Operational Specialist

Operations Specialist / Director, Vice President

London United Kingdom:

Hybrid working:

12 months

What will you be doing?

We are hiring for a Director/Vice President in the European Fund Administration team, reporting to Manager of EMEA Fund Administration.

• The position will have responsibility for the day-to-day oversight of fund accounting / administration service providers for a number of European funds, principally UK OEICS, Luxembourg registered SICAVs, Luxembourg FCPs, Luxembourg Liquidity Funds.
• Strong supervisory skills and deep accounting / financial reporting experience are essential.
• Knowledge of different domiciles within Europe and different Fund structures, including limited partnerships as well as custody operations will be an added advantage.
• The fund families range from complex emerging market funds & fund of fund structures to domestic equity funds.
• The oversight function includes:-
• Support of the Vendor Management program for outsourced Fund vendors (including KPI, SLA & contract reviews, periodic on-site visits to assess service provider performance and adequacy of controls)
• Participation in regular Service Review Meetings of outsourced Fund service providers such as the Fund Administrator and Trustee / Depositary
• Oversight and support of Fund Administration due diligence program (requires extensive knowledge & experience of reviewing KPI?s, Fund NAV components/performance, trial balances, stock/cash/income/Withholding tax reclaims reconciliations, Total Expense Ratios, Fair Valuation, Currency hedged share class, Performance fee schedules etc.)
• Co-ordinate & oversight of the production, review and approval of periodic Fund Financial/Regulatory reports (annual and semi-annual accounts, AIFMD Annex IV)
• Coordinate the annual audit and reviewing audit findings
• Responsible for the review of Fund Dividend rates and Net Income analysis
• Responsible for Fund Expense Management Process (reviewing/approving fund expense invoices and Fund Expense Budgets/Accruals)
• Responsible for Incident Management (requires experience with managing NAV Errors / fund operational issues)
• Fund Governance- Support preparation of Board materials for the quarterly Board of Directors meeting
• Participation and execution of various Fund Change events (e.g. Fund/Share Class launches, mergers, closures, prospectus reviews, Foreign tax, new strategies, regulation change etc.)
• Relationship & query management with internal & external stakeholders (including Fund Accountants, Fund Depositaries, Fund Auditors and Currency Overlay Management)
• Assessment of potential service providers and evaluation of the product structures.

Skills that will help you in the role:

• A strong background in diverse funds products is very desirable.
• Lead on Fund administration and accounting Request-for-Proposals either with existing clients or new clients
• Establish and monitor accounting policies and procedures (complex financial instruments, fair valuation, etc.)
• Candidates for consideration must demonstrate a detailed and thorough understanding of fund accounting and fund administration for European fund structures domiciled in UK, Luxembourg and Ireland.
• Experience with Alternative Funds (Hedge Funds / Limited Partnerships etc.) Passive Currency Hedging and/or performance fee calculations are helpful.
• Familiarity and experience with structuring funds and various types of Fund structures is required, as well as experience and re fund launch and share classes.
• General funds business knowledge for eg. Transfer Agency, Depositary, Legal and Compliance are also required.
• Understanding and in-depth knowledge in relation OTC Derivatives or other complex instruments from a Fund Accounting and Pricing (for eg: Options, Credits, SWAPS, futures, Private Credit etc.).
• The individual must be detail-oriented and a self-starter able to maintain a high standard of accuracy while managing various client related and internal deadlines, a creative individual that can work independently or as part of a team working to exceed clients expectations.
• The individual must have strong supervisory experience of overseeing people, processes and vendors with an eye for identifying / managing risk.
• Strong independent Stakeholder Management Skills. Stakeholders would include Legal, Compliance, Financial Controllers, Transfer Agent Management, Investment Management Operations, Client Services, Product Development, Sales and Marketing etc.
• Strong communication (both verbal and written) and time management skills are required together with a proficiency in Microsoft Word and Excel.
• Fluency in another European language will constitute a competitive advantage.
• Experience working in program / project management or working on operations teams with significant change agendas
• Experience working in an investment management context.