Job at a glance
Job summary The Analysis Division is part of UKEF’s Risk Management Group (RMG). It manages portfolio risk, assesses country risk, and sets prices to ensure UKEF operates at no net cost to the taxpayer and meets its financial objectives. We work closely with the Risk Assessment Division (RAD), which assesses risks on corporates and other non-sovereign obligors; and the Business Group (BG), which is responsible for underwriting and new product development.
We also pool our analytical skills to provide technical, modelling, and consultancy support to other teams across UKEF. The Analysis Division has three teams: Economics and Country Risk (ECR): applies economic theory and quantitative techniques to support the department’s strategic priorities. It assesses the economic and political risks affecting UKEF’s sovereign business; represents UKEF at external forums, including the OECD and Berne Union; manages the sovereign risk frameworks that determine cover policy and country exposure limits; and oversees the department’s sovereign risk data.
Pricing: ensures that UKEF premia are calculated in accordance with internationally agreed standards and our own financial objectives, and that our approach to pricing is supportive of and responsive to the needs of UK exporters. Operational Research and Analysis (ORA): helps teams across UKEF design, plan and implement strategic change, and improve operations and decision-making, using consultancy skills, portfolio risk modelling and technical leadership in data science and AI.
The Country Risk Policy branch sits within ECR and manages UKEF’s sovereign risk frameworks, including country cover policies and exposure limits. It also oversees the department’s sovereign risk data and communicates cover policy across UKEF, Whitehall and externally through UKEF’s website. Job description The Country Policy Manager oversees the Country Risk Policy branch’s outputs, ensures a high-quality day-to-day service, and improves team processes and systems.
The role ensures that country cover policies reflect assessed risks and that exposure and remaining risk appetite data are accurate, helping determine the support UKEF can provide in each market. It also oversees the application of UKEF’s risk management policies and frameworks to mitigate excessive losses from risk accumulation and concentration. The postholder will contribute to, and may lead, reviews of sovereign risk frameworks governing portfolio risks and the availability of cover.
These reviews involve senior stakeholders across UKEF and other government departments, including HM Treasury. The postholder will manage the communication of UKEF’s country cover policies internally through the Country Information System (CIS) and externally through UKEF’s website and engagement with other government departments and organisations. Working closely with ECR’s Country Risk economists, they ensure that cover policies reflect assessed risks.
The role also oversees UKEF’s sovereign risk data across several systems and works with digital, data, technology and operations teams to improve and automate processes. The postholder will line-manage one HEO, directing day-to-day work, supporting development and assuring the quality of outputs. Main Activities Contribute to the development and review of UKEF's cover policy and sovereign risk frameworks, including the exposure management framework for managing concentration risk.
Work closely with the Country Risk Economists to ensure country cover policies reflect the assessment of economic and political factors that contribute to sovereign default risk. Maintain an accurate record of country risk parameters that are used to estimate potential losses and oversee the communication of country cover policies through the Country Information System, UKEF’s website and engagement with Whitehall and external organisations.
Proactively monitor case work and policy enquiries, working with colleagues across the department and app