Job Description
We are pleased to announce an incredible opportunity to join us here at Phoenix Group as a Credit Research Senior Analyst (Infrastructure) within our Asset Management function. The focus of this role is assigning and monitoring internal ratings to support the origination function and protect the Phoenix balance sheet.
This role will suit those who have specific experience in infrastructure, comprising infrastructure corporate, project finance and real assets and credit ratings.
Job Type: Permanent
Location: This role will be based in our London office, with some flexibility to work between the office and home. We will discuss what is important to you, balancing this with business requirements during the recruitment process.
You can read more about Phoenix Flex here.
Salary and Benefits: £70,000 – £110,000 (subject to experience) + bonus, excellent pension scheme, private medical insurance, electric vehicle scheme, 38 days holiday incl. Bank Holidays (pro-rated), plus 12x salary life assurance, career breaks, income protection, 3x volunteering days and much more!
Who are we?
We want to be the best place that any of our 6,600 colleagues have ever worked.
We’re Phoenix Group, a long-term savings and retirement business. We offer a range of products across our market-leading brands, Standard Life, SunLife, Phoenix Life and ReAssure. Around 1 in 5 people in the UK has a pension with us. We’re a FTSE 100 organisation that is tackling key issues such as transitioning our portfolio to net zero by 2050, and we’re not done yet.
Role Context
Credit Research Senior Analyst to contribute independently to the Credit Research and Ratings Team (CRRT) within Global Investment Research and Ratings (GIRR) by assigning internal ratings to private credit/illiquid assets in the infrastructure space (corporate and project finance), completing transaction reviews and screening as well as sector deep dives/portfolio reviews as required. The analyst will also ensure the rating framework remains appropriate and in line with Credit Rating Agency (CRA) guidance.
Key Responsibilities
Asset class focus
- Infrastructure: Comprising infrastructure corporate, project finance and real assets.
Credit ratings, screening and portfolio monitoring
- Assigning internal credit ratings on unrated illiquid assets independently or with minimal guidance, ensuring ratings are accurate, follow approved methodology and are timely.
- As part of the deal screening process, provide preliminary rating estimates for new investments in the relevant sector based on limited transaction data.
- Integrate environmental, social and governance factors in the analysis of each investment.
- Monitoring of ratings and broader infrastructure portfolio - ongoing surveillance / annual reviews / ad-hoc reviews (e.g. credit/event driven) for internally rated assets / monitor CRA-rated assets / provide sector reviews / manage or support waiver and workout processes as required / monitor restricted assets (e.g. via Watch List and Restricted List).
- Act as secondary analyst to other private debt transactions, providing assurance and challenge to processes and outcomes.
Credit rating methodologies
- Develop and maintain deep understanding of CRA rating methodologies and ensure the methodologies for assigning ratings remains appropriate.
- Independently contribute to the development and maintenance of the relevant methodologies and associated documentation and ensure it meets all requirements (including rating agency criteria, regulatory guidelines and best practice).
Governance, data and regulation
- Actively participate in governance for internal ratings and other associated committees. Support Credit Research Lead, the Head of Credit Governance and the Chief Credit Officer at any committees or other governance forum as required.
- Manage and maintain internal and external data requirements for unrated illiquid assets and CRA-rated assets in the assigned portfolio.
- Produce required team outputs (for example specific asset MI, committee inputs, portfolio and sector reviews). Lead and/or contribute to other projects as required, for example activities including strategic asset allocation, new asset classes, new countries and legal jurisdictions, ad-hoc reviews, including regulatory requests, rating validation exercises and monitoring of group limits.
- Thorough understanding of relevant regulations and PRA expectations for internal ratings and ensure team compliance. Lead/assist with PRA deliverables and interactions with PRA.
Stakeholder Management
- Internal: Chief Credit Officer and specialists within the team, Illiquid Asset Team, Group Risk
- External: Banking counterparties; Advisors; Sponsors; Rating Agencies and Consultants
What are we looking for?
Essential
Experience / Knowledge
- Demonstrates strong knowledge of credit rating processes and methodologies, including the ability to interpret sector-specific rating approaches.
- Independently conducts credit rating analysis with minimal guidance, including financial information review and assessment of loan documentation.
- Develops and maintains sector Risk Identification Documents (Risk IDs), produces and tests rating scorecards and financial models, and evaluates the reasonableness of rating outputs from scorecards.
- Forms and presents clear opinions on asset credit quality through written reports, effectively communicating key risks and opportunities to internal and external stakeholders.
- Interprets credit ratings and challenges subjective assessments relating to rating composition, with solid cash flow modelling skills, using corporate and project finance models.
Desirable
- Distressed transaction/workout experience.
- Experience of CRA data platforms.
Personal Attributes & Skills
- Proactively stays abreast with industry trends i.e. investment risks and opportunities, and able to confidently represent at external events including industry conferences
- Ability to manage and deliver on multiple priorities and projects
- Strong communication and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to articulate clear recommendations
- Experience of Excel (Intermediate to Advanced), Word and PowerPoint
We Want To Hire The Whole Version Of You.
We are committed to ensuring that everyone feels accepted and welcome applicants from all backgrounds. If your experience looks different from what we’ve advertised and you believe that you can bring value to the role, we’d love to hear from you.
If you require any adjustments to the recruitment process, please let us know so we can help you to be at your best.
Find out more about
- Guide for Candidates: thephoenixgroup.pagetiger.com/guideforcandidates
- Find or get answers from our colleagues: www.thephoenixgroup.com/careers/talk-to-us
