AVP- Head of Equity Risk Management

Description

As a leading provider of annuities, MassMutual Ascend is committed to taking financial futures above and beyond. This means offering innovative products that fit our customers’ unique needs – whether it’s protecting their hard-earned savings, receiving guaranteed income or providing for loved ones. MassMutual Ascend is proud to offer customers a level of strength and stability they can count on for years to come.

The Opportunity

We are seeking a dynamic and experienced leader to join our Enterprise Risk Management team at MassMutual Ascend, a leading life insurance company specializing in fixed, fixed indexed, and registered index-linked annuities. In this critical role, you will oversee the equity hedging programs for our annuity portfolio, ensuring robust risk management frameworks, accurate valuations, and strategic alignment with business objectives. You will collaborate cross-functionally with pricing, finance, and operations teams to model and mitigate equity-related risks, develop innovative pricing models, and drive research initiatives to solve complex quantitative challenges. As a people leader, you will manage and mentor a team of actuarial and quantitative professionals, fostering a culture of excellence and innovation. This position plays a key role in influencing business strategies and ensuring the financial stability of our annuity products in a volatile market environment

Job Responsibilities

Equity Hedging Program Oversight

• Provide comprehensive oversight of equity hedging programs for fixed, fixed indexed, and registered index-linked annuities, including daily valuations, development of rebalancing recommendations, and execution of hedging strategies to minimize market risks.
• Modify/design, implement, and oversee risk frameworks for hedging programs, ensuring compliance with regulatory standards and alignment with company risk appetite.
• Deliver comprehensive risk quantification analyses, including backtesting, stress testing, and scenario analysis to evaluate hedging effectiveness and product resilience under various market conditions.
• Build and refine pricing models for complex equity strategies, incorporating advanced quantitative techniques to support product innovation and competitive positioning.
• Partner with annuity pricing professionals to review and validate modeling of equity features embedded in annuity products; ensure accurate reflection of associated risks and the modeling of impacts from risk mitigation strategies.
• Work closely with finance professionals to ensure that equity features and hedges are accurately incorporated into financial reporting, forecasting, and analysis processes.

•  Asset/Liability Management (Alm) Support:

• Assist with the development and implementation of Asset/Liability Management policies and procedures.
• Support the review of asset and liability interest rate risk metrics.
• Collaborate with the head of capital markets risk and the portfolio manager on potential interest rate risk strategies.

•  Strategic Influence:

• Influence the development of business strategies related to annuity products and risk management; may take ownership of implementing select strategies to drive operational efficiency and profitability.
• Oversee and conduct research to address complex actuarial and quantitative problems arising from annuity operations, leveraging statistical methods and derivative pricing expertise.
• Serve as a key liaison between risk, pricing, finance, and operations teams, providing expert insights on equity risks and hedging to support informed decision-making.

•  Management:

• Lead and develop a staff of professional actuarial, quantitative, and statistical experts, including performance management, talent development, and resource allocation to meet departmental goals.

Minimum Qualifications

Education: Bachelor’s degree in actuarial science, mathematics, finance, quantitative finance, or a related field required; Master’s degree or PhD preferred. Professional designations such as FSA (Fellow of the Society of Actuaries), FRM (Financial Risk Manager), or CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst) are highly desirable.

Experience: 8+ years of progressive experience in risk management, hedging, or quantitative analysis within the insurance industry, with a focus on annuities or derivative products. Demonstrated leadership in management roles, including at least 3-5 years managing actuarial or quantitative  professionals.

Technical Expertise:

• High level of experience in statistical methods, derivative pricing, stochastic modeling, and quantitative risk assessment.
• Proficiency in equity hedging strategies, including options, futures, and swaps for annuity products.
• Strong knowledge of annuity products (fixed, fixed indexed, registered index-linked) and embedded equity features.
• Experience with risk quantification techniques such as Value at Risk (VaR), backtesting, stress testing, and Monte Carlo simulations.

Skills:

• Experience in programming languages or derivative valuation tools such as Numerix for derivative modeling and analysis.
• Familiarity with SQL and PowerBI desired
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to tackle complex quantitative challenges.
• Strong communication and presentation skills, capable of explaining technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders.
• Proven ability to influence business strategies and collaborate across functions.
• Leadership qualities, including mentoring, team building, and fostering innovation.

Other: Ability to thrive in a fast-paced environment, with a commitment to ethical practices and

continuous learning. Willingness to travel occasionally for industry conferences or team meetings

What To Expect

• Focused one-on-one meetings with your manager
• Ongoing opportunities for development and learning
• Working in a fast-paced environment with available flexible work schedules
• A place to grow your career in a culture that inspires, rewards and develops employees
• Small company feel with a focus on meeting customer’s needs today and also well into the future

Why Join Us.

At MassMutual Ascend, our collaborative culture is key to our success. It’s the reason we’re a leading provider of annuities today, and it’s the reason we’ll continue rising to the top tomorrow. A career at MassMutual Ascend means you’ll contribute to our mission of taking financial futures above and beyond – and you’ll be inspired to reach your own goals, too. As a wholly owned subsidiary of MassMutual, MassMutual Ascend continues to be an employer of choice in the Cincinnati, Ohio community.

MassMutual Ascend Life Insurance Company is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer. We welcome all persons to apply.

At MassMutual Ascend we focus on ensuring fair, equitable pay by providing competitive salaries, along with incentive and bonus opportunities for all employees.  Your total compensation package includes either a bonus target or in a sales-focused role a Variable Incentive Compensation component.  For more information about our extensive benefits offerings please check out our Total Rewards at a Glance..