Manager Trade Operations

Manage the William Blair Investment Management Trade Operations team. Oversee the workflow and workload of the team, which includes daily settlement activities, as well as the ongoing oversight of the applications involved in the trading process. Limit all trade settlement-related risk. Oversee the handling of complex trade settlement issues through coordination with internal parties, external custodians and trading counterparties.  Serve as the lead internal trade settlements resource and escalation point for problem resolution, including systems-related issues. Ensure all team responsibilities are performed efficiently and in alignment with policies, processes and standards.  Stay abreast of industry and regulatory trends and changes. Design and implement new initiatives to improve effectiveness and efficiency. Lead and mentor the team.

 

Responsibilities include but may not be limited to:

• Manage the William Blair Investment Management Trade Operations team. Oversee the workflow and workload of the team, which includes daily trade communication and settlement activities.  Maintain ongoing oversight of the applications involved in the trading and settlement process, such as Linedata Longview, SWIFT messaging, DTCC’s Central Trade Manager (CTM) and Alert, FX Connect, and Lightspeed TDMS.    

• Limit all trade settlement-related risk, adjusting activities as necessary to meet new business needs or regulatory requirements.

• Oversee the handling of complex trade settlement issues through coordination with internal parties, external custodians and trading counterparties.  Review high impact and broad-based reports and team deliverables.

• Serve as the lead trade settlements resource and escalation point for problem resolution, including systems-related issues.  Deliver excellent client service, communicating with management, client service teams, traders and the other operations teams. Maintain consistent contact with internal leadership to ensure the trade operations needs of the firm are met.

• Ensure all team responsibilities are performed efficiently and in alignment with policies, processes and standards.  Contribute to the ongoing maintenance of team policies, procedures and budgets.

• Stay abreast of industry and regulatory changes, trends and best practices. 

• Design and implement new initiatives. Improve workflows and approaches and lead process re-engineering projects to maximize service levels for internal and external clients.

• Lead and mentor the team. Determine staffing and resource requirements, administer human resources policies and conduct annual performance reviews for direct reports.

 

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s Degree in Finance or Accounting required

• MBA preferred

• 7+ years of operations, trading or other industry experience required

• 5+ years of equity and fixed income trade settlements experience required

• 3+ years of management experience required

• Strong management and leadership skills

• Excellent problem solving and analytical skills

• Commits to satisfying internal and external customers

• Delivers clear, effective communication and takes responsibility for understanding others

• Strong results orientation

• Strong and decisive response to urgent, critical issues

• Concern for quality expressed by continually initiating system and process improvements

• Thorough understanding of the investment management business

• Thorough understanding of trading systems and databases

• Comprehensive knowledge of trade processing and settlement-related workflow and risks for all relevant security types

• Detail oriented and able to prioritize tasks

• Proficient in Microsoft Excel and Word

• Positive attitude and demonstrates initiative and persistence

 

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