Omnis Middle Office Manager

The opportunity

Responsible, via effective systems and controls, for a range of in-house and outsourced Middle and Back Office operational and service delivery activities, comprising: Investment operations - operational relationship management of 15 investment houses, service level agreements, query management and ongoing reviews; Fund accounting - oversight of the pricing agent, oversight of the production of the annual/interim Report & Accounts, service level agreement, query management and ongoing review;  Fair Valuation processes – supporting the activities of the Valuation and associated Committees, query management, reporting and ongoing reviews;  Responsible, via effective systems and controls, for a range of in-house and outsourced Middle and Back Office operational and service delivery activities, comprising: Post trade Investment & Borrowing Power reviews and data analysis, utilising in-house systems; A detailed understanding of the derivatives held within the Omnis Funds. In addition to understand each derivatives’ characteristics, know how they are being deployed, the associated investment risks, how the value them, any counter-party risks and their typical lifecycle;  KIID, SID and Factsheet production; Transition management activities; Third party relationship management and the business lead contributing to legal and service level agreements e.g. Investment Management Agreements; and All applicable Policies and Procedures. The Middle Office Manager is the fund data integrity owner and has a number of reporting and trend analysis responsibilities to support the operational oversight activities and provide internal and Committee reporting. This includes, but is not limited to, days to liquidate reporting, fund and attribution performance reporting, counterparty risk reporting and MiFID II costs & charges data. The Middle Office team is responsible for a number of tools to support the activities above including, but not limited to, StatPro, Financial Express and Style Analytics. The Jobholder has management and development responsibilities for four team members, ensuring all tasks can be covered effectively within the team at all times.
Key Accountabilities: Acting as Omnis’ Middle and Back Office subject matter expert. Accountable for ensuring Omnis Middle and Back Office activities operate effectively and in accordance with the relevant regulations and industry best practices. Day to day management and development of the Middle and Back Office teams to ensure all tasks can be covered without key person dependency. Close liaison with the Omnis Investment Team to ensure Middle and Back Office teams support their reporting and oversight requirements.  Provide thought leadership and challenge to review, design and implement effective systems, controls and procedures to oversee Omnis’ third party relationships and minimise operational risk within this task work. Oversight of Third Party Service provider relationships (Investment Manager operational and Fund Accounting relationships plus data vendor relationships), agreeing appropriate legal and SLA arrangements for the services, as required. As a team, conduct effective initial and on-going operational risk reviews of all relevant outsourced third party relationships; Fund Accounting and Investment Management operations, in line with the agreed oversight framework. Provide the appropriate inputs and packs for the various Omnis and OWSL Committees and Board. Attend Board and Committee meetings to discuss relevant matters with Directors, as required. Undertake operational risk reviews and transition activity for all new Third Party relationships, as required. As a team, participate in Omnis’ change management programmes. Activities include: Fund launches, mergers and closures, systems and process changes, Investment Manager selections/ appointments/replacements, supporting platform migrations, discretionary product launches and supporting regulatory change.
Ensure third party Business Continuity policies and arrangements are robust. High quality and responsive issue resolution management; work closely with colleagues to ensure issues are identified and resolved in a timely manner to minimise any potential Customer, risk or financial impact. Liaise with the Omnis Compliance teams to facilitate effective monitoring activities.

What will you need to succeed?

An experienced investment operations and fund services professional with a Middle or Back Office background. Experience of overseeing material outsourced third party relationships. Experience of (in conjunction with legal resources) preparing and negotiating Investment Management Agreements and Service Level Agreements. IMC 1 achieved and IMC II preferred. Must be prepared to obtain IMC II within 6 months of start. As a minimum, have already achieved the CISI Investment Operations Certificate, or equivalent. A detailed understanding of each stage of the investment operations process (e.g. the principles of dealing and tradeflow, settlements, custody, late trades, Net Asset Value preparation or oversight, fair value etc.). A good understanding of fund accounting and pricing. Pricing agent oversight sits within the team. A good understanding of the Report & Accounts process. Responsibility for the Report & Accounts process sits within the team. Derivative instrument types, their impact on the Net Asset Value of the funds. Margin and clearing principles. Counterparty risk reporting sits within the team. An understanding of fund launch, merger and closure processes. In-depth collective investment scheme experience and detailed UCITS knowledge. Post trade monitoring sits within the team. Third Party Service provider oversight management skills. The Jobholder will be required to ensure Third Party’s deliver services to the agreed standards.  Investment Manager oversight management skills. The Jobholder will be required to challenge and direct investment managers to ensure adherence to the agreed service levels. Maintain a good understanding of industry best practice with regards to SM&CR conduct rules, effective Customer Outcomes and TCF. Strong leadership and influencing skills, able to constructively challenge where required. Honest, open and transparent with high-levels of personal and professional integrity. Able to manage multi-disciplined skilled teams. Can prioritise effectively to deliver strategic objectives allocated to the team. Great attention to detail skills. Able to handle and prioritise multiple activities. The Jobholder needs be able to take initiatives from start to finish, challenging as required. Able to develop and maintain effective working relationships; internally and externally. Caring and collaborative, sharing insight and nurturing team growth and improvement. High sense of ownership to resolve issues and seek process improvement. Highly developed and confident verbal, written and presentation communication skills. Report writing is a key part of the role.

Why us?

We're a dynamic, fast-paced and growing business with huge ambition. This is all made possible by the brilliant people who are part of The Openwork Partnership family. We're investing heavily in our colleagues, continuously striving to give them the platform to develop personally and professionally and reach their full potential.

We’re also very proud of our culture, as one of the Best 100 Large Companies to work for in 2021. The Openwork Partnership values and respects individuality and we are committed to building an inclusive culture and environment where you can balance a successful career with your commitments and interests outside of work. We believe that you will bring your best self to work if you are trusted to choose when, where and how you do it.

On top of offering a modern workplace with bags of development opportunities, we also offer a highly attractive benefits package to reward you for your hard work. This includes a competitive base salary, an industry-leading annual bonus, enhanced pension, critical illness cover, income protection and a range of other flexible benefits

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