Medior Countervailing Policy Advisor – Strategic Investment Policy | Private Markets

As a Medior Countervailing Policy Advisor, you will play a crucial role in strategic policy formulation, collaborating with senior stakeholders across PGGM and PFZW. You will have the courage to independently challenge the development of strategic investment policies from the outset and provide a well-substantiated counter-narrative on various proposals. You will have a strong focus on private markets, ensuring best practices are considered while frequently working in a multidisciplinary team. You strive to uphold high-quality standards for policy countervailing power. 

Responsibilities: 

• Provide an outside-in perspective on policy development through collaboration with the research department and other relevant academic or sector stakeholders. 
• Contribute to the assessment of policy quality, feasibility, consistency, and suitability. 
• Provide challenge and quality control throughout the policy development process, including ALM, Strategic Asset Allocation, Strategic Policy Advice, and Make-Buy-Ally analyses. 
• Contribute to aligning PGGM’s application of Strategic Investment Policy and Strategic Asset Allocation with PFZW’s investment plan objectives for the Total Portfolio and PFZW’s attitude towards portfolio risks. 
• Contribute to the alignment of 3D mandates with PFZW’s strategic objectives. 
• Contribute to integrated policy countervailing power reports to PFZW. 
• Provide input for periodic assessments, both internally and conducted by external parties as required. 

PGGM manages approximately 250bjn for the pension fund for welfare and healthcare, a pension fund with about 2.9 milion beneficiaries. 

Countervailing Policy Advice Team 

The independent team Countervailing Policy Advice forms a department together with the team Management Control Investments. 

The Countervailing Policy Advice team is responsible for organizing an independent, autonomous counter-narrative in the process of creating strategic investment policy advice, with the aim of improving the quality of policy advice. This is done by ensuring that all necessary perspectives - including outside-in perspectives - are taken into account before decision-making by PFZW takes place. 

At PGGM look at the right person through skills and experience, below are some of the things we value in a Countervailing Policy Advisor.  

Technical Skills: 

• Big Picture & Quick to the Core: Broad thinking and quickly identifying core challenges within complex situations. 
• Policy Development: Experience in investment policy development, risk management, or related fields. 
• Implementation: Experience in implementing investment policies in portfolios and mandates. 
• Market Understanding: Good knowledge of financial markets and trends. 
• Specialization: Knowledge in at least one of the following investment areas: 
• Strategic Asset Allocation, ALM, and Total Portfolio Management (TPM) 
• Private Markets experience or knowledge is preferred
• ESG, sustainability, and impact policy in institutional investments. 
• Overlay strategies (interest rate and currency risk hedging) 
• Liquidity management 

Soft Skills: 

• Courage: Confidence to provide constructive counterviews. 
• Stakeholder Management: Proactively manage relationships and negotiate with stakeholders. 
• Communication Skills: Clear and effective communication of ideas and strategies. 
• Complex Problem Solving: Solve complex problems with minimal guidance. 
• Analytical Thinking: Advanced analytical skills for in-depth policy analysis. 
• Decision-making: Independently make decisions within a defined framework. 
• Autonomy: Work with a high degree of independence and responsibility. 
• Proficiency in the Dutch Language is a must/hard requirement for the role. 

Experience: 

• 4-7 years in a similar role. 
• Master’s degree in Finance, Economics, Risk Management, Policy Studies, or a related field. 
• Background in consultancy, regulatory bodies are considered beneficial. 
• Experience within an (institutional) investment organization is also beneficial. 

PGGM Investments continues to build teams of talented and experienced professionals to act on its vital responsibility to manage the investments on behalf of pension funds and strive to achieve it with excellence, integrity and performance. In your role you ultimately contribute to the pension schemes of 2.9 million Dutch beneficiaries. PGGM Investments is a modern and cooperative organization with an “open and honest” corporate culture, having a flexible, agile and flat organizational structure. PGGM Investments understands that a healthy work-life balance, employee wellbeing and emphasis on personal development are key distinctive features in attracting the next generation of high-caliber investment professionals. PGGM Investments offers competitive primary and secondary benefits packages, combined with robust terms of employment. 

• A competitive compensation package including monthly salary, holiday pay and a fixed year-end payment of 8.33%; 
• The role is allocated to scale 17 of the CLA FO without variable pay; 
• 27 vacation days, based on a 36-hour working week; 
• A NS business card and where you work budget; 
• A 300 euro annual fit budget and other benefits; 
• A generous training budget for internal and external training courses; 
• A good pension scheme as participant of PFZW pension fund; 
• Company mobile phone and laptop and all associated facilities to be able to work flexibly and at any location. (role is based in the Netherlands)

We don’t expect you to tick all the boxes, but highly value skills and experience that contribute to our mission and goals. 

You can apply by pushing the blue application bar and fill in the application form. Both a resume and a motivation letter are required to be submitted as part of the application. An assessment may be part of the selection process. Pre-employment screening and references check are an integral part of the selection procedure. If you have any questions, please contact Dennis Derks via dennis.derkss@pggm.nl. 

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