Associate Director - Sovereign Analyst at S&P Global

The Team:

• We are looking for an experienced professional to join our Sovereign Ratings team in Johannesburg for the position of Associate Director. The role is part of the wider Financial Institutions & Sovereign team covering emerging and frontier markets across the Middle East, Africa and Central Asia. The team is comprised of 20 analysts based out of our Dubai, Johannesburg, London and Frankfurt offices.

The Impact:

• The role is critical to the success of our Sovereign ratings franchise in the broader Africa, Middle East and Central Asia region. The successful candidate will assume primary analytical responsibility for a broad portfolio of sovereign and quasi-sovereign ratings, primarily in Africa. As an experienced sovereign analyst, coverage will include complex or analytically challenging credits.

What you stand to gain:

• The position offers the opportunity to interact with senior officials from central governments, as well as management teams of large multilateral institutions, representing S&P Global Ratings with the highest standards of professionalism.
• The portfolio is broad: Sovereigns, Government-related entities (GREs) and Multilateral Lending Institutions (MLIs), providing exposure to a stimulating range of analytical and relationship opportunities.
• Interaction with policy makers, investors, and analysts across EMEA, and globally within S&P; the opportunity to assume and drive internal projects and develop new skills.
• Fundamental economic and financial analysis of sovereigns and government-related or multilateral entities across Africa. We encourage analysts to continuously develop their analytical skills and gain exposure across different asset classes in the Ratings organization.

Responsibilities:

• As a primary analyst for a portfolio of credits, key accountabilities include timely rating surveillance, publishing high-quality reports, staying abreast of external developments, and managing issuer relationships.
• Back-up analytical responsibility for several credits and acting as the senior point of contact role for the Sovereign team in Johannesburg.
• Rating committee voting, in accordance with SOP requirements.
• Delivery of new rating assignments within timeliness and quality standards.
• In coordination with the Lead Analyst and Analytical Manager, communication of S&P Global thought leadership research, credit themes via publications, speeches, conference presentations, and media interviews.

What We’re Looking For:

• Excellent written and oral communication skills in English. Working knowledge of French or Portuguese is a plus.
• Solid knowledge of economics and sovereign rating methodology. A S&P employee at this level would typically have about 7-8 years of experience in credit or financial analysis, with a focus on Sovereign or macroeconomic analysis.
• Sound credit judgment, supported by the ability to quickly absorb, analyze, and act upon information as required to maintain and enhance the quality and timeliness of our analysis.
• Strong organizational skills and ability to work in a diverse team setting. Ability to work across teams within S&P Global Ratings, with a desire for continuous improvement and innovation, whilst adhering to established ratings criteria, methodology, policies, and procedures. We operate in a highly regulated environment.
• The position will require occasional travel, mostly within Africa.