Director of Investment Operations

Securing pensions over the long term can be a challenge for many businesses. Our ambition at Legal & General Retirement Institutional (LGRI) is to help companies and pension scheme trustees honour their defined benefit pension promises to their employees. We’re helping companies settle their pension liabilities so they can focus on growing their businesses, as well as helping to support their members’ financial security in retirement. And we’re investing for the long term to back our pension promises. In the last 30 years we’ve written more UK business than any other insurer, and we currently look after more than half a million pension policyholders. We're the UK’s longest-serving active bulk annuity provider, and a market-leading, multi-award winning business.  

The Director of Investment Operations will lead the new Investment Operations function within LGRI covering all aspects of the delivery from service oversight, new asset business, change management, investment accounting and investment asset data provision. You will support all regulatory, statutory and management MI requirements across LGRI and the Group, within a robust control environment. 

In this role you will also provide significant input into the strategic development of the COO division.

Your responsibilities will include: 

• Being accountable for the implementation and operation of a formal and consistent approach to the outsource of managed service providers (MSP) and the identification to of opportunities to drive service improvements within LGRI and across the Group.
• You will be trusted in all matters with the management of employees, especially with regards to attraction, development and retention of the right capabilities, embedding the right performance culture, as well as providing a supportive and inclusive culture. Be responsible for strategic leadership; shaping and delivering on our divisional strategic focus areas, including making LGRI a great place to work. ensuring that management discretion is used in a consistent manner and that the area follows the Group’s policies and procedures to maximise business performance
• Oversee a dynamic and efficient process to deliver exceptional quality investment asset data, with robust controls, to manage security master, reference and holding and positional data with the enhancement of the use (and number of) external sources of data, reducing potential for discrepancies and improving data quality to identify opportunities for possible savings in data licences.
• Lead the delivery of timely and accurate investment asset accounting, regulatory and statutory reporting data to business units to support all reporting requirements across the business including relevant Solvency II, GAAP IFRS bases and credit risk for required legal entities.
• Manage all change and continuous improvement within the Investment Operations function including delivery of small-scale change and continuous improvement, and management of large-scale change governance.
• Internal stakeholder management; liaising with local business units to identify operational improvements and synergies. This includes playing a key role in the strategic development of the One L & G model.  Also lead the engagement with external and internal audit to support market leading industry practice and development.
• Lead the Investment Operations support of the Investments strategic new asset origination and external asset manager onboarding strategies including oversight and governance to maintain and improve and streamline the end-to-end process; developing the wider asset operating model and control frameworks as required.
• Ensure that the principles of Conduct Risk  are embedded into your day-to-day operations to deliver good customer outcomes at all times. Ensure all business processes and internal controls are designed to deliver good customer outcomes and demonstrates effective management of Conduct Risk. 

Our requirements are: 

• You must be able to demonstrate you have experience having preformed equivalent or similar responsibilities as an executive leader. Ideally with a bachelors degree in a finance-related or other numerate subject.
• Have up to date knowledge of current oversight practices and regulatory requirements (with coverage in key European markets and Bermuda).
• A deep understanding of investment asset data, issues and processes required to deliver best in class investments data to all stakeholders.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills. 
• Have excellent written and interpersonal skills, and can demonstrate ability to summarise complex matters effectively and a track record of engaging successfully with C-suite stakeholders.
• High-level attention to detail with ability to organise, prioritise, and manage multiple tasks within set deadlines, across multiple locations.
• Report writing skills are essential.
• Being a qualified accountant is also desirable. 

At L&G, you’ll find a balance that helps you be your best. Empowered by hybrid working, we’re supported by technology and workplaces that enable us to work effectively wherever we are. We come together in offices to collaborate and connect, and use time at home for individual, focused activities. And, when we achieve great things, we celebrate our success and reward strong performance.

Great minds don’t have to think alike, so we welcome voices from all backgrounds. Bringing together people with different life experiences helps us build empathy with our customers and drive innovation.

We don’t just talk about it, we actively promote diversity and equitable opportunities for all. That means our employment decisions are made without regard to race, colour, religion, national or ethnic origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, disability or protected veteran status. In fact, we embrace every dimension of diversity to reflect the customers and communities we serve.

When you commit to Legal & General, we’ll commit to you too. That means we’ll recognise and reward your hard work, your performance and your contribution.

 If you join us, you’ll get access to some great benefits, including private medical insurance, 30 days holiday (excluding bank holidays), a generous pension scheme, life assurance, and Income Protection. You'll receive a car allowance of 12% of your annual salary, and you can participate in our electric car scheme, which offers employees the option to hire a brand new electric car through tax efficient salary sacrifice. We’re also proud to offer competitive family leave. 

You’ll have the opportunity to participate in our annual, performance-related bonus plan and valuable share schemes. And then there are the many discounts we offer that you can take advantage of – both for our own products and at a range of high street stores and online offerings.