Client Assets (CASS) Vice President

Description

About this role

BlackRock is a firm passionate about performance, innovation and its people. We offer a wealth of employee benefits, and the opportunity to join numerous professional employee networks.

Functional Overview

Technology and Operations (T&O) is responsible for the firm's worldwide operations across all asset classes and geographies. Each operational function sitting within the T&O are aligned with clients, products, fund structures and our third-party provider networks. T&O handles a breadth of services that impact the product and trade lifecycle as well as BlackRock's client and employee experience.

Team Overview

The CASS Governance & Oversight ("CGO") Team within BlackRock's T&O function is responsible for overseeing the operational effectiveness of BLK's systems and controls that are designed to adhere to the FCA's client money and assets regulations ("CASS"). The team partners with a wide range teams across the business from operations to legal and compliance, as well as numerous third parties to meet this objective. We are committed to delivering and driving CASS excellence!

The CGO Team is a small team within the Business Operations division of BlackRock ("BLK"), consisting of 2 Vice Presidents, 1 Associate and 1 Analyst, that supports the EMEA Head of CASS in achieving the following objectives:

• Oversight of BLK's compliance with CASS regulations across all BLK EMEA activities
• Reporting to FCA, BLK Boards & governance committees on all CASS matters
• Driving forward developments in BLK's activities, processes & controls with various teams to strengthen CASS compliance
• Working in partnership with BLK's Legal & Compliance Teams to ensure regulations are understood & interpreted effectively into an operational environment
• Providing training and mentorship on CASS across BLK globally
• Developing and encouraging excellence and embeddedness of CASS within BLK
• Assessment, design & implementation of all client asset & client money regulatory changes across EMEA activities

Role Responsibilities

• This full time Vice President role will report to EMEA Head of Client Assets and support the CASS Governance & Oversight teams' objective of achieving operational compliance with the FCA CASS rules. The individual will primarily be responsible for reviewing BLK's organisational arrangements, assessing the root cause of CASS risk through several metrics and driving forward positive change to mitigate this risk, either by restructuring activities to reduce the firms CASS scope or by re-engineering activities to kill complexity and enhance processes and controls.
• Tasks will include:
• Maintaining an effective governance and oversight framework at BLK in respect of CASS compliance
• Taking ownership of CASS projects including but not limited to new business, business change, regulatory change, CASS risk reduction initiatives and audit remediation
• Reviewing risk events including but not limited to breaches, near misses and areas of high inherent risk to assess the impact and ensure appropriate steps are being taken to address the root cause of the issue to prevent reoccurrence
• Supporting all audit related activity with regards to internal and external audits, as well as compliance monitoring thematic reviews. This includes planning audits, providing MI on the audit findings, tracking audit issues through to remediation, collaborating closely with various BlackRock teams to source and interrogate audit sample requests and responding to queries from auditors arising from audit requests
• Assisting in the design and delivery of effective CASS training for business partners at various levels
• Ensuring all regulatory submissions such as the CMAR are completed accurately and submitted timely
• Ensuring all CASS related policies and procedures are regularly reviewed and maintained
• Delivering effective management information for business partners at various levels within the organisation, including senior boards and committees
• Participating and supporting the running of the monthly CASS Governance Committee as required
• Orchestrating comprehensive periodic due diligence of our third-party banking and transfer agent providers
• Using your creativity and initiative to develop improvements to the CASS teams' oversight, audit and reporting activities, introducing automation and other time saving initiatives where possible
• The ongoing review and management of BLK's client money bank accounts
• Maintaining the BlackRock CASS risk & control framework by ensuring total capture of CASS risk across the organisation ('CASS Footprint') and by liaising with business teams internally and at our transfer agents to periodically review the population of by well-designed and effective mitigating controls
• The ongoing management and streamlining of CASS 8 mandate listing and records
• The ongoing management and streamlining of CASS 9 client money statement process
• Providing support to the wider business on CASS queries
• Assessing CASS risk across the firm using numerous measurements in order to prioritise CASS risk mitigation objectives
• Developing and maintaining a strong understanding of the requirements of CASS through FCA policy statements, attendance at industry forums, training events and media publications

Knowledge/Experience

• Strong technical knowledge of the FCA Client Assets Sourcebook alongside its practical application as it applies to asset management firms
• Investment Operations Certificate (IOC) or similar qualification preferable
• Previous experience operating in a CASS function, whether this be in an operations, oversight or audit capacity
• A broad understand of other regulatory obligations and handbooks relevant to an asset manager such as COLL and COBS is preferable
• Broad understanding of operational functions and processes of an asset manager
• A Proven track record of delivering and enhancing CASS processes, systems and controls
• Excellent communication and business partnership management skills
• Strong analytical skills and confidence working with figures
• Confidence that you will thrive in a fast-paced environment, managing multiple workloads simultaneously
• Exhibits strong planning, organisational and interpersonal skills
• Intellectual curiosity and the desire to take initiative and deliver results
• A high level of attention to detail, with the ability to distill detailed information into high quality, accurate and easy to digest management information
• Ability to work well in a team environment whilst also confident in working unsupervised, delivering to a high standard and to meet objectives
• A high proficiency in MS Office applications is crucial

• BlackRock is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. We evaluate qualified applicants without regard to age, disability, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation and other protected characteristics at law.

Our benefits

To help you stay energized, engaged and inspired, we offer a wide range of benefits including a strong retirement plan, tuition reimbursement, comprehensive healthcare, support for working parents and Flexible Time Off (FTO) so you can relax, recharge and be there for the people you care about.

About BlackRock

At BlackRock, we are all connected by one mission: to help more and more people experience financial well-being. Our clients, and the people they serve, are saving for retirement, paying for their children's educations, buying homes and starting businesses. Their investments also help to strengthen the global economy: support businesses small and large; finance infrastructure projects that connect and power cities; and facilitate innovations that drive progress.

This mission would not be possible without our smartest investment - the one we make in our employees. It's why we're dedicated to creating an environment where our colleagues feel welcomed, valued and supported with networks, benefits and development opportunities to help them thrive.

For additional information on BlackRock, please visit careers.blackrock.com | www.blackrock.com/corporate | Instagram: @blackrock | Twitter: @blackrock | LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/blackrock

BlackRock is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. We evaluate qualified applicants without regard to age, disability, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation and other protected characteristics at law.