The Middle Office Operations Manager position is in the Middle Office Operations function of Peabody’s Risk Management Group which reports to the Finance Group. This group is independent of and monitors COALTRADE, a Peabody business unit which markets and trades coal and freight. The Middle Office Operations Manager works with the Director – Middle Office Operations to maintain risk policy; develop, document, and monitor processes used by Trading, Risk Management, and Accounting in managing the operational trading and risk management activities of COALTRADE. This experienced professional will work to continuously improve all processes related to trading and risk management from deal inception through deal entry to deal settlement. This includes the daily production of relevant performance metrics for the processes. This position will work closely with the business unit, risk management, and IT to identify appropriate processes that are candidates for automation as well as other enhancements. This position will work with IT and systems staff to develop and enhance Risk systems.

This position will also manage the training requirements for all trading activity. This will include development of comprehensive training materials, in conjunction with department leaders in each function, coordinating the training schedule for all trading and Risk Management support personnel, and publishing training compliance reports on an annual basis. This will require the development and deployment of a centralized training database.

This person will also provide project management for all major Middle Office and Trade Control projects.

The position will coordinate with Trade Control Analysts in St. Louis and other remote offices (London, Newcastle, and Singapore) performing day-to-day risk management and other trading processes.

Responsibilities:

• Contribute to a team of analysts who perform day-to-day risk management portfolio valuation, P&L disaggregation, risk analysis activities, and independent oversight of global trading and hedging operations. 
• Perform analysis of policies and procedures designed to measure and monitor operational, credit, market risk, and P&L analysis relative to coal, freight, and corporate hedge portfolios. Develop metrics and communicate those metrics on process performance to relevant stakeholders. 
• Assess the impact of new and existing legislation on trading operations and reporting. 
• Support the Risk Management Committee (RMC), Front Office, and other Peabody departments by managing the completion of special information / data requests. Drive routine data requests to be automated by working with the Manager of Reporting. 
• Assess the impact of new business opportunities (new markets, assets, strategies, etc…) on the Middle Office’s ability to monitor the risks of these typically complex transactions and enhance or develop processes as required to provide assurance of appropriate risk oversight. 
• Participate in the maintenance and enhancement of systems and applications used by Risk Management by working cooperatively with applications development, business analysts, and Risk Analytics groups. Contribute to process and control knowledge base for best practices on the ETRM platform. 
• Develop training regimen for all COALTRADE processes, system usage, and policy instruction. Conduct training and perform annual compliance activity to demonstrate that everyone has the proper training to perform their function. 
• Develop and publish Guideline document that details policy compliance on a day-to-day basis. 
• Document and publish key control processes and perform periodic audit to ensure compliance. 
• Provide project management services to Middle-Office and Trade Control projects.

Requirements:

• Undergraduate degree required. 
• Strong leadership / management skills. 
• 5+ years of experience in a commodity trading or related function. 
• Experience developing and monitoring compliance with risk management policies and procedures. 
• Excellent interpersonal skills and a comfort level in working effectively with people at various organizational levels / departments with various personalities in a high pressure, deadline driven environment. 
• Excellent communication skills including the ability to communicate highly technical concepts effectively with senior management both in written reports and oral presentations.
• Advanced knowledge of the energy markets and various commercial activities including trading, marketing, supply management and asset optimization. 
• A background in accounting, internal risk management, or operations for a commodity trading organization. Experience in the coal, petroleum, natural gas, electricity, or freight trading business (or equivalent experience in a commodity trading entity) is beneficial. 
• Strong ability to determine and define micro and macro components/implications/issues of proposed transactions, policies, and procedures, and communicate findings in an accurate, decisive manner. 
• Deep understanding of an effective control environment specifically including controls related to model development and end-user computing. 
• An entrepreneurial spirit, along with the ability to constructively maneuver within a large organization. Additionally, the candidate should have initiative and confidence while maintaining a responsive style, which is supportive of staff and management. 
• A high energy level coupled with attention to detail and creativity.