Senior Group Manager, Credit Risk

Job description

Prudential’s purpose is to be partners for every life and protectors for every future. Our purpose encourages everything we do by creating a culture in which diversity is celebrated and inclusion assured, for our people, customers, and partners. We provide a platform for our people to do their best work and make an impact to the business, and we support our people’s career ambitions. We pledge to make Prudential a place where you can Connect, Grow, and Succeed. This role sits within Group Financial Risk Management and supports the oversight of the Group’s public and private credit exposures, including structured credit, which together represent a significant component of the Group’s investment portfolio. As a Group Head Office second line risk role, the focus is on developing and maintaining risk frameworks, setting risk appetites and limits, providing independent challenge on strategic initiatives, and monitoring and aggregating credit risks across the Group. It therefore requires a broad understanding of credit risks and the ability to assess risks at a portfolio, framework and enterprise level. In addition, counterparty risk management arises from exposures such as derivatives, banking relationships and reinsurance arrangements. Reinsurance is a particularly important area of focus given the evolving structures, such as asset-intensive reinsurance, and the evolving regulatory expectations surrounding these arrangements. Principal accountabilities: Credit Risk Framework Development and Oversight: Support the development, enhancement and maintenance of the Group’s Credit Risk Framework, ensuring it remains fit for purpose across an evolving investment portfolio spanning all the forms of credit risk that the Group is exposed to. This includes driving the consistent application of risk management principles across the Group, balancing industry best practice with practical implementation considerations across diverse markets and business units. Provide independent second line challenge on related policies, standards, methodologies and governance processes. Independent review of credit and investment initiatives: Provide independent second line review and challenge on investment-related initiatives, including new asset classes, investment strategies, methodologies, operating models, internal rating frameworks and risk assessments. Review credit assessments, portfolio proposals and limit requests, synthesising complex information into clear recommendations for senior management and governance committees. Apply credit expertise to assess potential risks and emerging vulnerabilities at both portfolio and framework level, rather than through individual transaction underwriting. Private credit and portfolio risk oversight: Support the oversight of the Group's growing private credit portfolio, including assessment of portfolio characteristics, risk concentrations, valuation considerations and governance arrangements. Develop approaches to aggregate, monitor and assess risks consistently across both public and private credit portfolios. Contribute to the evolution of the Group's risk management practices as private markets continue to grow in importance across the insurance industry. Counterparty risk management: Support the Group's oversight of counterparty risk arising from exposures including banking relationships, derivatives and reinsurance arrangements. Provide independent risk assessment and challenge on complex and bespoke counterparty exposures, including asset-intensive reinsurance transactions and activities associated with the Group's Bermuda operations. Contribute to the development of counterparty risk frameworks, concentration limits and monitoring capabilities in line with evolving regulatory expectations. Portfolio monitoring and risk analytics: Leverage existing systems and support the development, centralisation and aggregation of asset data across the Group. Drive improvements in reporting, analytics and automation to strengthen risk insights, monitor portfolio developments, identify emerging risks and support timely escalation of credit deterioration or concentration concerns. Have a strong mindset to reduce reliance on manual processes. Thematic research and market intelligence: Lead or contribute to thematic reviews and deep-dive assessments on emerging credit risks that could impact the Group's portfolio. Provide proactive insights on market developments, regulatory changes and industry trends, translating these into actionable risk considerations for the Group. Support senior management and governance forums through high-quality analysis and risk-focused recommendations. Stakeholder Engagement and Strategic Influence: Build strong relationships across investment, actuarial, finance and risk teams to promote risk-aware decision making. Act as a trusted advisor to business units and first line teams, helping to develop commercially sound solutions while maintaining appropriate risk discipline. Influence stakeholders through technical credibility, sound judgement and effective communication. Broader Group Risk Initiatives: Support the continued enhancement of the Group's joint venture monitoring framework, including oversight of key strategic partnerships and the Group's China joint venture. Contribute to broader departmental initiatives and strategic projects as required. Ideal core competences: Proven experience in analysing corporate credit risk gained from asset management, insurance or investment-related roles. Experience in private credit, direct lending, private placements or structured credit is highly desirable. Experience developing risk frameworks, governance processes or portfolio monitoring capabilities would be highly valuable. Familiarity with insurance investment risks, asset-intensive reinsurance or capital management concepts would be advantageous. Excellent communication skills, particularly the ability to provide constructive challenge while maintaining collaborative partnerships. Comfortable operating in situations with ambiguity developing practical, risk-aware solutions. Prudential is an equal opportunity employer. We provide equality of opportunity of benefits for all who apply and who perform work for our organisation irrespective of sex, race, age, ethnic origin, educational, social and cultural background, marital status, pregnancy and maternity, religion or belief, disability or part-time / fixed-term work, or any other status protected by applicable law. We encourage the same standards from our recruitment and third-party suppliers taking into account the context of grade, job and location. We also allow for reasonable adjustments to support people with individual physical or mental health requirements.