Senior ALM Specialist

Senior ALM Specialist

LCP is an award-winning actuarial and analytics consultancy providing market-leading capabilities and advice across pensions and financial services, energy, health, and analytics. We use powerful analytics fused with human expertise to shape a more positive future. 

The Pensions & Investment technology department develop and maintain a range of models that support LCP’s defined benefit pension schemes consulting business in the Pensions Actuarial, Pensions Administration and Investment Consulting departments. There are three teams within the department: Pulse (pensions administration systems), CALM (benefit calculation systems) and Visualise (asset liability modelling “ALM”).  This position is for a senior, non-developer, role within the Visualise team. 

Visualise is one of LCP’s flagship tools and is our primary ALM tool. It allows our clients to view key metrics and analysis across administration, covenant, funding and investment and allows our internal users to carry out the sophisticated modelling they need to provide advice to our clients.  The heritage of the tool has been to serve the needs of UK DB pension schemes, but increasingly we are evolving the tool to meet the needs of LCP’s broadening client base, which includes working with CDC arrangements, charities, insurers, sovereign wealth funds and central banks. 

Individuals within the Visualise team have varying balances of skills and experience levels across pensions and investment knowledge and software development. The common thread running through everyone though is a love of problem solving and a drive and desire to deliver high quality products and solutions.

Key responsibilities

• Working with the business and development teams on new features/developments, including developing and agreeing specifications; communication of new features to the business; documentation and training
• Ensuring the system meets the professional requirements of actuarial models, including providing sufficiently rigorous testing to ensure the models comply with those requirements
• Providing advice to sophisticated internal users as to how to use and get the most value from our ALM tools
• Sharing and building pensions and investment knowledge within the development team
• Engaging with the requirements of supporting a large existing system that supports ongoing work, alongside the desire to keep improving that system and to adapt to changing business requirements 

What skills and qualities are we looking for?

We would ideally see all the skills and qualities we have set out in this section, however, we expect there to be good candidates for this role who do not have experience working in both pensions and investment. We are willing to work with the right candidate to help them gain the required knowledge but will be looking for evidence of the required drive and enthusiasm to fill these gaps over an appropriate timeframe. 

• Sufficient breadth and depth of knowledge across at least one of investment and pensions modelling that the candidate will have credibility with key stakeholders in the business and the development team. We would ideally see a good working knowledge of:
  • Various types of investments, including derivatives and private market assets
  • The current UK pensions funding regime, including recovery plans and surplus release
• Comfortable with (or drive to become comfortable with) the professional requirements of actuarial pensions asset-liability modelling. Strong indicators (but not requirements) include:
  • Professional qualification: e.g. CFA or IFoA, especially with an investment focus
  • Experience in the investment industry (5+ years)
  • Experience testing or using actuarial or investment modelling software to an expert level
• Knowledge of (or drive to learn more about) some of the more sophisticated technical aspects of investment asset monitoring and modelling, including:
  • Stochastic modelling and Value at Risk calculations
  • Scenario and stress testing
  • Sensitivity and exposure modelling
  • Cashflow matching calculations
  • Performance calculations such as time- and money-weighted rates of return, and metrics applicable to private market assets such as TVPI and DPI
• Knowledge of (or drive to learn more about) some of the more sophisticated technical aspects of pension funding and liability modelling, including:
  • Modelling and projection of future pension benefit cashflows with inflation caps and collars, including stochastic modelling, scenario and stress testing
  • Different funding methodologies, including asset-led funding approaches and insurer pricing
• Experience managing the delivery of complex projects with multiple stakeholders
• Experience communicating and passing on technical investment and actuarial knowledge to less experienced colleagues
• Enthusiastic and proactive about helping users across the business get the most value out of our tools
• Logical, methodical and thorough mindset
• Takes pride in the quality of our tools and wants to ensure they remain cutting edge 

What’s in it for you? 

Take a look at our Glassdoor and Career stories pages to see why our people love being here! As well as joining a certified B-Corp, multi-award winning, fun, collaborative, people first organisation where your personal and professional skills will be developed to make you the best you can be, we offer an attractive benefits package designed to promote your overall wellbeing so that you are able to perform to your full potential both in and out of work. Currently our core benefits package includes:

For you: 

• Hybrid working (varies by role and department)
• professional study support (where applicable)
• Access to our internal Wellbeing, LGBTQ+, Multicultural and Women’s networks

For your family: 

• Life assurance, income protection, enhanced maternity/paternity/adoption and shared parental leave

For your health: 

• 26 days annual leave (pro-rata for part-time working) plus bank holidays (most of which can be taken flexibly!) with options to buy & sell holiday
• Private medical insurance
• Discounted gym memberships, critical illness and dental insurance through our flexible benefits
• Eye care vouchers
• Digital GP services

For your wealth: 

• Competitive pension scheme
• Discretionary bonus scheme
• High street discounts