Operational Risk Associate, Dublin

Lord, Abbett & Co. LLC is looking to hire an Operational Risk Associate who will report to the Operational Risk Officer. The candidate is expected to have an analytical mind, a self-motivated attitude, enthusiasm to learn, and team-oriented mentality. This role will support the Designated Person for Fund Risk and Operational Risk in meeting the requirements of their managerial function as defined under CP86. This role is within the Enterprise Risk Management team and as such the successful candidate will also support the team in its execution of Lord Abbett’s Enterprise Risk Management Framework with the intent of managing risks to help minimize losses and ensure operational resilience across the enterprise. This individual would sit under the “Second Line of Defense”, providing objective oversight and coordinating risk management activities with business owners.

• Oversee the managerial functions on a day-to-day basis in line with the Business Plan and the UCITS regulations.
• Review monthly reporting from the service providers and investigate any necessary matters
• Escalate any material issues to the Risk Officer, Regulatory Compliance & Head of Dublin Office and assist in the resolution of such issues
• Participate in due diligence visits to the service providers
• Review relevant policies and procedures and recommend any necessary changes
• Monitor the performance of the service providers in line with the SLAs in place
• Be actively involved in ad-hoc projects/changes that will impact the funds and Lord Abbett

The other duties may include:

• Assist the business units with annual and targeted operational risk assessments
• Provide value-add and input around operational and emerging risks
• Ensure risks have been properly identified, challenged, measured, and monitored by the business unit
• Perform control testing to validate the effectiveness of the mitigating controls and action plans
• Conduct issue management (identify root cause, resolutions, and action items)
• Link operational risk events back to risk assessments and report material and ongoing trends to senior management
• Collaborate with various business units to perform operational due diligence on New Product/New Business proposals
• Participate in and assist with all third-party audits (e.g., SOC 1 Type 2) in establishing the scope, addressing the findings, and ultimately ensuring that any identified weaknesses are incorporated in the business unit’s respective operational risk assessment
• Keep up with industry trends and focus areas
• Assist with and coordinate responses to RFP and DDQ requests

Prospective candidates should possess certain qualities, abilities, experience, and knowledge to prove that you will be able to succeed in achieving the obligations, purpose, and objectives of the role.  Such as,

• Education: Employer seeks individuals with a minimum of a bachelor’s degree
• Professional Experience: 5+ years of relevant experience in either operational risk management and/or asset management operations; familiarity with operational risk frameworks (risk assessments, risk classification, risk metrics, and issue management) is a plus
• Excellent Communication & Relationship Management Skills: In executing their duties, this role must communicate with various audiences, including business leaders, clients, team members, etc. It is important that they have great verbal communication skills to convey information to the relevant audience, as well as exceptional written communication, documentation, and reporting skills
• Analytical & Troubleshooting Skills: It is essential this role can quickly spot trends and themes and present them in an articulate manner to senior management. This role should have the necessary skills to constantly monitor operational processes to identify emerging gaps or issues and proactively work with business units to execute changes
• In depth knowledge of a registered investment advisor business across most sectors
• Strong familiarity with technology and operational processes
• Third-Party Risk Management Oversight experience preferred