Senior Financial Markets Specialist

SUMMARY:
To lead the development of robust financial benchmarks and market-wide transitions toward alternative reference rates in South Africa. To enable price discovery, the company calculates and publishes several benchmarks, including the South African Rand Overnight Index Average (ZARONIA), which has been designated as the successor rate for the Johannesburg Interbank Average Rate (Jibar). The incumbent will oversee and optimise the production of company-administered benchmarks and drive initiatives aimed at increasing their adoption in financial markets.
 
Furthermore, as technological advancements and the availability of data continue to shape financial markets, the incumbent will be required to conduct research on market microstructures and lead the development of analytics for monitoring financial markets, detecting market dysfunction and assessing the transmission of monetary policy. As such, the incumbent will leverage data sources, model financial markets and develop tools for monitoring key funding markets, including the foreign exchange and debt capital markets

POSITION INFO:
JOB DESCRIPTION

Benchmark administration, monitoring and analysis

• Monitor and analyse the performance, representativeness and robustness of designated benchmarks and reference rates.
• Contribute to the administration of company benchmarks and ensure the timely calculation and publication of designated benchmarks and reference rates.
• Design, review, and maintain benchmark governance frameworks, including methodologies, controls, and accountability arrangements
• Ensures that methodologies applied comply with local and international standards
• Collaborate with other specialists across the company to implement technological infrastructure solutions for benchmarks and analytics.
• Prepare analytical notes, charts, dashboards and briefing material for senior management and the Reference Rate Oversight Committee.

• Contribute to working groups and committees focused on market structure reforms, including market transitions to alternative reference rates.
• Coordinate with relevant regulators and industry bodies to facilitate market transitions.
• Prepare company position papers, presentations, speeches and industry papers on issues related to market structure and functioning.

• Monitor and assess the functioning of money, bond, foreign exchange markets and related derivatives.
• Analyse liquidity conditions, pricing anomalies, market fragmentation and transmission of monetary policy.
• Identify market frictions, stress signals and structural changes affecting market efficiency.

• Support automation, data visualisation and analytics initiatives to improve market monitoring and operational efficiency.
• Engage market participants, infrastructure providers, industry bodies and other relevant stakeholders to gather market intelligence

• Quality assures and integrates analysis and reports submitted by other Financial Market Specialists
• Assist with committee administration.
• Leads initiatives in support of department’s objectives and perform ad hoc tasks.

• An Honours degree (NQF8) in Economics, Finance, Statistics, Data Science or an equivalent combination of education and job-related experience; and
• At least 8 to 10 years’ work experience in financial markets.

• Knowledge of financial markets products and the pricing thereof;
• Knowledge of quantitative finance;
• Proficient in Microsoft Office, R and/or Python; and
• Proficient in data analysis.