Implementation Consultant recruitment
Towers Watson is a leading global professional services company that helps organisations improve performance through effective people, financial and risk management. With 14,000 associates around the world, we offer solutions in the areas of employee benefit programs, talent and reward programs, and risk and capital management.
The Investment line of business at Towers Watson consists of c.700 professionals and is responsible for advising on over $2 trillion of institutional capital globally, with occupational pension schemes, insurance companies, endowments, family offices and sovereign wealth funds all being represented in our client base.
Within the UK, which is the largest of our Investment teams with c.300 professionals, we offer a range of services to our clients, ranging from traditional investment consulting to fiduciary management of their assets (not via funds of funds).
Services:
As part of our investment consulting and fiduciary management offering we are responsible for a wide range of activities for clients that can include the following:
• Setting asset allocation and re-balancing towards that asset mix on a regular basis
• Putting in place complex liability hedging arrangements, working with asset managers to transact on our instructions
• Investment manager selection/monitoring/de-selection
• Transition exercises: supervision of all transactions required to implement the desired asset allocation. Typically these transactions will be associated with changes in investment manager line-up or implementation of overlay strategies
• Cash flow management
We have a number of teams already in place that manage these processes, including an Implementation Team of over 20 people.
The Role:
To work in a consultant level role with our Implementation Team, which is responsible for the efficient implementation of client investment structures, which may include the use of the third-party transition managers.
The core of the implementation role focuses on transition project management and advising on transitions, which can involve monitoring relatively simple unit level transactions in pooled vehicles through to complex multiple investment manager and asset class transitions.
The responsibility of the consultant will be to monitor and manage all of the parties involved in individual transitions, as well as ensuring the client team and client are updated about project progress on a regular basis. The wider implementation role includes working for our Delegated Investment Service (DIS) and Fiduciary clients, to ensure that their requirement of enhanced levels of communication and implementation timing are accommodated.
More specifically, the role would entail the following:
- Utilise strong knowledge of transitions to provide a transition monitoring service to clients. This includes being aware of market transaction standards, trading strategies, nuances of foreign exchange, and the various risks associated with transitions.
- Work with client consultants and analysts in order to provide suitable solutions for client implementation and transition projects. This includes creating new business scope letters, producing project frameworks, monitoring of transitions, ensuring schedules are adhered to and deadlines are met.
- Mentor and direct other team members in completing their tasks in order to disseminate expertise and ensure projects are delivered as efficiently and accurately as possible.
- Contribute to the development of new business initiatives.
- Demonstrate risk-management excellence and ensure appropriate procedures are adhered to.
The team is responsible for a number of activities outside of the scope of transition project management; hence there is the flexibility for an investment consultant within the team to be involved in areas such as transition manager research and consulting, together with focussing on project management skills within the wider investment business.
The Requirements:
- Proven experience within a transition project management role. Ability to communicate a thorough understanding of transition management processes within the investment industry
- Strong investment knowledge and awareness, possibly obtained through pursuit/achievement of IMC, CFA, or Securities Institute qualifications
- Good understanding of the pension and insurance industries
- Familiarity with trading procedures of pooled funds and mainstream investment markets. Familiarity with the characteristics and pricing of major asset classes and FX
- Good working practices to deliver timely, accurate, efficient and well-communicated solutions, sometimes at short notice
- Team-player, strong project management skills, with the ability to fit seamlessly into wider group of associates all focussed on delivering work of exceptional quality
- IT and Microsoft Office skills.