Balance Sheet Management VP

Our vision for the future is based on the idea that transforming financial lives starts by giving our people the freedom to transform their own. We have a flexible work environment, and fluid career paths. We not only encourage but celebrate internal mobility. We also recognize the importance of purpose, well-being, and work-life balance. Within Empower and our communities, we work hard to create a welcoming and inclusive environment, and our associates dedicate thousands of hours to volunteering for causes that matter most to them.

Chart your own path and grow your career while helping more customers achieve financial freedom. Empower Yourself.

The Balance Sheet Management VP will report to the CFO and will set the strategy and manage Empower’s focus on enhancing our risk-adjusted returns by optimizing capital allocation decisions across Empower’s portfolio, including product development, investment strategy (including strategic asset allocation), corporate structure and organization, and corporate development -activities in support of the Chief Financial Officer’s objectives. Optimizing capital decisions and focus on capital uses such as the capital intensity of asset decisions as well as capital generation by improving capital returns and velocity. This optimization will consider the company’s various capital bases including regulatory capital, economic or Empower’s own view of capital, as well as maintaining strong credit ratings (e.g, S&P) and identifying relevant trade-offs for decision making.
 

What you will do:

• Directing a balance sheet management (BSM) working group that will include key leaders in Actuarial & Risk, Investments, Business Development, Accounting, Treasury, Finance, and the BSM lead in Empower’s parent company. This working group will collaborate to deliver the corporate objective to improve Empower’s risk adjusted returns by improving capital generation and capital allocations.
• Enhance the capital management framework incorporating an economic view and a cost of capital approach.
• Ensure market, credit, operational and liquidity risk (including relevant risk limits), controls and tax implications are appropriately considered within the optimization decisions. This includes risk capacity and portfolio diversification/mix, as well as establishing performance management metrics such as internal rates of return, payback periods, stress-based capital metrics, etc. Where appropriate, recommend metrics to be brought into performance management processes (planning, target setting, and compensation frameworks).
• Recommend trade-offs that improve risk-adjusted returns while balancing Empower’s business growth, balance sheet and earnings volatility, cash generation; as well as risk management objectives and liquidity needs. These trade-offs will consider diversification and volatility.
• Provide input on Empower’s strategy as a whole to the Chief Financial Officer when it comes to use of derivatives and reinsurance in product development and asset allocation decisions to manage capital and capital sensitivity.
• Provide insight and expertise in recommending improvements to Empower’s strategic asset allocation and corporate organizational structure while engaging with investments on tactical asset allocation decisions with the goal optimizing risk-adjusted returns. This can also include recommending asset sourcing and/or structuring opportunities.
• Provide input for the capital generation action plans as well as cash remittance plans for Empower considering regulatory capital plans as well as supervisory capital (RBC) constraints or benefits.
• Provide input into Empower’s corporate development activities such as acquisitions and divestitures to ensure strong risk-adjusted returns and paybacks are considered.

What you will bring:

• Bachelor’s degree in finance, actuarial or related field
• CPA or Actuarial designation required
• US STAT and Capital RBC experience required
• IFRS experience preferred
• 10-12+ years’ experience in finance, actuarial or related field in Financial Services
• Leadership experience – while role will start as an individual contributor, it