Director, Alternatives Digital Operations

About Northern Trust:

Northern Trust, a Fortune 500 company, is a globally recognized, award-winning financial institution that has been in continuous operation since 1889.  

Northern Trust is proud to provide innovative financial services and guidance to the world’s most successful individuals, families, and institutions by remaining true to our enduring principles of service, expertise, and integrity. With more than 130 years of financial experience and over 22,000 partners, we serve the world’s most sophisticated clients using leading technology and exceptional service.

Role Summary

Northern Trust Asset Management (NTAM) is a trillion dollar investment management firm entrusted by investors around the globe to help them navigate changing market environments, so they can confidently realize their long-term objectives.

The Director of the Alternatives Digital Operations function, reporting into the Global Head of Investment Operations, is primarily responsible for championing the strategy and overseeing major aspects of the daily operations of the fast growing alternatives business and related activities for NTAM. This role in partnership with practices that include Product, Marketing, COO, Investments, Data Office and Technology will develop and execute the strategic roadmap to build a world-class Alternatives operations organization to manage operational processes, digital efforts and vendor oversight. This will involve building first class relationships with internal and external vendors, fund accountants, administrators and auditors, as well as digital and people leadership required to achieve scale.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

Lead a team focused on Alternatives Digital Operations and drive excellence across this practice. Responsibilities include:

• Lead operational processes and digital oversight of the alternative business operations.

• Own the strategic digital roadmap for applications and modern data infrastructure, in close collaboration with business leadership, technology and the data office.

• Drive digital and automation-driven transformation opportunities to achieve scalability.

• Oversee the administrators and other vendors to ensure optimal delivery and seamless integration of information, vended applications and data.  

• Collaborate with multi-disciplinary teams to assess current state and architect future-state operating models, processes, capabilities required to successfully support evolving business needs to drive excellence. Communicate roadmap in terms meaningful to business, technology and strategic service providers.

• Develop service levels with the business and vendors, establish a robust governance and control framework to ensure delivery of timely and accurate information, and monitor on-going effectiveness

• Lead initiatives to strengthen the first line of defense (1LOD) by instilling a culture of continuous improvement and robust policy and procedure documentation and process to reduce operational risk and drive operational excellence.

• Lead, participate and oversee existing and emerging proprietary or vended applications, providing thought leadership on effective use of spend.

• Develop and monitor KPIs to measure effectiveness and ensure value delivery.

• Hire, motivate and manage talent to retain, grow, build bench strength and resiliency

Necessary Knowledge and Skills

• Detailed understanding of alternative investments, especially Private Equity and Hedge Funds, and investment/financial technology systems within a large scale Asset Management setting

• Experience managing and developing teams of on-shore and offshore resources with excellent motivation and team building skills, including the ability to recruit, develop and retain staff

• Knowledge of digital strategy, modern data infrastructure.

• Prior experience in integrating and influencing others across a network, and unlocking new opportunities to drive excellence in Operations.

• Dynamic relationship building and partnership skills; a strong collaborator with experience leading initiatives across multiple groups and stakeholders

• Strong negotiation and vendor management experience

• Outstanding communication skills, both written and verbal, with demonstrated ability to develop materials and effectively present to and persuade executive audiences

• Experience in driving digital and automation-driven transformation to drive efficiencies and scalability

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