Director of Financial Risk

Job Description

Hello, we’re Starling. We built a new kind of bank because we knew technology had the power to help people save, spend and manage their money in a new and transformative way. We’re a fully licensed UK bank with the culture and spirit of a fast-moving, disruptive tech company. We’re a bank, but better: fairer, easier to use and designed to demystify money for everyone. We employ more than 3,500 people across our London, Southampton, Cardiff and Manchester offices.

As the Director of Financial Risk you will be part of Starling's risk leadership team. You'll also provide leadership, review, challenge and guidance across the Bank’s full range of Financial Risks, including capital, market, funding, liquidity and treasury risks. 

You will support the Chief Risk Officer in ensuring the Bank has effective management of its material risks through the embedding of the Bank’s Enterprise Risk Management approach.

Key Responsibilities:

  • Develop and implement a Financial risk management approach i.e. the framework and policies, by which all financial risk types, including capital, market, liquidity, funding and wholesale credit risks are adequately managed and controlled.
  • Ensure robust risk management is integrated into Starling’s management of its capital, market, funding, liquidity and treasury positions.
  • Develop and maintain, in collaboration with the CRO, an appropriate Risk Appetite for financial risks, including forward-looking measures, which can be presented to and approved by the Board, ensuring the needs of Starling are addressed.
  • Identify, assess and monitor financial risks, including wholesale credit ensuring Starling’s financial risks are aligned with its Risk Appetite.
  • Provide review, challenge and guidance as part of the ICAAP and ILAAP processes and ensure the embedding of these approaches into the Bank’s risk-based decision-making.
  • Provide review, challenge and guidance for the Bank’s stress testing and recoverability framework.
  • Provide oversight of the Bank’s liquidity and market risk exposures, including, but not limited to, its IRRBB exposures and the measures taken to manage this.
  • Lead, mentor and develop a team of qualified and highly motivated risk professionals. 
  • Assist the business to identify and proactively manage their risks, which may impact the business objectives of Starling, including collaborative engagement with, and challenge of, the Chief Financial Officer and the Treasurer.
  • Ensure that Starling is fully compliant with all applicable regulations.
  • Ensure Starling has an adequate policy library with supplementary procedures to support regulatory compliance and which outlines appropriate internal controls.
  • Actively participate in the Bank’s governance, including ALCO and the Executive and Board Risk Committees, providing a clear opinion on the Bank’s financial risk profile.
  • Ensure there is adequate and reliable risk reporting in place, covering all financial risk types in order that the Executive Committee and Board have an accurate understanding of the risk profile of the business.
  • Oversee and challenge the business in the implementation of their processes and controls and management of their risks, undertaking periodic assurance reviews

Requirements

  • It is essential that you have significant experience managing Financial and Treasury Risk in an established financial services coupled with an excellent understanding of the prudential and conduct regulatory landscape and broader regulation impacting Starling
  • You should be a commercial, pragmatic and solutions-oriented individual, that will be adept at interpreting, understanding and explaining regulation, allowing you to assist Starling in meeting their business and regulatory requirements.
  • You are a strategic thinker with a proactive risk management approach, able to support the Finance and Treasury in developing an appropriate balance-sheet management strategy
  • You have experience in attracting, managing and developing talented individuals
  • It is essential that you have excellent communication and stakeholder management skills and are able to advise, challenge and influence at the highest levels both internally and externally
  • You will be a highly credible individual, able to represent Starling externally, interact with the Regulator and have a strong network across the industry, within both the public and private sector
  • You will be able to operate effectively in a dynamic, technology driven, fast-paced and customer centric environment
  • An accountancy background would be advantageous but is not essential

Benefits

  • 25 days holiday (plus take your public holiday allowance whenever works best for you)
  • An extra day’s holiday for your birthday
  • Annual leave is increased with length of service, and you can choose to buy or sell up to five extra days off
  • 16 hours paid volunteering time a year
  • Salary sacrifice, company enhanced pension scheme
  • Life insurance at 4x your salary & group income protection
  • Private Medical Insurance with VitalityHealth including mental health support and cancer care. Partner benefits include discounts with Waitrose, Mr&Mrs Smith and Peloton
  • Generous family-friendly policies
  • Incentives refer a friend scheme
  • Perkbox membership giving access to retail discounts, a wellness platform for physical and mental health, and weekly free and boosted perks
  • Access to initiatives like Cycle to Work, Salary Sacrificed Gym partnerships and Electric Vehicle (EV) leasing

About us:

You may be put off applying for a role because you don't tick every box. Forget that! While we can’t accommodate every flexible working request, we're always open to discussion. So, if you're excited about working with us, but aren’t sure if you're 100% there yet, get in touch anyway.We’re on a mission to radically reshape banking – and that starts with our brilliant team. Whatever came before, we’re proud to bring together people of all backgrounds and experiences who love working together to solve problems.

Starling is an equal opportunity employer, and we’re proud of our ongoing efforts to foster diversity & inclusion in the workplace. Individuals seeking employment at Starling are considered without regard to race, religion, national origin, age, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, marital status, medical condition, ancestry, physical or mental disability, military or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. When you provide us with this information, you are doing so at your own consent, with full knowledge that we will process this personal data in accordance with our Privacy Notice. By submitting your application, you agree that Starling will collect your personal data for recruiting and related purposes. Our Privacy Notice explains what personal information we will process, where we will process your personal information, its purposes for processing your personal information, and the rights you can exercise over our use of your personal information.