Senior Director, Portfolio Optimization, Global Alpha Full Time

ABOUT US

We’re one of Canada’s largest pension investment managers, with CAD$264.9 billion of net assets as of March 31, 2024.
We invest funds for the pension plans of the federal public service, the Canadian Forces, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Reserve Force. Headquartered in Ottawa, PSP Investments has its principal business office in Montréal and offices in New York, London and Hong Kong.
Capturing and leading complex global investments requires us to work as one to seize valuable opportunities, in close collaboration with some of the world’s top companies. At PSP, you’ll join a team of motivated and engaged professionals, dedicated to propelling our organization further than ever before.

EXPERIENCE THE EDGE

At PSP, we encourage our employees to grow, forge powerful relationships, contribute and fuel inspired investment launchpads. We are committed to a culture that fosters collaboration and allows us to think beyond, in an interconnected way. We advocate for our employees to speak-up, learn, experiment, share, and be part of an inclusive work environment where diversity is embraced.

ABOUT THE TEAM

Global Alpha’s main objective is to generate excess returns (alpha) in the capital markets space. This is achieved by selectively deploying capital and risk in areas of persistent, exploitable alpha. Our strategies cover Active Equities and Alpha Alternatives. Global Alpha leverages external partners to complement its internal value proposition. The team is composed of 60 professionals drawn from several disciplines including Portfolio Management, Fundamental Research, Hedge Funds, Data Scientists & Financial Engineers.

ABOUT YOUR ROLE

As a Senior Director, Portfolio Optimization, Global Alpha, you will play a key role in developing the roadmap for Global Alpha’s investment strategies. Reporting directly to the Senior Managing Director and Head of Global Alpha, this unique role works in close collaboration with the leadership of Global Alpha, directly influencing the allocation of risk between our investment strategies. This allocation exercise is informed by a deep understanding of the alpha potential of a wide range of market segments in the capital markets space and an informed view of the quality of execution of internal and external teams in the extraction of these alpha opportunities.

Executing this mandate will require completing the development of our analytical toolkit such that we are better able to make data driven decisions on where and how to invest. The successful candidate will lead the development and implementation of frameworks for assessing attractiveness of market segments and evaluating the quality of execution. The attractiveness of market segments will be assessed based on both their standalone appeal but also considering fit within asset class mandates of Global Alpha and the needs of the Total Fund. The execution analysis will aim to improve investment outcomes by identifying opportunities for investment process enhancements and directly influencing their implementation.

The role requires the ability to connect strong analytical capabilities with investment acumen. It will also require the ability to innovate and manage change. Finally, it will require the ability to foster and sustain the relationships of trust required to implement the above in the context of a large investment organization.

As a Senior Director, Portfolio Optimization, Global Alpha, your main responsibilities will be:

Market segmentation & Product mapping
Lead the Identification of rich alpha pools and assess the potential for alpha extraction
In collaboration with investment leads, map investment products to strategic objectives, feeding insights into the overarching investment strategy
Develop and leverage external networks, including external managers and peers to identify Best Practices in investments
Ensure that product offerings align with the evolving global alpha value proposition

Quality of Execution & Monitoring Framework
Elevate the framework to assess the quality and effectiveness of strategy execution and ensure successful alpha extraction
Oversee the usage of risk and increase the efficiency of Global Alpha Risk/Return profile
Inspire the creation and use of effective monitoring systems and guardrails to safeguard investment strategies, in collaboration with GA’s business partners
Partner with risk management and compliance to ensure alignment and integration into the strategic process

Tools Development
Lead the development of a comprehensive toolbox to empower teams to understand their skills, opportunities, and the tools available to optimize performance
Oversee the implementation of a data driven allocation framework for Global Alpha that considers alpha optimization vectors such as: IR, VaR, Correlations, Internal/External Capital Deployment limits & return on time
Provide actionable insights to leadership to improve strategy performance

Collaboration & PSP Total Fund Impact
Partner with other asset classes to ensure alignment with corporate strategy objectives and maximize impact
Work closely with risk and capital planning teams to influence budget allocation to optimize Global Alpha contribution
Foster a collaborative environment to enhance team capabilities and cross-functional efficiency

Leadership/Management
Provide leadership, coaching and development to team members
Effectively lead team through the prioritization of initiatives, ensuring alignment with strategic goals

WHAT YOU’LL NEED

MSc in Finance, Financial Engineering or other quantitative discipline
Minimum of fifteen (15) years of prior direct investment and/or investment allocation and/or investment strategy experience
Proven experience in investment strategy, product mapping, and alpha generation
Proven experience in quantifying portfolio construction and leveraging 3rd party risk tools
Proven experience in portfolio optimization and controlling investment biases
Experience with risk management, capital planning, and strategy execution
Strong analytical and strategic thinking skills
Creative mindset driving new investment strategies design
Ability to guide and shape strategy without direct control
Collaborative mindset with strong interpersonal skills, ability to communicate effectively, working across teams to drive collective success, creating a culture of accountability and strategic oversight
Impartiality and competence in decision-making processes, bringing an objective, highly skilled perspective to strategic discussions
Team player, enjoys a high-performance culture, and desire to coach junior resources
Good communications skills in English and French (or willingness to learn) (regular interactions in English with investment partners based outside of Quebec Example: peers, bankers, brokerage firms, etc. and PSP employees in our offices in Hong Kong, London and New York, and interactions in French with employees in our local offices in Montreal and Ottawa)

We offer a tailored employee experience and competitive total rewards and benefits package* designed to attract and retain global diverse talent, reward performance, and reinforce business strategies and priorities. Beyond salary and incentive pay eligibility, you have access to:

Investment in career development
Comprehensive group insurance plans
Competitive pension plans
Unlimited access to virtual healthcare services and wellness programs
Gender-inclusive paid family leave policy: up to 26 weeks for primary caregivers, 5 weeks for secondary caregivers
A personalized family-building support, from pre-pregnancy to menopause, with available financial assistance
Vacation days available on day one with additional days on milestone service anniversaries, and summer Friday afternoons off
A hybrid work model with a mix of in-office and remote days

*Benefits package may vary based on your employee type.

At PSP, we aim to provide an inclusive workplace where we leverage diversity and where everyone feels valued, safe, respected and empowered to grow. As part of this leadership commitment, we strongly encourage applications from all qualified applicants and strive to offer an inclusive and accessible candidate experience. If you require any accommodation for any part of the recruitment process, please let us know.

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