Head of Trade Operations (Internal Only)

Who We Are

The Chicago office of Milliman Inc. is looking for bright, enthusiastic and qualified candidates to work in their Financial Risk Management (FRM) practice.

Milliman's rigorous, distinctly innovative approach to risk management is built on a foundation of actuarial expertise and shaped by some of the most advanced thinking in the industry. Whether you're looking to improve capital efficiency, comply with regulatory requirements, or guard against market volatility, Milliman offers a complete range of operational, strategic, and financial risk management solutions and tools.

We have a focused, multi-disciplinary team of actuaries, financial engineers/capital markets professionals and software developers working together to develop risk management solutions for the financial services industry. We currently advise some of the world's largest insurance companies in areas such as hedging strategy and operations, portfolio risk management, and capital requirements.

We hire the best in the business-and then trust them to do their work their way. It's about personal responsibility, creativity, flexibility. We believe great work happens in great work environments.

Our culture is highly collaborative with value placed on high quality work and innovation.

The Department/Team

The Trade Operations Group performs all post-trade operations for the Financial Risk Management practice on behalf of our clients. This work entails everything from trade and position reconciliation, give-up, matching, clearing and settlements, as well as margin and collateral management, including treasury operations for a wide variety of derivative instruments (futures, options, swaps, etc.) as well as equity and fixed income securities. Moreover, the Trade Operations group is responsible for coverage over all Financial Risk Management practice clients (several dozen) and the respective accounts corresponding to them (hundreds) while meeting audit, compliance, and reporting requirements as applicable to each of our clients. It is the responsibility of Trade Operations to execute cash management transactions, reconcile cash management activity, and to ensure margin and collateral requirements are met. The Trade Operations Group performs the independent reconciliation and verification of all trading performed by Capital Markets Group. Additionally, the group manages dealer and custody accounts on behalf of our clients, including account opening, onboarding, maintaining dealer records and general account administration and operations.

Your Role/What You'll Do

As Head of Trade Operations, you will lead back-office trade operations work for the practice. This involves developing communication lines with the audit, trading, actuarial, and portfolio management groups. In addition, our internal audit group will require evidence that our controls are designed and followed using industry best practice. The collaboration with all of these groups is essential to ensure both our Trade Operations team and well as those of our clients, trading partners, and service providers have the information needed to reconcile trades, maintain collateral and margin, and identify discrepancies that must be corrected. Transparency is paramount to the role, as our collaborative nature requires it. Furthermore, you will play a key role in client onboarding projects, serving as the subject matter expert and advising on all Trade Operations related issues to ensure optimal operational setups and workflows.

You will:

• Lead a team of Trade Operations Associates and Trade Operations Analysts to accomplish the objectives of the department and provide exceptional customer service delivery.
• Ensure establishment and utilization of efficient process to ensure compliance requirements and client needs are met in equal measure.
• Keep and provide evidence to internal audit that process controls are being followed
• Appropriately manage the performance of all team members. This includes encouraging areas where team members are performing well and also giving necessary feedback on areas that are not going well.

Your Qualifications

Job Knowledge Required:

• Bachelor's degree in finance, economics or another similar and relevant program of study.
• 8+ years of experience in relevant treasury, trade, or investment operations.
• Experienced at end-to-end trade operations processing - trade reporting, recon, margin & collateral management, cash movement/treasury, settlement, fund accounting reporting
• Experience with managing different aspects of the post trade life cycle from beginning to termination including allocation, confirmation, reconciliation, clearing, settlement, valuations/exposure management, and corporate actions for Derivatives, Fixed Income, or Equity products in domestic and international markets.
• Knowledge of the different participants in the fund management business and their roles - fund managers, administrators, brokers.
• In-depth knowledge of OTC derivatives products of multiple asset classes
• Intermediate to advanced knowledge in the following products: Futures, Listed Options, Cleared OTC Derivatives, Fixed Income (Bonds and ETFs), Mutual Funds, UIT(s), Equities, and Bilateral Non-Cleared OTC Derivatives.
• Experienced at creating efficient systems to ensure timely and accurate accomplishment of work tasks for all team members.
• Experienced end-to-end trade ops processing - Trade reporting, Recon, Margin & Collateral Management, Cash movement/Treasury, Settlement, Fund accounting reporting
• Asset manager / Investment manager, especially sub-advisory shops, experience working with many accounts (100+ books)
• Listed and OTC derivatives, equities/ETFs at a minimum
• Systems design/transition experience

Experience and Soft Skills Required:

• Responsive, diplomatic and engaged to provide exceptional client service
• Experienced team manager and the ability to lead and grow professionals within the department.
• Understanding of fund accounting, global custody, or transfer agency operations
• Experience with legal agreements including EGUS, Account Control Agreements, ISDA Master Agreements, ISDA VM CSA etc...
• Familiarity with post trade operations vendor systems
• VBA knowledge (coding and scripting), at minimum, and understanding of what can be accomplished using these skills and the ability to leverage staff capability to accomplish automation and other tasks in VBA.
• Experience with SQL, Python, and other programming languages a plus
• Proficient in Microsoft Office with intermediate to advanced Excel capabilities.
• Understand how derivatives, securities, and cash management activities impact custody, accounting, portfolio management, and trading.
• Strong technical skills capable of analyzing trade and cash data to develop tools and solutions
• Strong written and verbal communication skills
• Ability to work both independently and collaboratively
• Solid organizational skills - especially the ability to meet project deadlines with a focus on details.
• Strong ability to work in a fast-paced, deadline-driven environment and handle multiple projects simultaneously.
• Ability to deal with ambiguity and effectively cope with change.
• Sharp critical thinking skills, sound judgment and decision-making ability, and both the ability and willingness to clearly articulate your ideas.
• Demonstrated aptitude for critical thought needed for timely identification and resolution of trade matters.
• Experience managing a team of at least 5 people.
• Experience in both onboarding of employees as well as offboarding

Location

Candidates hired into this role will be required to work in-person in the Milliman office in Chicago, IL on a weekly basis, but flexible work arrangements will be considered.

Compensation

The salary range for this role is $129,250 - $213,290 depending on a combination of factors, including, but not limited to, education, relevant work experience, qualifications, skills, certifications, location, etc.

Benefits

We offer a comprehensive benefits package designed to support employees' health, financial security, and well-being. Benefits include:

• Medical, Dental and Vision - Coverage for employees, dependents, and domestic partners.
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP) - Confidential support for personal and work-related challenges.
• 401(k) Plan - Includes a company matching program and profit-sharing contributions.
• Discretionary Bonus Program - Recognizing employee contributions.
• Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA) - Pre-tax savings for dependent care, transportation, and eligible medical expenses.
• Paid Time Off (PTO) - Begins accruing on the first day of work. Full-time employees accrue 15 days per year, and employees working less than full-time accrue PTO on a prorated basis.
• Holidays - A minimum of 10 paid holidays per year.
• Family Building Benefits - Includes adoption and fertility assistance.
• Paid Parental Leave - Up to 12 weeks of paid leave for employees who meet eligibility criteria.
• Life Insurance & AD&D - 100% of premiums covered by Milliman.
• Short-Term and Long-Term Disability - Fully paid by Milliman.

Equal Opportunity

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment, without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, or status as a protected veteran.