Barclays
Data Science Associate – Portfolio Hedging & Optimisation
How your CV stacks up
Upload your CV to see how well it fits this job role
?%
Data Science Associate – Portfolio Hedging & Optimisation
Assistant Vice President – Portfolio Hedging & Optimization (PH&O)
Purpose of the Role
Reponsible for structuring and executing risk transfer trades within Portfolio Hedging & Optimization (PH&O). The primary focus is supporting origination and long-term management of these complex transactions.
Accountabilities
- Partner with Structuring, Treasury, and Middle Office to execute new structured transactions as part of a deal team.
- Ongoing management and optimization of existing structured transactions, collaborating with internal teams and external partners, including law firms, verification agents, rating agencies, and agent banks.
- Support investor engagement, answering queries on both existing and prospective transactions in collaboration with relationship and sales teams.
- Assist with wider portfolio optimization initiatives, contributing to analytics work, return enhancements, and model improvements.
- Contribute to data-driven decision-making, including the application of AI and advanced analytics for model refinements and workflow efficiency over time.
*Key Responsibilities for an Assistant Vice President
Working at this level requires strategic influence, independent decision-making, and cross-functional leadership:
-
Advisory & Influence:
- Advise decision-makers, shape policies, and drive operational improvements.
- Provide expert input into complex risk-mitigation strategies and governance policies.
-
Leadership & Team Management:
- Lead teams through complex, high-impact assignments, blending cross-functional methodologies.
- Set clear objectives, coach employees, and assess performance relative to targets.
- (For leadership roles): Foster an environment aligned with Barclays LEAD behaviours—Listen, Energize, Align, Develop.
- (Refer to LEAD section below for further details)
-
Risk & Governance:
- Own risk oversight, strengthening controls, and enhancing timelines for reporting compliance.
- Communicate and resolve escalated issues with stakeholders.
-
Strategic Delphi & Analytics Focus:
- For individual contributors (e.g., Data Science Associate roles), develop end-to-end analytical ownership:
- Translate raw data into actionable insights for credit risk, portfolio optimization, and capital efficiency (including Significant Risk Transfer - SRT).
- Model development to support live decision-making, including integrated AI/ML techniques.
- Collaborate on workflow improvements and process refinements for scalability.
- For individual contributors (e.g., Data Science Associate roles), develop end-to-end analytical ownership:
Reasons to use Rodeo
Start with a chat, not a search bar
Grad scheme, placement, apprenticeship? Not sure what you want yet — that's fine. Your agent talks it through with you and turns "I have no idea" into a shortlist.
It searches the market for you
Every day your agent scans the market matching roles against what actually matters to you, not just keywords on a CV.
Only hits
No noise. No "maybe this fits." Just roles with a clear explanation of why they're right — and where to focus when applying.
In Detail: Data Science Associate Role Within PH&O Analytics
Position Overview
This role supports credit risk, balance sheet optimization, and portfolio hedging using analytical models and data-driven tools. By joining our Analytics team, you’ll develop expertise in:
- Assessing portfolio performance.
- Informing transaction execution.
- Exploring AI/advanced statistical methods for operational use.
Key Dynamics: • Small team size with broad ownership of analytical objectives. • Exposure to transaction analytics, offerings, compliance reporting, and design changes.
Responsibilities
- End-to-end analytical delivery:
- Work from data quality stewardship to model implementation and on-going performance monitoring.
- Model maintenance and enhancement:
- Strengthen portfolio analytics, iterating on existing processes and improving hands-on output.
- Process improvement:
- Prioritize system uplift (e.g. increase automation, optimise workflows).
- AI-adjacent contributions:
- Explore and test initial AI applications to support operational efficiency.
- Stakeholder services:
- Present findings across portfolio management teams with clarity.
Career Progression
- Building expertise in data-science-adjacent risk management.
- Tackling shared ambitions across portfolio credit/balance sheet/SRT.
LEAD Behaviours (For People Leaders)
Expected leadership attributes for Barclays colleagues at this level:
- L – Listen and be authentic
- E – Energise and inspire
- A – Align across the enterprise
- D – Develop others
Skills & Qualifications
Core Requirements
- Strong in quantitative reasoning (maths, physics, engineering, economics) supplemented by financial modelling application—early career experience preferred.
- Proficiency in Python (e.g. pandas, NumPy, pandas-aside exploratory analysis) and practical SQL, understanding of data structures (how messy data can degrade insights).
- Foundational comprehension of credit risk metrics (e.g. Probability of Default—PD, Loss Given Default—LGD, Exposure at Default—EAD, Risk-Weighted Assets—RWA), or capacity to quickly learn these.
- Marks strong problem-solving ability adjacent to clear, concise code-with-best-practice practices (e.g., documentation, debugging robustness).
- Self-motivated, comfortable working independently, with collaborative pitch-making clarity during outputs/projects.
Get help with your application
Your very own career expert that helps elevate your application to the next level.
Nice-to-Have Additional Skills
- Prior exposure to:
- Portfolio analytics, securitisation, scorecarding (for example, stress-testing, Monte Carlo simulations).
- Financial datasets (e.g., working with loan-level or legacy South America/North America retail portfolios).
- Regulated financial environments (or sincere interest in compliance).
- Hands-on experience or flagship projectwork in:
- Statistical techniques (regression, clustering).
- Supervised/unsupervised Machine Learning (e.g. graphic exploratory).
- Implementing AI-driven two-hop fixes in assessed domains.
Assessment Focus
Critical Skills for Role Success
- Risk & Controls: Arising from model logic and decision-impacted workflows.
- Change & Transformation: Balancing legacy vs. outset prinicples.
- Business Acumen + Strategic Thinking: Differentiating financial outcomes via analytics.
- Digital & Technology: Learning environments, migration to new software, adapting the tech-stack.
- Technical Skills: Covering now-required maths/validation methods and future-product scope.
Benefits of Working at Barclays
At Barclays, your experience is Work Experience—a union of our unique culture, sustainable commitments, recognition programs, plus most of all the people who thrive here. Our teams are:
- Self-managed but driven.
- Humble so others can rise.
- Taking decisions for what’s best for the team.
- Collaborative and driven to a commonly impactful outcome.
We believe this culture has shaped us into the #1 workplace in the US/Europe/London. Your impact starts when you're eager to make a difference.
Note: This role is based in our London office for the majority of applicants.
“It took my CV and asked me questions relevant to understanding what kind of jobs to suggest for me. Suggestions were almost perfect. Jobs were exactly what I’ve been looking for.”
Jessica, London
Skills
Location