The Head of Trading Risk is a key hire in the Finance team, reporting to the CFO. You will be the independent middle office for the commodity trading and optimisation of the company’s operational portfolio in a key growth markets. You will own the price risk policy and limit framework, and measure, control and report risk independently of the front-office teams that run optimisation and trading.
Revenues will be earned across day-ahead, intraday and ancillary service markets (FCR, aFRR and mFRR) and bilateral contracts, with trading increasingly brought in house. You will build the risk framework and controls this requires, be accountable for putting the compliance programme in place, support the set-up of the back office and act as an independent line of control over it. You will also act as an independent sparring partner on risk to front-office and commercial leadership and the wider Leadership team.
You will lead the regular Risk Committee with the Leadership team and give the CFO, the Board and lenders a clear, independent view of price risk, revenue performance and the effectiveness of the company’s trading, hedging and contracting strategies. Over time, the framework is expected to extend to other generation assets and other markets.
Responsibilities
Policy, governance and reporting
- Own and maintain the Energy Price Risk Policy and the risk-limit framework, covering volumetric, VaR, stress, counterparty and liquidity limits.
- Run the approval and escalation process, and lead the Risk Committee, including reporting to the Audit Committee and Board.
Market and revenue risk
- Develop risk measurement frameworks at asset and portfolio level across wholesale, balancing and ancillary revenues.
- Assess and recommend risk mitigation strategies and contract structures, balancing downside protection against volatility upside.
- Provide independent price risk input into investment cases, acquisitions and financings.
Independent middle office
- Produce independent daily position, exposure and P&L reporting, including price verification and official end-of-day marks.
- Own the control framework for trading and optimisation activities, including model validation, limit monitoring, stress testing and trade lifecycle controls.
- Monitor counterparty credit exposure and collateral requirements, working closely with Treasury.
Performance and Finance alignment
- Report revenue performance against budget with a risk overlay, and ensure reporting reconciles to management accounts.
Compliance and strategy
- Support the trading compliance programme (REMIT, EMIR, MiFID II) and act as a point of contact with regulators.
- Act as an independent challenger on strategic initiatives and the controls and systems that support them.
Required Experience
- 8+ years’ experience in power market risk, middle office or trading, with a strong focus on asset-backed trading and optimisation of flexible assets (BESS, pumped hydro, gas peakers, demand response) in a merchant setting, gained at a utility, IPP, trading house or route-to-market provider.
- Deep understanding of how market drivers (renewables build-out, BESS saturation, interconnection, fuel and carbon prices, market design changes) affect price formation and volatility, and how these translate into risk at asset and portfolio level.
- Knowledge of European short-term power markets, including day-ahead, intraday, balancing and ancillary services, and imbalance settlement. Experience across multiple European markets is highly relevant.
- Hands-on experience designing and running a market risk limit framework (VaR / profit-at-risk, stress testing, volumetric and tenor limits) and enforcing risk policy pre- and post-trade, including building or validating price, shape and volatility curves where forward markets are illiquid.
- Strong understanding of operational and model risk in asset-backed and automated trading.
- Understanding of BESS revenue stacking and optimisation, and of valuing and risk-managing structured contracts such as tolls, floors and options. Direct BESS experience is a strong plus.
- Experience of independent P&L, mark-to-market and trade lifecycle controls; a product control background is an advantage.
- Experience of counterparty credit risk and margin, guarantee and collateral management with exchanges and system operators.
- Working knowledge of REMIT, EMIR and energy trading regulation; experience of setting up a trading compliance programme is a plus.
- Track record of building a risk function, middle or back office from scratch, ideally in a growing business; experience selecting or implementing an ETRM system is a plus.
- Experience presenting to senior management, Boards and risk or investment committees.
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