Member Article

The financial services jobs you didn’t know about

Believe it or not, landing a role in financial services doesn’t mean you’ll end up tied to a desk crunching numbers all day. The financial world is broad, booming, and moving quickly with changing times and emerging technologies – and plenty of Welsh organisations have exciting roles to fill and are on the look-out for new talent.

The Welsh Financial Services Graduate Programme is a pioneering scheme run by the Welsh Financial Services Forum that combines intensive work placements with academic learning. The scheme enables participants to take on a wide variety of financial services roles with some of Wales’ leading companies and achieve an MSc in Financial Services on completion of the programme.

A host of notable employers including Atradius, Admiral, Composite Legal, GM Financial, Optimum Credit, Grant Thornton, BBC Finance, Finance Wales, Hodge Bank and Principality Building Society are all backing the EU-funded programme.

Fancy getting your teeth into the world of finance? Here are 5 positions you could set your sights on right here in Wales.

Business support manager

Working in business support is all about reviewing current processes and coming up with cost-effective and efficient ways of working. The role ensures processes are reviewed and updated so that teams and customers get the best experience possible.

The nature of the role means you’ll spend time with lots of different departments within a company learning about their processes and analysing the ways in which they can work more efficiently. You’ll need a keen eye for spotting improvements that can be made – for example, by taking out the unnecessary steps or any sort of duplication.

You’ll need to stay up-to-date with the latest advancements in Fintech, while bearing in mind that while advancements in technology are great, sometimes the tried and tested methods are the most effective.

Strategy officer

Financial Services businesses in the UK are striving to find new ways to beat the competition – and to do this, they need a clear strategy. Building an effective strategy involves doing something new which sets your business apart from its competitors. In an uncertain financial climate, strategy is becoming more about being opportunistic and reacting to emerging possibilities in the sector.

That means the role requires individuals with a fresh perspective and an appetite for calculated risk. The sector is changing rapidly and there’s opportunity for change – so a role in strategy would allow you to play a part in shaping fresh perspectives for the future of the financial services sector.

Product development

Product development involves responding to market needs and filling gaps in the market that your competitors haven’t exploited. The overall of objective of product development is to cultivate, maintain and increase a company’s market share by satisfying a consumer demand.

The role includes everything from coming up with a concept for new goods or services, and the design, development and marketing that follows. Overseeing the launch of new products and services can include anything from launch events, running social media campaigns, or drafting news releases for the media.

Strategic accounts

Strategic accounts is all about securing and looking after large clients. As a strategic account manager, you’d meet with brokers to secure a deal with a client and negotiate rates - often pitching against other large companies in a bid to secure certain clients.

Once a deal has been established, the role of the strategic accounts manager is to be on hand to answer any questions the client has, and support them through the process of making a claim should they need to.

An ability to successfully manage relationships with clients and brokers is vital, in addition to great negotiation skills and an extensive knowledge of the market.

Operations

A role in operations for a financial services company requires a highly organised individual with good project management skills and the ability to work independently.

Being part of an operations team can mean a lot of multi-tasking and being able to prioritise your workload is crucial, as urgent tasks can crop up at short notice. Your responsibilities will likely be varied, taking ownership of anything from analysing detailed accountancy data to delivering team building activities.

You’ll need to be comfortable speaking with and presenting to colleagues of all levels, as your role will see you interacting with everyone from new starters to high-level management.

Sandra Busby, managing director of the Welsh Financial Services Forum said: “The financial services industry is growing in Wales, and technology is changing the landscape of the sector, with a host of exciting and rewarding roles opening up for talented, highly skilled graduates.

“The graduate scheme along with events like the Welsh Finance Conference are giving young graduates the chance to find out just how diverse the sector is, and opening their eyes to the opportunities that exist in Wales”

Graduates on the Welsh Financial Services Graduate scheme are organising The Welsh Finance Conference will take place on 29th November 2016 at Cardiff’s City Hall.

Free tickets are available at: http://bit.ly/2f3QUBb To find out more, visit www.welshfinanceconference.com or follow @WelshFSGrads

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Hannah Jones .