Director, EMEA Head of Investment & Data Operations

Business Unit:

Global Operations

Job Description:

Role Summary

Director, EMEA Head of Investment & Data Operation, is a pivotal leadership role responsible for overseeing trade support, investment operations and risk/control processes that ensure the integrity of our investment lifecycle. This role acts as a bridge between front office and back office ensuring operational efficiency, control and scalability in a complex multi-asset enviroment.

The role sits within Global Operations and will report into the Global Head of Operations. The position should deliver on Global Operations goals and support business needs which may change from time to time.

The responsibilities of the individual in this position include:

Leadership

• Leading and developing the middle office team, instilling a culture of accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement.
• Ensuring integration of the Mumbai hub into all parts of the investment operations processes.
• Driving strategic initiatives to improve efficiency, automation, and scalability of operational processes.
• Acting as a senior point of escalation for operational issues across trading, investment operations and data operations.

Investment Operations & Trade Support

• Overseeing trade capture, confirmation and settlement processes across multiple asset classes (equities, fixed income, derivatives, alternatives).
• Ensuring accurate trade booking, reconciliations and position management in collaboration with portfolio managers and custodians.
• Monitoring and resolving breaks, discrepancies, and exceptions in a timely and controlled manner.
• Delivering an accurate and timely IBOR to downstream stakeholders.

Risk & Control

• Designing and maintaining a robust control environment to mitigate operational and investment risks.
• Driving improvements in procedural documentation and ongoing maintenance.
• Partnering with compliance and risk to ensure adherence to regulatory requirements.
• Implementing key performance and risk indicators to monitor operational health.

Stakeholder Management

• Managing key vendor relationships such as SS&C and RIMES.
• Acting as the primary liaison between front office, back office, custodians, prime brokers, and external service providers.
• Supporting client servicing teams by ensuring timely delivery of operational data.
• Collaborating with technology partners to enhance middle office systems and tools.

Change & Transformation

• Leading operational readiness for new products, markets, and strategies.
• Managing system upgrades, vendor relationships, and workflow automation projects.
• Championing process re-engineering and data management initiatives to improve accuracy and efficiency.

Management Responsibility

• Identifying and allocating available resources at the divisional departmental level to satisfy operational and project requirements.
• Building & maintaining a high performing team of associates as required by changing business requirements.

Maintenance of global operating models.

• Establishing and monitoring KPI’s within the group.
• Facilitating continued globalisation of the Investment and Data operations team.
• Coordinating within various regional Investment and Compliance teams to achieve regulatory reporting requirements (i.e. EMIR, MFID I, MFID II, ASIC).

Operations

• Providing functional area problem resolution, training, analysis and reporting.

Change Management

• Identifying and executing change initiatives as required to meet evolving business needs. 
• Identifying integration points and reducing duplicative processes across product lines. 
• Streamlining operations across product lines.

Service Provider Management

• Providing oversight to service providers to ensure Russell Investments is receiving the agreed upon services based upon the established SLA.

The successful candidate will have extensive demonstrable skills and experiences including the following:

• Undergraduate degree or equivalent skills / qualification.
• Solid understanding of the investment industry, financial markets, trading operations and regulatory requirements.
• Significant investment related experience.
• Bloomberg AIM experience preferred.
• Clearing broker experience would be an advantage.
• Reconciliation and Third-party vendor oversight experience preferred.
• Product experience highly desirable.
• Excellent communications skills (written and oral) with the ability to adapt communication style as appropriate.
• Advanced interpersonal and presentation skills.
• Keen interest and detailed knowledge of the global capital markets and how investment managers operate within them. (Actual portfolio management experience desirable but not necessary).
• Strong technological aptitude to assist in identifying the most appropriate and efficient way to utilise technology to create a scalable operational model.
• Experienced at leading individuals and teams to meet objectives and drive results.
• Inspires the highest levels of performance.
• Is accessible, engaged and a positive force for change.
• Establishes clear priorities for achieving goals.
• Effectively plans, implements and controls major projects or strategic assignments that involve multiple resources and complex scheduling in a team or cross-functional approach.
• Strong relationship management, negotiation skills and extensive client facing exposure.
• Capacity to influence people, by means of personal attributes and/or behaviors, to achieve a common goal.
• Projects self-confidence, authority and enthusiasm.
• Natural leadership ability and charisma.
• Inspires confidence and respect, is trusted and strengthens morale.