As Associate Director in the Middle Office department, you will be in charge of the Institutional Operations Services team. The mission of the team is to be a critical bridge between the Front teams (Institutional Sales desks) and the Back/Middle Office teams (Settlement, Payment, Corporate Action, Tax and Post-Execution teams), by supporting the business, helping to understand and relaying our Institutional clients’ needs at the intersection of operational efficiency and client satisfaction. Reporting directly to the Vice Director, you will be in charge of the supervision of the operational activities and the people management in accordance with your senior management.

Key responsibilities

Team Management:

• Leading and supporting a team of 4 employees:
  • Fostering a positive work atmosphere where employees feel motivated, valued, and connected to the team and the organization;
  • Promoting collaboration, trust, and cohesion among team members;
  • Supporting employee growth through training, mentorship, coaching, and advancement opportunities;
  • Addressing any potential conflicts among team members to your senior management and/or HR Partner.
• Hiring:
  • Leading the recruitment process with your Talent Acquisition Partner;
  • Ensuring new hires are properly introduced to the team, the organization, its culture, policies, and their specific roles.
• Performance Management: Setting performance expectations, providing feedback, conducting performance reviews, and addressing any performance issues.
• Conducting under-performance process with the help of your Senior Management and HR Partner.

Operations management:

• Controlling daily operations:  
  • Answering and/or coordinating day-to-day operational requests/issues in the areas of custody, payments, settlement, corporate actions and tax for Institutional and AM clients coming from the Institutional Sales desks at Headquarter, Zürich and International offices;
  • Coordinating onboardings for large institutional clients;
  • Ensuring an excellent level of service delivery to our Institutional clients and B2B partners.
  • Supporting Back Office teams in their requests to external partners.
• Handling non-ordinary requests/issues: Assisting team members with complex issues.
• Monitoring the team’s capacity allocation.
• Reporting: Implementing and producing periodical KPIs to ensure greater transparency on our performance against activity volume.
• Documentation and Procedures: Properly documenting and keeping up-to-date procedures and guidelines, according to continually evolving operational processes, to develop the Team’s expertise.
• Collaborating:
  • Externally with the Institutional Sales desks, International offices, other departments (i.e. Central Data, Risk, Trading, Compliance, IT).
  • Internally - with the Back Office and Middle Office teams.
  • Participating in regular meetings with the Sales desks and improve internal communication with all stakeholders.
  • Developing relationships and client centricity.
  • Eventually participating in meetings with clients or counterparties on Back Office related topics.
• Project Management: participating in the development of operational efficiency by identifying areas of improvement.

• Minimum 7 years track record in Back/Middle Office function and/or Sales Support function within a Bank/Financial Intermediary;
• Previous experience in a leadership role is a strong advantage;
• Very good knowledge in financial markets, investment products, post-trade and payment processes;
• Service minded and business oriented, with a very good understanding of institutional client needs;
• Strong project management and problem-solving skills;
• Ability to prioritize and deliver on multiple tasks in a deadline-driven environment;
• Excellent interpersonal skills, results-oriented, team player;
• Excellent communication and presentation skills.
• Proficiency with MS Office, Telekurs, SWIFT messaging and a general interest in technical tools;