appropriate controls to identify current risks and to anticipate future risks.
• Maintains updated controls documentation in internal systems and actively participates in discussions with audit, risk management, and other stakeholders around the control framework.
• Creates dashboards and KRI’s to monitor effectiveness of controls.
• Proactively sample tests various controls to ensure operating effectiveness of controls.
• Assesses control environment of external vendors and service providers through review of SOC reports.

Systems Maintenance

• Manages system-related workflow across vendors.  Integrates disparate data sets into core investment accounting system and corresponding downstream systems.
• Ensures accurate inputs into various investment systems, building in controls and compliance rules to validate data and to investigate and resolve inconsistent results.
• Ensures systems are fully-reconciled at the position level, with outliers being resolved and/or documented as appropriate.  Uses technology and automation to stratify reconciliation into risk buckets to allow for appropriate research and risk categorization.
• Performs industry due diligence to ensure systems are best-in-class.  Leverages industry knowledge and industry contacts to understand recent innovation and market trends to make recommendations on upgrading existing systems.
• Periodically holds meetings with system vendors to review relationship status and to ensure vendor is performing per agreed-upon expectations.

Team Management

• Effectively allocates human capital to equitably identify responsibilities by individual.  Quickly adapts to changing demands based on urgency and importance of last-minute deliverables, and creates contingency plans for such events.
• Promotes professional development of all staff including technical and qualitative skills.  Enrolls staff in continuing education programs offered by the Company as well as external programs based on relevance and management approval.
• Develops and documents workflows for standardized processes for staff including the month-end close, financial disclosures, and investment analytics.
• Establishes and maintains working relationships with colleagues and peers outside of the company to obtain additional perspectives and ideas for potential implementation of best practices.
• Trains, develops, and retains key talent by acknowledging and promoting core values.  Builds development plan for each staff member, clearly defining objectives and expectations.  Appropriately documents progress within Workday for documentation purposes.
• Embraces change and acts as a strong advocate for staff where applicable.  Encourages employees of all levels to contribute positively to the organization and to volunteer ideas in an open and constructive environment.

Required Knowledge, Skills, Abilities and/or Related Experience

• Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting, Finance, Engineering, Mathematics or equivalent combination of education and relevant work experience.
• 10-15 years of experience in a middle- and back-office investment environment, specifically in fixed income and derivatives.
• Experience with regulatory aspects of insurance operations including statutory compliance, risk-based capital, and NAIC ratings.
• Experience researching new transaction types/structures and developing pro-forma impact to financial models.
• Successful track record of change management and implementation of enhanced processes.
• 5+ years of supervisory experience.
• Solid understanding of fixed income instruments and concepts, including discounting and time value of money principles.
• Ability to communicate complex information in a concise and understandable manner.
• Ability to work under pressure and to provide detailed results in such situations.
• Ability to be thorough, following assignments through to completion.
• Working knowledge of PowerBI and DAX.
• Strong Excel skills around advanced functions including VLOOKUP, HLOOKUP, pivot tables, arrays, and data aggregation techniques.
• Experience working with various investment systems including custodial, loan processing, investment accounting, and portfolio management systems.
• 5+ years working with front-office portfolio managers.

Ability to Travel: Up to 25%

The expected hiring range for this position is $137,910.00 - $184,120.00 annually for work performed in the primary location (Philadelphia, PA). This expected hiring range covers only base pay and excludes any other compensation components such as commissions or incentive awards. The successful candidate’s starting base pay will be based on several factors including work location, job-related skills, experience, qualifications, and market conditions. These ranges may be modified in the future.

Work location may be flexible if approved by the Company.

What We Offer

At Reliance Matrix, we believe that fostering an inclusive culture allows us to realize more of our potential. And we can’t do this without our most important asset—you.

That is why we offer a competitive pay package and a range of benefits to help team members thrive in their financial, physical, and mental wellbeing.  

Our Benefits:

• An annual performance bonus for all team members
• Generous 401(k) company match that is immediately vested
• A choice of three medical plans (that include prescription drug coverage) to suit your unique needs.  For High Deductible Health Plan enrollees, a company contribution to your Health Savings Account
• Multiple options for dental and vision coverage
• Company provided Life & Disability Insurance to ensure financial protection when you need it most
• Family friendly benefits including Paid Parental Leave & Adoption Assistance 
• Hybrid work arrangements for eligible roles
• Tuition Reimbursement and Continuing Professional Education
• Paid Time Off – new hires start with at least 20 days of PTO per year in addition to nine company paid holidays.  As you grow with us, your PTO may increase based on your level within the company and years of service. 
• Volunteer days, community partnerships, and Employee Assistance Program
• Ability to connect with colleagues around the country through our Employee Resource Group program

Our Values:

• Integrity
• Empowerment
• Compassion
• Collaboration
• Fun

EEO Statement

Reliance Matrix is an equal opportunity employer. We adhere to a policy of making employment decisions without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, citizenship, age or disability, or any other classification or characteristic protected by federal or state law or regulation. We assure you that your opportunity for employment depends solely on your qualifications.

 #LI-Hybrid #LI-AS1