Aladdin Client Transformations - Front Office, Associate

BlackRock runs on Aladdin. It has always been at the core of BlackRock. Aladdin® is an operating system for investment managers that seek to connect the information, people, and technology needed to manage money in real time. Our investment software combines risk analytics with portfolio management, trading, compliance, and operations tools on a single platform to power informed decision-making, effective risk management, efficient trading, and operational scale. Through Aladdin, the firm offers to clients the same technology and intellectual capital that BlackRock uses to manage investments day-to-day.  

About this role:   

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. 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.  

We are looking for a candidate to join us in the Associate role within the team’s Front Office practice.  

Your team:  

The Aladdin Client Transformation (“ACT”) is responsible for the installation and deployment of Aladdin and related products and services, globally. Aladdin implementations are high profile initiatives that require team members to have external exposure and play an active role in the 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 select client personnel.  

Your responsibilities: 

• Collaborate closely with the client’s project team, for example program managers, risk managers, portfolio managers, technologists, and provide leadership throughout the Aladdin implementation 

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

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

• Gain in depth knowledge of Aladdin functionality and workflows, and develop industry expertise, for example pensions, insurers, asset managers, to ensure clients take full advantage of the suite of Aladdin products and workflows 

• Coordinate and assist, and where appropriate lead, client specific Aladdin configuration, testing, and user training 

• Work closely with the client and Aladdin Product Managers to support client development needs, including API enabled use cases and data exchange 

• Work closely with the client and key internal functional teams to ensure the full range of capabilities are considered during an Aladdin implementation, and to align to standard methodologies and integration patterns 

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

• Actively manage client communications regarding project particulars, issue resolution, Aladdin product changes and configurations related to onboarding, including release impacts and configuration decisions 

• Comfort with periodic regional and international travel based on client location and project needs 

Your qualifications: 

• Familiarity with portfolio management workflows and investment analytics as a buy side technology provider or as a front office practitioner, with at least 6 years of relevant industry experience 

• Strong familiarity with capital markets instruments, equities, fixed income, private markets, derivatives, and the associated analytics or investment life cycle 

• Experience implementing scalable and repeatable business processes, including program management and control frameworks 

• Excellent interpersonal skills with a proven ability to build relationships with internal and client stakeholders 

• Excellent creative, analytical, and technology skills with an entrepreneurial approach to large, complex projects, and the ability to execute autonomously and in cross functional teams 

• Enjoys a fast paced, high intensity, and complex environment, troubleshooting time critical issues and working with people 

• Strong attention to detail, a proactive approach, and a hands-on mindset 

• Working proficiency with SQL and at least one general purpose language, for example Python or similar, and comfort with RESTful APIs and JSON data structures 

• Progress toward or completion of globally recognized professional designations, for example FRM, CFA, CAIA, or similar 

• Local language proficiency (verbal/written) 

Nice if you have: 

• Track record of contributing to successful implementations of investment technology solutions, for example order and trading systems, risk platforms, operations tools 

• Programming background or experience with query languages, and familiarity with version control and basic test automation 

• Experience with order management systems, electronic trading platforms, or derivative platforms 

• Understanding of investment risk, for example market risk analytics, and investment performance measurement and attribution concepts 

• Experience with platform integrations, for example interfaces and APIs, including data mapping and troubleshooting 

• Program management experience 

• Relevant professional certifications, for example CFA, FRM, CAIA, are highly desirable