Associate, External Relationship Management

About this role

Job Purpose/Background:

ESS is responsible for driving some of the largest outsourcing and solutions opportunities in EMEA such as Rabobank and Coutts or the recently announced partnership with Quintet Private Bank. Outsourcing and solutions is a strategic priority for BlackRock globally and the EMEA business is growing rapidly.

ESS is responsible for developing BlackRock’s outsourcing and solutions proposition as well as structuring and implementing solution partnerships with retail and institutional clients across EMEA. The team’s mandate is to lead “Deal Teams” throughout the sales process and implementation in close partnership with businesses across the firm to bring a consistent, robust and innovative approach to designing and implementing solutions that identify and address the needs of our clients leveraging the best of BlackRock’s capabilities.

The role is for an Associate or Vice-President to join the ESS team focusing on:

• Supporting the Deal Team leads for large opportunities and leading Deal Teams for mid-sized opportunities across both the iSW and Institutional Channels.
• Managing cross-functional projects to develop BlackRock's solution offering, including identifying new capabilities or enhancing our existing proposition.
• Managing the internal governance for new solutions partnerships

The selected candidate for this role will work on some of BlackRock’s most strategic, complex and high-valued client opportunities. Each outsourcing opportunity is unique. Therefore, you can look forward to a multi-faceted role that allows you to develop a wide skillset and varied experience with different partner teams.

Overall, the role requires the candidate to develop deep levels of knowledge across the EMEA distribution and institutional landscapes, external client and internal stakeholder relationship building skills and a deep technical knowledge of BlackRock’s platform and solution capabilities. You will work closely with the EMEA Partnerships and business development teams to drive long-term, strategic and complex projects with an entrepreneurial mindset and strong client focus.

Key responsibilities will include:

• Working closely with regional leadership and local sales teams to strategize, identify and develop outsourcing opportunities
• Driving and “Deal Managing” opportunities once identified throughout the sales process (collaborating with internal stakeholders to develop the proposition/offering, develop and deliver workshops and pitches for clients, and own the content of the RFP with sales)
• Developing a deep technical knowledge of the outsourcing market and applying an entrepreneurial mindset to identify new opportunities and gaps in BlackRock’s solution offering
• Building a strong internal network across the business that can be leveraged to build new outsourcing proposals and collaborate with internal teams to understand and resolve complex issues (across multiple disciplines e.g. investments, operations, risk and L&C)
• Working in close partnership with the Implementation Design and Project Management part of the team throughout the sales process and during implementation
• Building and maintaining a deep understanding of the BlackRock platform across all of our capabilities including investments, technology, operations and thought leadership (e.g. BSI)
• Keeping the team and management up to date on the outsourcing pipeline status through contributing to the weekly team meetings and team communications (e.g. outsourcing email updates)
• Taking ownership across your opportunities for the internal outsourcing governance processes (e.g. Solutions Committee and the New Business Committee)
• Maintaining a One BlackRock perspective to deliver results, which are beneficial for both individual businesses and the firm as a whole as well as our clients
• Building strong relationships with clients and their stakeholders and ensuring a sound understanding of their objectives, their people, processes, platform and technologies
• Work with reporting manager to prospect new solutions and outsourcing clients including researching client organisations and own delivery of high-level analysis and assessment
• Help to manage the team outsourcing pipeline, weekly team meetings and team communications (e.g. weekly outsourcing updates), own the preparation and management of the outsourcing governance process (e.g. Solutions Working Group and Solutions Committee) and work in collaboration with ESS Leadership to deliver ad-hoc reports and updates for BLK senior management

We are seeking candidates that demonstrate or we believe can develop the following qualities/skills:

• Structured critical thinker with problem-solving abilities who can organise people under pressure
• Ability to pick up technical concepts quickly and may have a background in either product development, a technical sales role, law, consultancy or related business transformation function
• Knowledge of either the EMEA Distribution or Institutional marketplace
• Client facing experience and the ability to communicate effectively with all levels of our client’s organizations
• Entrepreneurial mindset
• Intellectually curious with the ability to take initiative and deliver results
• Be able to simplify complex topics and create innovative solutions for issues or new business concepts
• Excellent written and oral communication
• Ability to clearly articulate objectives and influence outcomes
• Results driven individual with strong analytical skills and attention to detail
• Ambitious and proactive: able to show initiative and come up with ideas without prompting
• Technical aptitude, understanding technology in a business context

Our benefits

To help you stay energized, engaged and inspired, we offer a wide range of employee benefits including: retirement investment and tools designed to help you in building a sound financial future; access to education reimbursement; comprehensive resources to support your physical health and emotional well-being; family support programs; and Flexible Time Off (FTO) so you can relax, recharge and be there for the people you care about.

Our hybrid work model

BlackRock’s hybrid work model is designed to enable a culture of collaboration and apprenticeship that enriches the experience of our employees, while supporting flexibility for all. Employees are currently required to work at least 4 days in the office per week, with the flexibility to work from home 1 day a week. Some business groups may require more time in the office due to their roles and responsibilities. We remain focused on increasing the impactful moments that arise when we work together in person – aligned with our commitment to performance and innovation. As a new joiner, you can count on this hybrid model to accelerate your learning and onboarding experience here at BlackRock.

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.