Associate , Investment Operations Specialist, SMA (Separately Managed Accounts) Solutions

About this role

Team Overview

BlackRock Separately Managed Accounts (SMA) Solutions helps clients customise portfolios for tax efficiency, values alignment, and specific investment exposures across direct indexing, fixed income, active equity, and multi-asset strategies. The Investment Operations team supports the integrity and effective functioning of SMA portfolios through reconciliation, exception management, operational controls, reporting, and close collaboration with investment, technology, custodian, and operations partners.

Your Role and Impact

As an Investment Operations Analyst, you will support middle-office activities across SMA portfolios, with a focus on cash and position reconciliation, exception management, data integrity, risk and control execution, and continuous process improvement. You will apply strong analytical and problem-solving skills to manage operational priorities, resolve issues across partners and platforms, and help strengthen the reliability and scalability of portfolio operations.

Your Responsibilities

In every role at BlackRock, you'll be expected to apply sound judgement and critical thinking to solve complex problems, adapt as the business evolves, and combine the curiosity to explore new approaches and technologies with the rigor to challenge the results. The scope of this role also includes the following responsibilities:

• Perform daily cash and position reconciliations, investigating and resolving breaks and data discrepancies across internal books and records, custodians, and investment platforms.
• Monitor positions, cash, transactions, tax lots, pricing, corporate actions, and other portfolio data, supporting operational reporting, data-integrity monitoring, and post-trade controls.
• Partner with portfolio management, custodians, technology teams, and internal operations partners to resolve exceptions and coordinate timely issue escalation.
• Execute operational controls, maintain complete and audit-ready evidence, and identify and escalate material breaks, data-quality concerns, access issues, control weaknesses, and operational risks.
• Develop and maintain Standard Operating Procedures, while contributing to cross-training and knowledge sharing that support consistent and resilient operational execution.
• Manage competing priorities, dependencies, operational commitments, and deadlines, communicating risks or delays proactively and providing coverage during periods of increased activity.
• Identify opportunities to streamline workflows and automate manual activities, using operational data to identify recurring breaks, capacity constraints, and errors while supporting testing, documentation, implementation, and control validation.

Your Experience

• 3-5 years of experience in investment operations, middle-office operations, portfolio operations, fund accounting, or a related financial-services function; exposure to separately managed accounts or tax-managed investment strategies is preferred.
• Working knowledge of the trade lifecycle, including positions, cash, securities, corporate actions, tax lots, pricing, reconciliation, exception management, and post-trade controls.
• Experience investigating reconciliation breaks and resolving data discrepancies across investment platforms, custodians, and internal books and records.
• Strong risk and control mindset, including experience following Standard Operating Procedures, performing maker-checker reviews, maintaining audit-ready evidence, and handling sensitive portfolio data.
• Strong analytical, organisational, and problem-solving capabilities, with attention to detail and the ability to independently prioritise multiple deliverables and meet operational deadlines.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to collaborate effectively with internal and external stakeholders across functions and regions.
• Familiarity with investment-management platforms and advanced Excel skills; exposure to VBA, Python, Power BI, workflow tools, automation, and process-improvement initiatives is preferred.
  

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.

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.

Guidance on AI use for candidates

At BlackRock, AI has long been part of how we work – enhancing decision-making, improving operations, and helping us deliver better outcomes for clients. We encourage candidates to use AI thoughtfully to learn, prepare, and work more effectively; but during our interview process, we want to focus on getting to know you through your own experiences, thinking, and judgment. To support you, we’ve provided guidance on when and how to use AI during our hiring process so you can approach each step with confidence and showcase your best self.

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.

To learn more about BlackRock, please visit Careers.BlackRock.com. We also encourage you to get to know us on LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube, X, and TikTok.

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