Associate Director / Director - Sovereign Ratings - New York

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Fitch Ratings is a leading provider of credit ratings, commentary and research. Dedicated to providing value beyond the rating through independent and prospective credit opinions, Fitch Ratings offers global perspectives shaped by strong local market experience and credit market expertise. The additional context, perspective and insights we provide have helped fund a century of growth and enables you to make important credit judgments with confidence.

Department Overview

The Fitch Ratings Sovereigns Group provides credit research and opinion on 120 sovereigns, and assigns ratings to the foreign and local currency debt of sovereign governments that account for virtually all of sovereign international debt issuance.

Responsibilities

Based in New York as an AssociateDirector/Director in the Sovereigns team covering the Americas region you will act as the ‘primary analyst’ on up to five sovereigns. Working under the supervision of one of the regional co-heads, you will be responsible for assigning and maintaining high-quality credit ratings for your sovereigns and will develop expert knowledge on their economies.

You will analyze all aspects of creditworthiness for the sovereigns in your portfolio. This includes reviewing and forecasting macroeconomic policies and trends, including GDP growth, inflation, the impact and consistency of monetary and fiscal policies and risks to macroeconomic stability. You will study trends in the sovereigns’ public and external finances, conduct debt sustainability analyses and explore risks stemming from contingent liabilities. You will also study the structure of public finances and external debt and forecast external flows (BOP) and assets and liabilities (IIP, debt structure). Your analysis will also cover governance and domestic and geopolitical risks, ESG factors and risks to the sovereign stemming from the financial sector.

Fitch prides itself in the level of access we get to policy-makers, including at the highest level. You will be expected to maintain good working relationships with relevant officials in central banks and government, as well as third party experts. You will organize and lead rating review discussions as well as prepare rating recommendations, supporting research and presentations for sovereign rating committees.

You will provide support to colleagues on the ratings of a further three to four sovereigns as a ‘secondary analyst’ and vote on rating committees on a broad range of sovereigns, in the Americas and outside.

You will initiate and produce topical research on economic and credit developments on the countries in your portfolio, as well as regional themes. This will typically take the form of brief topical commentary such as FitchWire articles and more substantive special reports. You will also support the research agenda of the broader Sovereign group.

You will also represent and communicate Fitch’s views externally, with the opportunity to develop a public profile by speaking at conferences, holding meetings with investors and other market participants and interacting with print and broadcast media.

Once pandemic-related restrictions are lifted, there will be considerable international travel associated with this position (while highly variable, 3 to 5 days out of the office once or twice a month would not be uncommon).

Qualifications And Experience

• Education - At least a first degree in economics or a very closely related discipline. A master’s degree in economics or a related discipline would be a distinct advantage.
• Quantitative Skills - Strong proficiency in Excel, handling large-scale spreadsheets for forecasting public finances, macroeconomic indicators and BOP and IIP components.
• Communication skills – You must be able to marshal arguments in a coherent and concise manner and communicate effectively both orally and in written research; and to represent Fitch externally, in meetings with senior officials, presentations and media appearances, in a credible, effective and professional manner.
• Experience - 3 to 7 years’ experience of country/sovereign risk analysis and/or applied economics gained from a top institution such as a finance ministry, central bank, private research house or financial institution.
• Professional – You must be able to work independently and manage your own time and tasks to meet deadlines and be meticulous about complying with regulatory requirements and in preparing data and committee documentation. You must also display a degree of flexibility working across time zones and handling sometimes rapidly changing schedules calmly and taking on additional responsibilities where needed.
• Language skills - Fluency in Spanish is desirable but not required.
• Economics - A strong understanding of macroeconomics, external and public finances and development economics, and awareness of international and political affairs

Fitch Group is a global leader in financial information services with operations in more than 30 countries. Wholly owned by the Hearst Corporation, we are comprised of three main businesses: Fitch Ratings | Fitch Solutions | Fitch Learning.

For more information please visit our websites: www.fitchratings.com | www.fitchsolutions.com | www.fitchlearning.com

Fitch is committed to providing global securities markets with objective, timely, independent and forward-looking credit opinions. To protect Fitch’s credibility and reputation, our employees must take every precaution to avoid conflicts of interests or any appearance of a conflict of interest. Should you be successful in the recruitment process at Fitch Ratings you will be asked to declare any securities holdings and other potential conflicts prior to commencing employment. If you, or your immediate family, have any holdings that may conflict with your work responsibilities, you may be asked to divest yourself of them before beginning work.

Fitch is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender expression, gender identity or any other characteristic protected by law.

UNITED STATES ONLY: As part of its continued efforts to maintain a safe workplace for employees, Fitch requires that all employees who receive a written offer of employment on or after October 4, 2021 be fully vaccinated (as defined by the CDC) against the coronavirus by the first day of employment as a condition of employment, to the extent permitted by applicable law. Fitch will consider requests for reasonable accommodations due to medical and/or religious reasons on an individual basis in accordance with applicable legal requirements.

FOR NEW YORK ROLES ONLY: Expected base pay rates for the role will be between $115,000 and $175,000. Actual salaries will be determined on an individualized basis and may vary based on factors including but not limited to education, training, experience, past performance, and other job-related factors. Base pay is one part of Fitch’s total compensation package, which, depending on the position, may also include commission earnings, discretionary bonuses, long-term incentives, and other benefits sponsored by Fitch.