Director, Private Investment Risk

Company Description

Make an impact at a global and dynamic investment organization

When you invest your career in CPP Investments, you join one of the most respected and fastest growing institutional investors in the world.

With current assets under management valued in excess of $500 billion, CPP Investments is a professional investment management organization that globally invests the funds of the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) to help ensure long-term sustainability.

The CPP Fund is projected to reach $3 trillion by 2050. CPP Investments invests in all major asset classes, including public equity, private equity, real estate, infrastructure and fixed-income instruments, and is headquartered in Toronto with offices in Hong Kong, London, Luxembourg, Mumbai, New York City, San Francisco, São Paulo and Sydney.

CPP Investments attracts and selects high-calibre individuals from top-tier institutions around the globe. Join our team and look forward to :

• Diverse and inspiring colleagues and approachable leaders
• Stimulating work in a fast-paced, intellectually challenging environment
• Accelerated exposure and responsibility
• Global career development opportunities
• Being motivated every day by CPP Investments’ important social purpose and unshakable principles
• A flexible / hybrid work environment combining in office collaboration and remote working
• A deeply rooted culture of Integrity, Partnership and High Performance

If you share a passion for performance, value a collegial and collaborative culture, and approach everything with the highest integrity, here’s an opportunity for you to invest your career at CPP Investments.

Job Description

The Director, Private Investment Risk, will support the ongoing implementation of an expanded risk assessment and management framework for private assets towards enhancing CPP Investments’ broader risk management practices.

As a senior member of the Investment Risk group, the incumbent will work with a significant degree of autonomy to drive the accurate identification, assessment and monitoring of all risks associated with investments within our Credit Investments Department as well as Real Assets and Private Equity oversight by leveraging existing processes and introducing new frameworks to support the oversight of the private investment portfolio.

Multi-dimensional responsibility for independent risk assessment and management of predominantly Credit Investments portfolio (including corporate credit and structured finance) with an opportunity to expand into Real Assets and Private Equity oversight.

Primary responsibilities include :

• Preparing Risk Opinions for material transactions within the private markets that incorporate Investment Risk’s independent opinion on the balance of risks and rewards pertinent to CPP Investments.
• Managing the credit ratings process, including assignment and regular monitoring of credit ratings, maintaining, developing, or introducing internal or external methodologies to support risk assessment as appropriate.
• Monitoring portfolio risk profile migration to proactively identify key emerging risks, likely impacts and potential mitigating measures.
• Develop / improve / lead asset class research and expertise to inform risk assessment and measurement approaches across three broad areas Corporate, Structured Finance / Structured Credit and Real Assets Credit.
• Collaborate with colleagues from Private Equity and Real Assets to support risk oversight, analysis, and its identification consistently across private market asset classes, particularly areas which overlap with the credit investments such as infrastructure and real estate.
• Evolve the risk oversight engagement model with Credit Investments, other Investment Risk teams and other groups to achieve deeper exchange of information as One Fund.

Key Relationships :

• Interfaces with Credit Investments Department, Investment Risk and other CPP Investments stakeholders as necessary.
• Collaborates effectively within Risk Group and across departments.
• Represents CPP Investments before external counterparties such as rating agencies, credit market participants and professional associations as necessary.

Key Functional Competencies :

Domain Expert : Ideally brings deep knowledge of the Credit Markets with experience across Corporate Credit (including Leveraged Finance), Structured Credit, and Real Assets Credit (Infrastructure and / or real estate).

Candidates with strong experience across private markets will also be considered.

• Trusted Advisor, Relationship Builder : Builds and leverages strong relationships and partnerships within the group and across CPP Investments to support recommendations and make decisions
• Analytical Abilities : Analytical mindset, able to synthesize quantitative and qualitative data from disparate sources and articulate via clearly drafted documents for high level audiences
• Initiative and Project Management : Able to take initiative and manage complex projects relevant to key responsibilities end-to-end
• Communication : Superior writing skills, ability to draft documents that present risk concepts in plain language and verbally articulate risks clearly for senior audiences;

clear, logical presenter.

Inclusiveness : Welcomes and acknowledges the inputs and views of others, demonstrates that multiple viewpoints have been incorporated.

Key Leadership Competencies :

• Demonstrates sense of judgement, seeks and incorporates diverse perspectives in making recommendations to implement and enhance risk processes that are relevant to own area as well as broader organization.
• Pursues excellence in execution by setting high standards for personal performance, resolving increasingly complex issues while setting realistic timelines, and demonstrating maturity by showing ability to course-correct to deliver on commitments.
• Manages up and down, by seeking necessary support, sponsorship and authority as well as following up, and keeping stakeholders meaningfully informed.

Qualifications

Education and Experience :

• Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Economics or Business along with relevant Graduate degree or degrees ( MBA, Finance).
• Additional relevant professional qualifications ( CFA Charterholder, CAIA) an asset.
• 10 + of relevant professional experience including relevant experience in an investment or risk oversight / risk management role.
• Consideration to individuals with fundamentals-based risk assessment experience and / or credit investment experience with requisite skill set and desire to transition to risk management.
• Knowledge of accounting principles, discounted cash flow valuation.
• Comfort working with, or experience in, quantitative approaches to measure private asset risk.

Other Interpersonal Skills and Capabilities :

• Flexibility and adaptability to wear different hats .
• Ability to prioritize competing work demands.
• Appreciates and provokes an intellectually challenging and dynamic work environment.
• Conduct consistent with our Guiding Principles of integrity, high performance and partnership.
• Able to take ownership and provide leadership of thought, execution and implementation.
30+ days ago