Regional Head of Fund Services - Americas
Description
Position: Regional Head of Fund Services (Americas)
Location: Cayman Islands
About Us
The Maples Group is a global leader in financial services, trusted by many of the world’s largest hedge fund managers, private equity firms, and international corporations. Our side-by-side financial and legal teams consistently deliver award-winning services to a global client base, offering unrivalled learning and career opportunities to our 2,500 colleagues worldwide.
What’s it like to work here?
We are driven to excel, and collaboration is key to our continued success. We can go further for our clients because we go further for each other too. Our inclusive culture creates an environment where people can be themselves at work while doing their best work. No matter where you work in the Maples Group, you will be part of a global team.
Roles and Responsibilities
The RHFS is responsible for directing teams of client service professionals that collaborate with global centres of excellence to deliver services to clients through an integrated operating model. The RHFS has overall responsibility for business unit performance, client service delivery and operational risk management within the region. This includes, but is not limited to, the following:
Business and Team Management
- acting as a local sponsor of global fund operations initiatives with local client service teams in the Cayman Islands and Montreal to facilitate successful and positive change;
- forward planning of resources to ensure that the team is properly resourced, recommending recruitment or reduction, as appropriate;
- assisting with the recruitment and selection process and reviewing job descriptions;
- monitoring staff productivity and capacity; optimising profitability through effective management of people;
- designing and implementing an effective organisational structure with clearly defined roles and responsibilities for team members;
- effective management of the team including motivation towards a common vision and reinforcement of a positive team culture;
- maintaining a high level of employee engagement, as measured by our periodic engagement surveys;
- responsibility for team performance in accordance with agreed Key Performance Indicators (“KPIs”);
- assisting other team members with complex issues, identifying the risks, determining the resolution process and taking ownership of overseeing the issue to completion;
- conducting annual performance reviews (including setting performance targets and personal goals) for team members and ensuring all reviews are completed and delivered on time;
- assisting SVPs and VPs with personal development plans for team members to achieve their development goals;
- managing employee relationships by managing conflicts and dealing with issues; and
- managing expectations of team in relation to rewards and compensation.
Client Work and Client Service
- overseeing the on-boarding of new mandates;resolving escalated client issues with SVPs and VPs;
- developing and continuously improving business partnerships with client decision makers, ensuring MaplesFS is viewed as the trusted and preferred service provider - actively seeking feedback on the effectiveness of service delivery, leading efforts to improve client satisfaction;
- anticipating client needs beyond current projects/engagements, by partnering with clients to understand their operating environments and circumstances, and the strategic issues that are impacting them;
- proactively consulting with clients to identify solutions that Maples can offer to problems they are facing;
- fostering our “One Group” value proposition, by maintaining an excellent knowledge of all Maples Group solutions for client needs, and developing strong relationships with counterparts in other Maples offices and business lines;
- ensuring that clients’ experiences are seamless and optimised across all Maples functional teams and service lines;
- actively participating in the region's CRM programme; and
- being available to team members to assist and advise on more complex and sensitive client matters.
Centre of Excellence Management and Integration
- managing a KYC centre of excellence, and managing interactions with centres of excellence in other jurisdictions to achieve process standardisation and centralization;
- leading process reengineering needed to optimize utilization of centres of excellence in different geographic time zones;
- establishment of outsourcing service level agreements with internal providers and/or subdelegates; and
- collaborating with centre of excellence leaders in geographically disparate locations in order to make cohesive decisions.
Risk Management
- reporting team and business issues on a time basis to GHFS and/or other EMC members as appropriate;
- identifying, managing and resolving incidents, liaising with other centre of excellence heads, other regional heads, support functions and the GHFS as appropriate;
- evolving operational policies and procedures to ensure that they are clear, effective and comprehensive - coordinating and communicating effectively with global counterparts, as necessary;
- driving and monitoring compliance with agreed processes and setting the tone for a compliance based culture; and
- ensuring consistent application of policies and procedures within the team.
Operational Compliance
- working closely with AML officers and AEOI (FATCA) to ensure that regulatory and reporting obligations for clients and the company are met (e.g. Cayman AMLRs, FATCA, BOTA);
- ensuring that fund administration teams are working with Client Accounting, AML and AEOI teams effectively; and
- working effectively with the Regulatory Compliance team to ensure that feedback and information is regularly communicated for collective benefit.
Technical Capability Development
- ability to tactically execute work in order to demonstrate the level of performance expected of staff;
- responsibility for establishing and guiding technical training programs to ensure continual proficiency amongst staff;
- knowledge of industry best practices to foster continual improvement of business processes; and
- maintaining a high level of expertise in relevant MaplesFS systems (e.g. SS&C/Advent Geneva, Investran, Primacy, NavOne).
Budgeting, Financial and Reporting
- creating staffing budgets with the input of the team, reviewing and agreeing them with the GHFS at the outset of the financial year;
- preparing regular and ad-hoc management reporting, as required; and
- developing and executing strategies to adhere to agreed budgets / staff cost ratios.
Billing and Receivables
- proactively ensuring that team billings are completed in a timely and accurate manner; and
- responsibility for team receivables (monitor team receivables versus collection targets).
Other
- acting as authorised signatory and/or director for various MaplesFS operating entities;
- serving as an active member of global committees – including the fund services operating committee, global fund services audit sub-committee, and global fund services technology project prioritization board; and
- acting as project sponsor and/or change champion of major process and technology initiatives.
Requirements
- 15+ years of experience in a senior leadership role in fund administration (fund accounting and investor services)
- Experience as member of global operating committees
- Experience in managing large teams across multiple jurisdictions
- Experience in establishing business processes involving global centres of excellence
- Working knowledge of SS&C/Advent Geneva, FIS Investran and Linedata MShare
- University degree
- CPA (Chartered Professional Accountant) designation
You can learn more about the Maples Group on our corporate website. Experience our culture and our people on our Careers Page or on LinkedIn.
Disclaimer: All personal information collected during the application process will be used for recruitment-related purposes only. Please refer to our Job Applicant Privacy Notice at maples.com/privacy for details on how we handle personal information relating to job applicants.