Associate Director, Client Services recruitment
Founded in 1936, Russell Investments is a global financial services firm that serves institutional investors, financial advisers and individuals in more than 40 countries.
Through a unique combination of interlinked businesses, Russell delivers financial products, services and advice. A pioneer, Russell began its strategic pension fund consulting business in 1969 and today is trusted by many well-known worldwide institutions for investment advice. Headquartered in Seattle, Washington, USA and with offices in major financial centers worldwide, Russell has $137.6 billion in assets under management (as of September 30, 2011) in its mutual funds, retirement products, and institutional funds, and is well recognized for its depth of research and quality of manager selection.
Russell offers a comprehensive range of implementation services that help institutional clients maximize their assets. The Russell Indexes calculate over 50,000 benchmarks daily covering 65 countries and more than 10,000 securities.
The purpose of this position is to manage the RFP Process support for EMEA, with particular emphasis on the investment writing function with additional support to the business with ad hoc investment content and to liaise with the Investment Division directly. The individual will be supporting the business with design and implementation of SEMEA client service strategies and initiatives (both with existing and prospective clients). They will also play a leadership role in prioritising, coordinating and delivering support for all client service and sales-related activity for the EMEA region as well as assist in retention and expansion of current client base. The candidate will be a positive and energetic leader/mentor for junior individuals within the Client Service team and assist in their career growth.
The responsibilities of the individual in this position include:
- Oversee the RFP process and slide library support for the EMEA business. This will involve oversight of the offshore providers, (AMBA Genpact) as well as control over the management of the RFP deliverables (Qvidian RFP database and Vital Stats projects). Particular emphasis for this role will be on the investment content for RFPs and sales support documentation.
- Be a key contact for client service projects and ad-hoc requirements for the SEMEA region (institutional and retail segments). This involves having a high level of understanding of Russell's business limitations and capabilities in order to prioritise requests. Responsible for working with team members and collaborating with subject matter experts outside of the Client Service team to deliver on client service projects and ad-hoc requirements for the entire EMEA region, with a focus on supporting the Sales effort. This includes working with individuals within the Product, Compliance, Legal, MarComm, Operations, Investment Division, Finance, IT teams, etc.
- Provide back-up support on the operational and reporting deliverables for EMEA clients.
- Play a leadership role in managing members of the team that are responsible for supporting the RFP process and slide library content. Establish individual performance standards and annual goals and provide ongoing coaching and feedback and completion of annual performance reviews.
- Assist (and in some cases lead) various internal ad hoc initiatives and projects.
The successful candidate will have extensive demonstrable skills and experiences including the following:
- University degree required; MBA/IMC/CFA preferred.
- Extensive experience in a financial client-service and sales related area. Experience in both retail and institutional segments preferable.
- Must be able to demonstrate time management skills.
- Must have functional knowledge of financial markets.
- Must have client service capabilities.
- Strong leadership skills required.
- Demonstrate effective communication skills.
We offer a competitive compensation and benefit package including: medical, vision and dental coverage, profit sharing retirement plan, sabbatical leave, and tuition assistance. Most importantly, Russell offers a work environment where respect for the individual and teamwork are part of our fundamental values. Russell supports workforce diversity and we are an Equal Opportunity Employer.
