Team Lead – Model Validation

Team Lead – Model Validation
Salary: €70,000 to €85,000

About Our Client
Our Client operates within the financial services sector and is known for delivering progressive banking solutions with a strong client-centric approach. Our Client provides secure and dependable financial services to both retail and corporate customers, guided by robust governance standards and a commitment to long-term sustainability.

Role Overview
Heroix is partnering with a respected financial services institution seeking to appoint a Team Lead within its Risk Coordination and Quality function, focusing on Model Validation. This senior position is responsible for directing the validation framework for key risk and financial models, ensuring regulatory alignment, technical robustness and meaningful insight to support executive decision-making.

Key Responsibilities

• Validation Leadership: Oversee and coordinate the section’s work plan, ensuring effective allocation of resources to address internal priorities and supervisory requirements within agreed timelines.
• Quantitative Model Review: Independently assess and challenge material risk and accounting models, including expected credit loss frameworks and related sub-components, through replication, stress testing and analytical review.
• Challenger Model Development: Design and execute alternative modelling approaches to test the reliability, assumptions and outputs of core models, strengthening the overall validation process.
• Regulatory Engagement and Compliance: Evaluate model governance and documentation against prevailing regulatory standards and supervisory expectations, liaising with relevant authorities and supporting internal reviews and audits.
• Stakeholder Collaboration and Reporting: Work closely with Finance, Credit and Risk teams to understand business requirements, define data needs and present technical findings in a clear and practical manner to senior management and Board-level stakeholders.
• Team Development: Provide guidance and mentorship to both experienced and junior team members, fostering technical excellence and a culture of continuous improvement.

Qualifications, Skills, and Attributes

• Education: An MQF Level 6 qualification in Mathematics, Econometrics, Statistics or a related quantitative discipline. Alternatively, an MQF Level 7 Master’s degree in a relevant field may be considered in line with experience requirements.
• Experience: A minimum of seven years’ experience in quantitative risk model development or independent model validation within financial services, including hands-on data analysis, model assessment and back-testing. At least three years’ experience leading a team, project or initiative is required. Candidates with alternative combinations of extended experience and academic background will also be considered in line with the outlined criteria.
• Language Skills: Excellent command of English is required to succeed in this role. The ability to communicate in Maltese would be an asset.
• Communication Skills: Ability to translate complex quantitative concepts into clear, structured insights suitable for senior leadership and regulatory audiences.
• Interpersonal Skills: Confident collaborator capable of building effective relationships across multiple departments and engaging constructively with internal and external stakeholders.
• Technical Skills: Strong expertise in credit risk modelling concepts such as probability of default, loss given default, exposure at default, significant increase in credit risk and time value of money. Proficiency in statistical and data tools including SQL, R, Python and advanced Excel; familiarity with VBA and other modelling applications is advantageous.
• Organisation: Skilled at managing competing priorities, structuring validation plans and delivering high-quality outputs within tight regulatory timelines.
• Self-Motivated: Proactive and accountable professional who demonstrates sound judgement, resilience under pressure and a commitment to maintaining up-to-date technical knowledge.
• Problem-Solving: Analytical thinker with the ability to critically evaluate assumptions, identify weaknesses in modelling approaches and propose practical, risk-aware solutions.

What's on Offer

• Compensation: A competitive base salary with performance-based incentives.
• Working Hours: Standard business hours with flexibility as required, including hybrid working arrangements.
• Other Benefits: Enhanced annual leave entitlement, private medical cover, access to structured learning programmes through an internal academy, relocation support where applicable, preferential staff lending schemes, pension contributions and an inclusive workplace culture that values diversity and equal opportunity.
• Career Development: Exposure to significant regulatory initiatives and transformation projects within a reputable financial institution, offering defined progression routes and broader leadership responsibilities.

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