Associate Consultant - Front Office Solutions

Associate Consultant – Front Office Solutions

Front Office Solutions

Front Office Solutions is a new strategic business for Northern Trust that provides a holistic digital+ service offering for some of the most sophisticated institutional investors across the globe, including foundations, endowments, pension funds, corporations, insurance companies, and sovereign wealth funds. As asset owners engage in more complex, data-driven investment approaches to asset allocation, their operational needs and demands for high quality data have skyrocketed. Front Office Solutions provides a holistic, full-service, multi-asset solution that aims to empower in-house investment teams and support their important mission by providing a more comprehensive set of operational services and analytics including portfolio management, investment decision support, operational risk management, CRM/document management and workflow tools

Job Description

Under general supervision, the Associate Consultant supported by a team of Client Solutions partners will be responsible for investment data management that will provide clients with the holistic data sets they need to fulfil their various stakeholder requirements. The Associate Consultant will assist in researching solutions for data challenges for institutional clients.

The key responsibilities of the role include:

• Acts as daily point of contact for operational client queries including accounting and general operational queries.
• Acts as point of initial entry for all investment data. Includes entry of (but not limited to):
  • Investment transactions
  • Investment valuations
  • Manager estimates
  • Plan income / Expense items
  • Plan contributions / Spending withdrawals
  • Underlying manager exposure data
  • Benchmark data
• Supports preparation investment reconciliations including cash, positions, performance, transactions, alternative investment metrics (unfunded commitment, etc.).
• Responsible for initial review of NAV, allocation and underlying client performance for alternative investments.
• Assists in training new FOS partners in the accounting and operational space.
• Supports client onboarding including initial client discovery sessions, project planning, setting client expectations and facilitating continuous client updates throughout the onboarding process.
• Participates in on-going process improvement discussions
• Ability to work closely and collaborate with internal stakeholders.

Required Knowledge & Skills:

• Experience working with complex asset owners in one or more of the following fields:
  • Performance measurement (attribution, liquidity, and exposures)
  • Alternative asset or private equity operations
  • Investment operations (fund or investment accounting)
• Experience working with complex asset owners including Endowments, Foundations, Family Offices, OCIOs, Pension Funds, Sovereign Wealth Funds, and institutional asset managers.
• Knowledge of the investment industry, including markets and instruments.
• Basic investment concepts knowledge: IRR, time-weighted return, NAVs, accruals, etc.
• Proficient in use of Microsoft Suite (Excel, SharePoint), with particular emphasis on Excel.
• Understanding of instances when performance issues need to be escalated to a supervisor.
• Ability to prioritize, multi-task, and perform effectively under deadlines.

The successful candidate will benefit from having:

• Functional /industry knowledge of and experience with complex asset allocators such as endowments, foundations, family offices, institutional asset managers, pension funds or sovereign wealth funds.
• Prior experience with multi-asset class portfolio management software.
• Experience using VBA, Python or other programming language to format large data sets.
• Ability to execute on independent tasks and responsibilities.

Qualifications

• College or University degree, preferably in Finance, Accounting, Mathematics, Economics or a related field; 1+ years of experience.
• Interest in pursuing advanced professional credentials (CFA, CIPM, CAIA, CPA, MBA) preferred
• Genuine desire and capability to work in a fast-paced, professional, inclusive environment which requires teamwork, well-honed problem-solving skills, frequent re-prioritization, deadline management, ongoing and comprehensive communication, constant attention to detail, and a commitment to continuous improvement and best practices.

About Northern Trust:

Northern Trust provides innovative financial services and guidance to corporations, institutions and affluent families and individuals globally. With over 130 years of financial experience and nearly 20,000 partners, we serve the world’s most sophisticated clients using leading technology and exceptional service.

Working with Us:

As a Northern Trust partner, you will be part of a flexible and collaborative work culture, which has a strong history of financial strength and stability. Movement within the organization is encouraged, senior leaders are accessible, and you can take pride in working for a company that is committed to strengthening the communities we serve!               

We recognize the value of inclusion and diversity in culture, in thought, and in experience, which is why we are honored to receive the following awards in 2021:

• Gender Equality Index Member, Bloomberg
• Top Financial & Banking Company, Black EOE Journal, Hispanic Network Magazine,
• Professional WOMAN'S Magazine

We’d love to learn more about how your interests and experience could be a fit with one of America’s best banks and most sustainable companies! Build your career with us and apply today.