Aladdin Client Transformations, Vice President

BlackRock is one of the world’s preeminent asset management firms and a premier provider of global investment management, risk management and advisory services to institutional, intermediary, and individual investors around the world. BlackRock’s mission is to create a better financial future for our clients. We have a responsibility to be the voice of the investor, and we represent each client fairly and equally. Constant communication with a diverse team of partners strengthens us and delivers better results for our clients. Continuous innovation helps us bring the best of BlackRock to our clients. BlackRock offers a range of solutions — from rigorous fundamental and quantitative active management approaches aimed at maximizing outperformance to highly efficient indexing strategies designed to gain broad exposure to the world’s capital markets. Our clients can access our investment solutions through a variety of product structures, including individual and institutional separate accounts, mutual funds and other pooled investment vehicles, and the industry-leading iShares® ETFs. 

The Aladdin Business is growing rapidly, with the volume and complexity of new client deals and strategic partnerships growing each year. We are at the next phase of our growth and are evolving into a platform focused business with multiple new product launches and external partnerships. Successful candidates will join in our efforts to help sophisticated investors onboard the world’s leading end-to-end operating system for investment portfolios to see their whole portfolio, understand risk exposures, and act with precision. 

Your team: 

The Aladdin Implementation Team is responsible for the installation and deployment of Aladdin and related products and services, globally. Aladdin Implementations, including both institutional and retail assignments, are high profile initiatives that require team members to have senior level exposure and play an active role in redefinition of investment organizations. A typical implementation is at least as much about processes and implementing change as it is about investments & technology. We help clients achieve ambitious strategic objectives, which range from streamlining investment operations to integrating teams, to unifying their investment analytics & risk reporting framework, to modernizing their overall investment process. BlackRock’s implementation model is unique in the sense that we take full responsibility for the Client going live on our solution. It also means that we develop true partnerships with our clients at the most senior levels, which continue to grow post go live. 

Your responsibilities: 

• Understand client objectives and goals paired with strong emotional ownership to deliver on solutions utilizing Aladdin capabilities 

• Engage the Client’s key leaders to understand, redesign, and deploy strategic business workflows across the full spectrum of the investment cycle, including pre-trade decisioning, order management, trading, investment operations, risk management/compliance/oversight, closed-book accounting, or performance measurement & attribution 

• Collaborate closely with the Client's senior management team (e.g. Chief Investment Officer, Chief Risk Officer, Head Portfolio Managers, Head of Investment Operations, Chief Technology Officer) and provide strong leadership throughout the Aladdin implementation 

• Work directly with the Client to create and administer the implementation project plan, as well as the coordination of resources across multiple functional areas 

• Lead and document investment and operational workflow design sessions for various asset classes, including equities, fixed income, alternatives, derivatives, and related workflows 

• Gain an in-depth knowledge of Aladdin functionality and workflows, as well as industry expertise (e.g., pensions, insurers, asset managers) to ensure clients take full advantage of the suite of Aladdin products and workflows 

• Lead, coordinate, and assist in client-specific Aladdin configuration, testing and user training 

• Work closely with the Client and Aladdin Product Managers to support client development needs 

• Work closely with the Client and key internal functional teams to ensure the full range of capabilities are considered during an Aladdin implementation to ensure standard methodologies are achieved 

• Participate in Aladdin business development activities, assisting in platform demonstrations, implementation pre-planning, or client due diligence, as a product/workflow subject matter authority 

• Actively manage client communications regarding Aladdin product changes and configurations, as related to Aladdin onboarding 

• Aid in developing improved practices to make the Implementation model more efficient with each new implementation 

• Develop strong relationships within BlackRock Solutions and BlackRock to ensure the best client experience 

Nice if you have: 

• Track record of leading successful implementations of investment technology solutions (order/trading systems, risk platforms, operations tools)
• Working experience in investment risk management, fixed-income, equity and derivative markets and solid understanding of the investment lifecycle.
• Programming background or experience with query languages desired
• Served as a provider or market practitioner in the areas of portfolio management, trading, investment operations, investment accounting, risk management, or data warehousing
• Deep investment subject matter and investment workflow expertise
• Experience with order management systems, electronic trading platforms, or derivative platforms Understanding of investment risk (e.g., sustainability analytics, market risk analytics)
• Familiarity with buy-side institutional investment management process
• Experience with platform integrations (e.g., interfaces, APIs)
• Line management experience
• Project management experience (e.g., PMP) MBA, CFA, or FRM preferred SQL, Python, VBA experience a plus 

Your qualifications: 

• Deep understanding of investment operations, investment accounting, front office, or investment risk as a provider or practitioner, with 5+ years of relevant industry experience.
• Experience implementing scalable and repeatable business processes Excellent interpersonal skills with proven ability to build relationships with internal and client senior management
• Superior communication and presentation skills, with the ability to convey complex concepts simply and clearly to clients
• Well organized with the ability to manage several priorities with a hands-on approach
• Strong familiarity with capital markets instruments (equities, fixed income, private markets, derivatives), either analytically or via strong knowledge of investment life cycle
• Excellent creative, analytical and computer skills with an entrepreneurial approach to large, complex projects, and ability to execute autonomously
• Enjoys a fast paced, high-intensity and complex environment, troubleshooting time critical issues and working with people
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills
• Strong attention to detail; willing to take proactive action, and desire to roll up sleeves
• Expected to travel periodically, including international opportunities