Director - Operational Due Diligence, Investment Management

We are seeking a talented individual to join our Investments team at Mercer. This role will be based in Gurgaon/Mumbai/Noida. This is a hybrid role that has a requirement of working at least three days a week in the office.

Director – Operations Due Diligence - Investments

Mercer Wealth is a leading global provider of investment consulting services. We offer customised advice at every stage of the investment decision, risk management and investment monitoring process. In addition to core consulting, we have developed a number of specialist teams; the Financial Strategy Group, Mercer Sentinel, Manager Research, Responsible Investment and Fiduciary Management, thereby ensuring we offer a full range of services to our clients.

We are looking for talented colleagues who understand the financial services industry and the operational functions of investment managers. Will work as part of a team of ODD specialist and client consultants.

We will count on you to:

• Work as an extension of the UK/US team to conduct operational due diligence risk assessments of investment managers using Mercer Sentinel’s framework incorporating house views as appropriate
• Understanding of investment manager middle and back office operations, fund administration, portfolio accounting, custody, regulatory compliance and other relevant industry experience
• Maintaining knowledge of operational risk frameworks across the Mercer universe of asset classes, including equity and fixed income, hedge funds, private equity, private debt, real estate and infrastructure
• Liaise with investment managers to collate information, coordinate on-site visits and schedules
• Review responses and documentation provided by investment managers for the risk assessment and author research notes in advance of the meeting of the onsite team to support the onshore team
• Support virtual investment manager “on-site” visits through the preparation of pre-meeting notes, note taking in the meeting and producing high quality draft written reports after the meeting
• Challenging and improving operational processes for Mercer’s ODD framework
• Contribute to Mercer Sentinel’s intellectual capital through market research and process innovation
• Contribute towards Mercer Sentinel’s other products including but not limited to Surveys and Operational Reviews; support onshore team’s efforts towards key projects or activities including business development among others.
• Update and maintain pertinent tools/database with relevant information including research publications and coordinate with asset managers for requisite data and for scheduling research calls; prepare and distribute Ratings Committee (RC) minutes from the weekly RC call.
• Project management, work allocation, real-time capacity management, peer review, process training and development of team members
• Lead and manage end-to-end operations and ensure the seamless delivery of reports/projects.
• Liaison with stakeholders to build relationship for service delivery management.
• Play anchor role for all strategic projects and provide directions to the team.
• Prepare and manage KPIs and handle escalations.
• Lead efforts for people engagement, knowledge development initiatives for the team, and ensure adherence to compliance policy and organizational imperatives.
• Driving Process Improvement Initiatives and delivering results in line with Business Priorities
• Demonstrate subject matter expertise in leading the ODD vertical
• Maintain updated investment due diligence notes, meeting notes and recommendations in proprietary database
• Ensuring storage and organizing data on a central database

What you need to have:

• A Masters's degree in economics, finance or other business-related areas with a high level of written content
• Professional qualification (Actuarial, ACA, ACCA, CFA or equivalent) – preferential requisite
• 12+ Years of experience with operational due diligence investment management, operations, fund management or investment consulting
• Previous experience in operational risk analysis, fund administration, and or financial / portfolio accounting would be beneficial
• Thorough knowledge of Microsoft Office applications (Word, Excel, PowerPoint)
• Takes ownership for work, always ensuring standards and deadlines are met and keeping others informed and up-to-date
• Works well under pressure, with the ability to prioritise and manage multiple tasks, stakeholders and deliverables simultaneously; candidate may be expected to attend calls with US based asset managers couple days in a week; responsibilities may stretch to taking calls with asset managers in other geographies including Pacific, UK, Europe, Middle East and Asia depending on the business requirements.
• Excellent organisational and time management skills
• Openly shares information and own expertise with colleagues
• Possess excellent team working skills in a global/remote working environment

What makes you stand out?

• Demonstrates excellent oral and written communication skills
• Self-motivated with an eagerness to learn and a positive work ethic
• Challenges existing practices and conventional thinking
• Highly proficient in Microsoft Excel and other core Microsoft Office products (Word, PowerPoint, etc.)

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.

Mercer believes in building brighter futures by redefining the world of work, reshaping retirement and investment outcomes, and unlocking real health and well-being. Mercer’s approximately 25,000 employees are based in 43 countries and the firm operates in over 130 countries. Mercer is a business of Marsh McLennan (NYSE: MMC), the world’s leading professional services firm in the areas of risk, strategy and people, with 85,000 colleagues and annual revenue of over $20 billion. Through its market-leading businesses including Marsh, Guy Carpenter and Oliver Wyman, Marsh McLennan helps clients navigate an increasingly dynamic and complex environment. For more information, visit mercer.com. Follow Mercer on LinkedIn and Twitter.

Marsh McLennan is committed to embracing a diverse, inclusive and flexible work environment. We aim to attract and retain the best people regardless of their sex/gender, marital or parental status, ethnic origin, nationality, age, background, disability, sexual orientation, caste, gender identity or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.

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.