Head of Portfolio Management (Public Assets)

Date Posted: 22/07/2025

Location: London

Job Type: Full time

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At Just we encourage a flexible and agile working environment for the majority of our opportunities. Get in touch with us to discuss in more detail.

Who are Just?

We help people achieve a better later life. That’s our purpose and it’s the reason we exist. We are a fast-growing FTSE 250 company helping customers enjoy the retirement they deserve. We do this through a variety of market leading, award-winning products and services, delivered by a diverse team of over 1,400 purpose-led colleagues who genuinely put the customer at the heart of everything we do.

This is a brilliant time to join our business. We are on an exciting growth journey to become the UK’s most loved retirement expert.

Purpose

The Head of Public Credit [‘PC’] is a leadership role in the investment team, ensuring, in particular that Public Credit investments are evaluated carefully and our portfolio is optimally invested.

The purpose of the role is to support the investment activity of the business such that we can offer our policyholders the best possible security and pricing.

The Public Credit team is split into three vertical pillars [A.1 Trading, A.2 Portfolio Management, A.3 Public Credit Macro / Market Insight] and one horizontal pillar [B.1 Investment Projects].

The role will look to oversee activities within all 4 pillars while also ensuring they remain fit for purpose in terms of ensuring Public Credit function supports Just’s strategic objectives. It also has an additional leadership pillar within the PC function as well as interactions across the investment and wider business

Job Role Accountabilities

A.1 Trading – Oversee the below activities to ensure Public Credit sources & executes flow optimal to Just’s requirementsSourcing & executing primary and secondary public credit assets [Buy, sell & switches]
- This covers liquid / illiquid issuances ranging from listed / unlisted bonds, PPs, EMTNs and structured credit.
- Two key criteria for sourcing is MA eligibility and explicit rating on the bond / documentation linking credit asset to issuer
- Head Of is to ensure that traders act in line with the bond origination and trading procedure documents and their associated controls

Maintaining bank / broker dealer relationships
- This involves ensuring team is engaging across sales, traders, syndicate desks for publics / PPs and PT desks

Price discovery for new issues / illiquid bonds for internal / external origination
- This activity covers both internal & external origination activities

Verification of trade metrics
- This covers £Z, local Z, nominal & MV (Local and £ if applicable)
- Head Of is to ensure PC team is sufficiently trained in the above bond economics to support individual’s assessment of trade metrics versus expectations

A.2 Portfolio Management – Oversee the below activities to ensure Public Credit maximises in force PC portfolio economic risk adjusted value via NB and Optimisation trades

Tactical Asset Allocation for Public Credit new business & optimisation
This involves combining market timing (macro, technical demand and supply in IG credit, RV within IG, sector / name fundamentals) and business needs (IFRS, SII, ALM, RI, credit mitigation) for new business and optimisation trades
Head Of will lead on TAA decision making from PC perspective; being a key conduit between the PC team and investment team
This also involves understanding Senior Management requirements that feed into framing business needs as well as closely engaging with Head of Strategy / Head of Credit Research to understand private pipeline and relevant Head Of in DB / ALM to gauge in force portfolio needs and NB flows

Public credit pricing input for DB / GIFL curves
- Oversee PC PM input to NB pricing output in line with proposed methodologies (as needed, which could be ad hoc, quarterly and annually) as well providing ad hoc support to CIO for the weekly pricing forum

Investment Performance Assessment
- Continually review asset origination vs plan / NB liabilities originated YTD economics, cognisant of both public / private asset origination & associated pipelines
- Ensure PC trading activities support the reduction in emission intensity to 2025 and 2030 targets
- Lead on understanding wider business requirements to support NB / optimisation goal setting throughout the year both in terms of requirements and timing

General portfolio construction & associated MI
- Have a strong understanding of the Risk profile of portfolio
- This covers (1) Credit and liquidity of portfolio, (2) portfolio interaction with ALM, (3) DTS & OF generation, (4) RI
- Ensure these characteristics are taken into account by PC team when shaping TAA decisions for NB and Optimisation trades

Internal Credit Evaluation Tools
- Ensure PC team maintains internal pricing / evaluation tools used to consider impact of PC trades on Just B/S
- This includes using as up to date information as possible

Asset In Specie & Portfolio Trades
- Ensure PC team has sufficient technology to support asset in specie considerations and portfolio trades with the latter either to support in force optimisation or NB

A.3 Public Credit Macro / Market Insight – Oversee the below activities to ensure Public Credit collate macro / credit strategy / trading flow insight to support investment decision making and provide insight to wider business

Provide macro insight to Investment team and wider business
Find, analyse and evaluate new market information and retain this information in line to support tactical allocation decision making
Be SME on macro insight; supporting PC team in evaluating macro trends
Ensure PC team is regularly evaluating market trends to support TAA analysis

Investment Projects B.1 – Oversee the Setting up of new frameworks and technology for BAU use in Trading / PM pillar
Be the driving force behind increasing PC sophistication with the aim of making the PC function leading across peers

Leadership Pillar - Empower colleagues within PC / Investment team as well as supporting their career and personal development at just
- Ensure empowers colleagues to make decisions in their roles
- Invest in their coworkers’ professional development, offering mentoring and development opportunities
Act as main communicator of PC activities to the investment team, wider business and relevant governance forums
Coordinate PC resource to ensure the team facilitates growth for Just and supports the wider business objectives
Act as key decision maker within PC function taking into account carefully the opinions and perspectives of others before making a final decision

Examples of Key Activities

Originate and review liquid and illiquid Public Credit assets in both primary and secondary markets to meet our investment goals.
Actively manage Just Group’s Public Credit Portfolio, working closely with Credit Research’s credit views, to generate value through optimisation trading strategies.
Collaborate with Capital Management to improve the efficiency of the wider balance sheet and generate additional value under either IFRS or Solvency II.
Develop improved Portfolio MI, both for use by the Public Credit team BAU and to provide further insight to the wider team on our Public Credit portfolio.
Manage Portfolio Attribution and Trading actions to achieve new business spreads and add further value through Optimisation trading.
Lead Just Group’s Public Credit Trading process and development.
Collaborate with Responsible Investment and manage the implementation of our transition plan for the Investment Team.
Collaborate with the Strategy team, providing relevant colour and relative value thoughts that can we factored into the wider business and their managing of external manager relationships.
Ensure Just Group become increasingly aligned with our key bank and broker counterparties to support our business growth ambitions.
Work with the DB team to assess potential asset’s we could receive in specie and support new business.

Skills and Knowledge

Skills:

Excellent analytical skills, including ability to make commercial judgements in light of uncertain circumstances. Able to support judgement calls with a clear justification.
Excellent verbal, written communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to present investment matters in a clear and concise manner
Understanding and experience in executing research, due diligence and investment evaluation
Strong results focus, with ability to work efficiently and grasp concepts that are not straightforward, yet seek guidance where necessary
Excellent team-working skills and ability to maintain relationships with internal stakeholders and develop relationships with external parties

Demonstrate strong aptitudes in:

Risk awareness
Investment matters and strategies, in particular credit, with the ability and interest to develop further
Research and getting a thorough understanding of the issues being examined
Approaches to understanding and evaluating risks
Investing on behalf of liability driven investors

Knowledge of:

Long only and fundamental investing, with the ability and interest to develop further
The issues surrounding investing on behalf of a (life) assurer (desirable, but not essential)
Financial markets in general
Understanding of the products and services provided by Just Group

Experience

Demonstrable track record of relevant experience in a bank, insurance company, asset manager or consultant
Experience managing fixed income portfolios, asset allocation and portfolio construction
Recognising that this is a “Head of” level hire, experience in taking ownership of activity is essential

Company Benefits

A Competitive Salary, Pension Scheme and Life Assurance
Along with 25 Days Annual Leave plus an Additional Day on us for your Birthday
Private Medical Cover and Income Protection, just in case
A generous and highly achievable bonus scheme – paid annually based on individual and company performance against targets
Opportunity to progress within your career both in-role and within the company
FREE access to the Headspace App, a 24/7 Employee Assistance Helpline and Trained Physical & Mental Health First Aiders (On-Site)
A variety of Employee Funded Benefits available to you via our Online Benefits Portal
Plus, several additional purchase options available for you and your loved ones

Why Just?

At Just you’ll have the opportunity to develop your career, whilst making a difference to the lives of those around you. You’ll be part of a company with a strong and distinctive culture - we’re ambitious, curious and collaborative – and every decision we make centres around being Just and delivering the best outcomes for our customers.

We’re committed to building a more sustainable business, and we’re working hard to make progress against our Net Zero targets. We're reducing our reliance on fossil fuels in our offices, switching to more sustainable sources of energy and we're investing more of our money in green and social assets.

Valuing diversity of thought and fostering a sense of belonging is critical to our business success, driving innovation and balanced decision making. Our work on DEIB (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging) aims to deliver a brilliant employee experience underpinned by a sense of belonging, where our people feel proud to work at Just. We remain committed to our publicly disclosed HM Treasury Women in Finance Charter and Race at Work Charter targets and support a wide range of employee network and events, championing issues including intergenerational working, social mobility and neurodiversity.

Be Bold. Be Brilliant. Be Just.

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