Interest Rate Risk & Liquidity Manager

Summary: Responsible for managing and mitigating interest rate and liquidity risks, ensuring the Bank maintains a healthy and sustainable structural interest rate and liquidity profile. This role involves developing and implementing risk management strategies, conducting thorough assessments, and collaborating with various departments to ensure compliance with policy and regulatory requirements. This position reports directly to the Treasurer and will be critical in managing the Bank's interest rate risk and liquidity profile, ensuring sufficient liquidity to meet internal and external requirements.

Salary Range: The salary range budgeted for this position is $151,200/yr to $200,000/yr and represents the Company's good faith minimum and maximum range for this role at the time of posting. The compensation offered to a candidate may vary depending on several factors, including a candidate's qualifications, skills, competencies, experience, and location.

The Company also offers various benefits, including medical, dental, vision, and a 401(K) match. Other rewards may include annual performance-based bonuses and wellness days.

Applicants must have current work authorization when accepting a First Foundation Inc. position. Currently, we cannot sponsor or take over the sponsorship of an Employment Visa.

Duties and Responsibilities:

• Employee is responsible for adherence to all compliance programs and the completion of all required and assigned training by established due dates
• Employee is responsible for understanding their duties and responsibilities as it relates to the Bank Secrecy Act, ("BSA"), Anti-Money Laundering Act ("AML"), and Office of Foreign Assets Control Regulations ("OFAC"). This includes understanding any responsibilities outlined under the Bank's BSA/ OFAC Program, participating in any required training, and promptly complying with all reporting requirements
• Understands and complies with requirements of all laws and regulations applicable to the position
• Responsible for executing and evolving our investment management and interest-rate-risk hedging strategies to meet internal and regulatory liquidity and capital requirements
• Manage the bank's liquidity portfolio, as necessary, including working with the Treasurer to identify needs to purchase and sell liquid assets to meet internal and external liquidity requirements
• Maintain sufficient liquidity to support the bank's operational and funding needs while optimizing the portfolio's risk and return profile
• Continuously monitor market conditions and identify trends that may impact the bank's interest-rate-risk profile and liquidity positions or portfolio performance
• Ensure compliance with all regulatory and internal risk management guidelines, including liquidity risk and interest rate risk
• Develop and supplement current risk management practices to ensure portfolio objectives are aligned with the bank's broader short- and long-term strategies, including its target balance sheet size and composition
• Prepare and present regular reports to senior management and ALCO, highlighting portfolio performance, market and liquidity trends, and investment and sale opportunities
• Utilize advanced financial modeling and analysis to support balance sheet strategies
• Engage with counterparties, brokers, and external investment managers to execute portfolio and hedging transactions efficiently
• Perform scenario analysis and stress testing on the portfolio to assess potential risks and identify areas for improvement
• Work closely with senior leadership to align portfolio strategies with the bank's broader financial goals
• Provide leadership, mentorship, and guidance to team members
• Collaborate with other departments to ensure seamless cross-functional operations, aligned objectives and achievement of desired financial goals
• Assist in developing and implementing treasury policies and procedures related to interest rate risk and liquidity risk management
• Perform other duties as assigned

Supervisory Responsibilities: This position does not have direct supervisory responsibilities but may have responsibility in the future.

Qualifications: To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions.

Education and/or Experience:

• Bachelor's degree in accounting, Finance, or Economics, or related degree required
• Minimum of 10 or more years in Treasury or related areas within the banking industry required
• Direct knowledge of Asset Liability Management (ALM) strategies and processes
• Additional industry recognized certification(s), preferred

Skills:

• Must have excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Must have advanced data management skills
• Must have the ability to interpret and communicate complex financial data
• Must have the ability to run the financial forecast modeling, analytics, and forecasting skills
• Must be flexible with duties performed
• Must have knowledge of regulatory requirements
• Must be able to work with all levels of employees and outside vendors, etc.

Physical Demands: The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions.

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to sit for long periods; use hands to operate controls on a computer; reach with hands and arms for phone and computer work; and communicate on the phone wearing a headset for extended periods. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 10 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, and the ability to adjust focus. This job description is subject to change at any time.

First Foundation is an equal opportunity employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, protected veteran status, status as a qualified individual with a disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, or any other characteristic protected by law.