Investment Operations – Senior Specialist

Company:

Mercer

Description:

Mercer’s Investment Management business, Investment Solutions International (IS), is seeking a highly motivated and detail-oriented professional to join our Operations team.  The ideal candidate will have a strong and diverse background across Funds/Asset Management with 8+years of experience within an Asset Manager or Administrator and a solid understanding of core Fund/Investment Operations, including Fund Accounting, Middle Office and Transfer Agency. The role focuses on ensuring the accuracy, timeliness, and completeness of Mercer’s regulatory filings and reporting obligations as well as the effective oversight of fund expense processes. While prior experience in a regulatory reporting or fund expense’s role is desirable, it is not essential. Strong fund accounting skills and technical knowledge of European investment products are required.

What can you expect

Mercer is one of the fastest growing investment solutions entities globally, with a rapidly expanding client base and continued strong growth anticipated. Our fund range was launched in Europe in September 2006 and currently consists of c.140 Irish domiciled funds across 5 legal structures. In addition to the ability to provide bespoke solutions to large sophisticated clients these funds provide building blocks to support Mercer’s wider range of investment and risk management solutions targeting the institutional marketplace. 

The Operations Unit is responsible for the on-boarding of new clients into the funds, launching new funds, client and fund rebalancing, management of underlying investment manager changes, NAV and valuation oversight, fund expenses, regulatory & tax oversight, management of third party service providers, operational infrastructure changes, development and maintenance of relationships with both internal and external clients and adherence to strict risk controls.

The Regulatory Reporting team is a high-performing group responsible for oversight of all regulatory reporting (e.g., MiFID II, AIFMD, MMFR, PRIIPs KIDs), fund expenses, and tax obligations for Mercer’s fund range. This includes managing key service providers and working closely with Mercer’s Legal and Compliance departments and external advisors to address new regulatory and tax impacts. The successful candidate will primarily support regulatory reporting and fund expenses oversight, with exposure to leading regulatory change and process enhancement projects.

This is a high-visibility role responsible for delivering accurate, timely regulatory reporting across a large diverse Irish Funds range. The successful candidate will take ownership of key reporting processes, work closely with internal and external stakeholders and contribute to ongoing data and reporting transformation initiatives. You will manage the delivery of business-as-usual (BAU) and regulatory projects, become a regulatory subject matter expert, and use your initiative to navigate new regulations and develop solutions that drive the business forward.

We will count on you to:

• Quickly develop in-depth knowledge of Mercer’s fund structures and portfolio solutions.
• Own, drive and deliver your work within your remit and lead by example.
• Have a strong risk focus with emphasis on building processes that are efficient but controlled.
• Be able to research investment regulations and fund structures, interpret key points as they apply to the Mercer IS business and summarise in a clear and succinct manner to aid project deliverables.
• Lead regulatory change and process enhancement projects for the team as required.
• Support Head of Regulatory Reporting with key strategic initiatives as required.
• Lead the monitoring of regulatory and market developments that affect our funds, drive assessment of the operational impact of such new regulations and support the delivery of design and implementation of appropriate solutions.
• Support the onboarding and oversight of service providers as required.  (SLR, SLA, risk assessments etc).
• Actively contribute to automation and process improvements, including enhanced data validation and management processes.
• Support the advancement of our Operating Model as we adapt to the needs of new client types.

What you need to have:

• 8+ years experience in Asset Management, fund administration or investment operations with strong Fund Accounting and academic background (Business/Accounting/Finance/Economics).
• Strong analytical mindset with ability to interpret large datasets and manage data quality.
• Proficiency with data tools (Excel, SQL or similar) required, and data management solutioning exposure desirable.
• Experience in regulatory reporting/compliance and or fund expense oversight desirable but not essential.  
• In-depth knowledge of European Investment Products, UCITS, AIFs and Fund regulatory requirements.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills with ability to manage senior stakeholders effectively. 
• Ability to work under own initiative in a fast-paced environment.
• Confident in decision making, manages uncertainty effectively, anticipates and resolves barriers to implementing changes and instils Mercer philosophy and culture into all practices.
• Champions collaboration within an organisation to achieve shared vision, effective in building support for ideas and gaining buy-in from key stakeholders. Seeks out cross business collaboration opportunities.
• Strong technology skills (PowerPoint, Excel, Word, AI) & strong aptitude for learning and adapting to new technologies.

What makes you stand out:

• A high-calibre professional eager to progress within the organisation.
• Self-starter with ability to drive and deliver own work, efficiently, on time, and to a high standard.
• High performance ethos with focus on problem solving/solutioning and process improvement.
• Communication: Excellent verbal, written, and presentation skills with ability to build and leverage relationships.
• Ability to absorb new information quickly.

Why join our team:

• We help you be your best through professional development opportunities, interesting work and supportive leaders.
• We foster a vibrant and inclusive culture where you can work with talented colleagues to create new solutions and have impact for colleagues, clients and communities.
• Our scale enables us to provide a range of career opportunities, as well as benefits and rewards to enhance your well-being.

#MercerIS

Mercer, a business of Marsh McLennan (NYSE: MMC), is a global leader in helping clients realize their investment objectives, shape the future of work and enhance health and retirement outcomes for their people. Marsh McLennan is a global leader in risk, strategy and people, advising clients in 130 countries across four businesses: Marsh, Guy Carpenter, Mercer and Oliver Wyman. With annual revenue of $24 billion and more than 90,000 colleagues, Marsh McLennan helps build the confidence to thrive through the power of perspective. For more information, visit mercer.com, or follow on LinkedIn and X.

Marsh McLennan is committed to embracing a diverse, inclusive and flexible work environment. We aim to attract and retain the best people and embrace diversity of age, background, disability, ethnic origin, family duties, gender orientation or expression, marital status, nationality, parental status, personal or social status, political affiliation, race, religion and beliefs, sex/gender, sexual orientation or expression, skin color, Traveller community, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. We are an equal opportunities employer. We are committed to providing reasonable support to any candidate with a disability/health condition to allow them to fully participate in the recruitment process. We welcome candidates to contact us at reasonableaccommodations@mmc.com to discuss any specific needs.

Marsh McLennan is committed to hybrid work, which includes the flexibility of working remotely and the collaboration, connections and professional development benefits of working together in the office. All Marsh McLennan colleagues are expected to be in their local office or working onsite with clients at least three days per week. Office-based teams will identify at least one “anchor day” per week on which their full team will be together in person.