Country Policy Manager

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 applying UKEF's risk management policies and frameworks to enabling underwriting of new risk and sound management of the portfolio.
• Perform analysis of portfolio and/or external data on risk, economic, or financial topics to deliver recommendations relevant to cover policy and risk concerns.
• Maintain accurate exposure and remaining risk appetite data across UKEF’s systems, investigating and resolving errors or anomalies.
• Drive technological innovation to improve and automate branch processes and systems in collaboration with digital, data, technology and operations teams, utilising data science techniques, coding and the latest AI tools.
• Lead the production of clear, accurate, and timely country-related advice and briefings for senior officials, ministers and other decision-makers.
• Manage and develop one HEO, setting priorities and assuring the quality of their work.
• Manage contracts for country risk data & analytic services that UKEF subscribes to.

This list is not exhaustive, and you may be required to carry out additional duties according to business needs.