Sr. AVP, Risk Officer – Specialty Finance

As a team member in Finance at Nationwide, a Fortune 100 company with nearly $70 billion in annual sales, the opportunities are endless! Let Nationwide help create your career journey! At Nationwide®, “on your side” goes beyond just words. Our customers are at the center of everything we do and we’re looking for associates who are passionate about delivering extraordinary care.

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Job Description Summary

Do you have the desire to grow a business and play a critical role in shaping business outcomes? Our Investment and Risk professionals play a key role in using analysis to create insights that enable Nationwide to provide risk solutions to individual and corporate customers and drive business results. Nationwide Specialty Finance employs a research‑driven, team‑oriented, and results‑focused approach to create and manage innovative specialty finance insurance solutions such as fund financing, structured credit, portfolio credit insurance, collateral protection, and residual value products. These solutions cover complex asset risks on the asset side of the balance sheet, delivered through insurance and reinsurance structures that help customers access financial markets more efficiently.

As Sr AVP, Risk Officer, Specialty Finance, you will lead risk, analytics, and reinsurance for the Specialty Finance business. You will establish and govern the frameworks, models, processes, and management reporting that underpin product risk/return evaluation, product structuring, portfolio and capital management, reinsurance strategy and execution, and the related accounting and reserving outcomes—driving disciplined risk-adjusted performance aligned to enterprise capital objectives. You will partner closely with other leaders and senior stakeholders across the company to ensure that risks are identified and quantified appropriately; products and portfolios are modeled and monitored with rigor; reinsurance is structured and placed effectively; and results are booked, reserved, and operated in line with Nationwide’s risk appetite, limits, and financial objectives.

Job Description

Key Responsibilities: 

• Own the end-to-end Specialty Finance risk and analytics framework covering pricing, capital, limits, stochastic and deterministic stress modeling, and performance measurement.

• Develop and maintain product- and portfolio-level risk/return models including loss distributions, capital usage, and return on capital for Specialty Finance products.

• Partner with underwriting and investment leads to embed analytical standards (assumptions, model use, documentation, back‑testing) into product design, deal approval, and ongoing monitoring.

• Define and maintain risk appetite statements and limit structures aligned to enterprise risk appetite and limits.

• Lead Specialty Finance risk governance and oversight, including the Deal Committee and relevant risk/product committees.

• Ensure model risk management standards are met for all models.

• Integrate exposure measurement into the Office of Investments ecosystem and enterprise risk reporting.

• Sponsor and oversee audit, compliance, and regulatory reviews for Specialty Finance models, processes, and controls.

• Partner with Nationwide’s ceding reinsurance leader to design and execute the Specialty Finance reinsurance strategy and structures including quota share, excess of loss, and structured solutions that align with product design, risk appetite, and capital objectives.

• Lead business execution of reinsurance terms, data requirements, and alignment with underwriting and risk views in coordination with Reinsurance, Legal, and Enterprise Risk.

• Partner with Finance, Controllership, Reserving, and Actuarial to ensure appropriate GAAP/statutory treatment and reserving methodologies.

• Build and lead a high-performing team and collaborate across underwriting, investments, controllership, reserving, technology, operations, claims, and reinsurance to deliver risk-adjusted returns.

• Accountable for the talent management process including oversight of recruiting, performance management, diversity and inclusion, development and training.

May perform other responsibilities as assigned.

Reporting Relationships:  Reports to SVP, Chief Risk Officer. Leads a team of 3+ risk, analytics, and reinsurance professionals.

Typical Skills and Experiences: 

Education:  Undergraduate degree in Finance, Mathematics, Actuarial Science, Statistics, Economics, Engineering, or a related quantitative field. Graduate degree (e.g., MBA, MS in Finance, Financial Engineering, Applied Statistics, or similar) preferred.

License/Certification/Designation: Professional credentials such as FSA, FCAS, CFA, FRM, PRM, or CPA strongly preferred.

Experience:  Typically, 10 or more years of experience in insurance, banking, asset management, or specialty finance, with significant exposure to risk analytics and capital modeling, operating‑model and process design for complex financial products, and structured credit, specialty finance, or complex re/insurance transactions. Five or more years people leadership experience.

Knowledge, Abilities and Skills: Deep understanding of credit, market, and liquidity risk as applied to specialty finance, structured products, or complex re/insurance structures. Strong fluency in risk and financial metrics, including capital, return on capital, and risk‑adjusted performance measures. Proven ability to translate complex models and structures into clear financial, reinsurance, and operational requirements for Finance, Controllership, Reserving, Reinsurance, Technology, and Operations. Proven advanced analytical and problem‑solving skills, including comfort with data, modeling tools, and quantitative reasoning. Excellent communication and influence skills, with the ability to challenge and collaborate effectively with senior executives, technical experts, reinsurers, and external partners. Strong leadership capabilities, including talent development, prioritization, and execution in a fast‑moving, entrepreneurial environment.

Other criteria, including leadership skills, competencies and experiences may take precedence.

Staffing exceptions to the above must be approved by the hiring manager’s leader and Human Resource Business Partner.

Values:  Regularly and consistently demonstrates Nationwide Values.

Job Conditions: 

Overtime Eligibility: Exempt (not eligible)

Working Conditions: Normal office environment. Some travel may be required.

ADA:  The above statements cover what are generally believed to be principal and essential functions of this job.  Specific circumstances may allow or require some people assigned to the job to perform a somewhat different combination of duties. 

Benefits

We have an array of benefits to fit your needs, including: medical/dental/vision, life insurance, short and long term disability coverage, paid time off with newly hired associates receiving a minimum of 18 days paid time off each full calendar year pro-rated quarterly based on hire date, nine paid holidays, 8 hours of Lifetime paid time off, 8 hours of Unity Day paid time off, 401(k) with company match, company-paid pension plan, business casual attire, and more. To learn more about the benefits we offer, click here.

Nationwide is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive culture where everyone feels challenged, appreciated, respected and engaged. Nationwide prohibits discrimination and harassment and affords equal employment opportunities to employees and applicants without regard to any characteristic (or classification) protected by applicable law.

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