Institutional Sales Support – Middle East (Associate)

About this role

Business Unit Overview

The Institutional Client Business (ICB) develops and maintains relationships with institutional investors including pension funds, insurance companies, industry consultants and family offices. ICB’s product proposition comprises a broad range of both actively managed and index segregated and pooled investments including industry-leading iShares® ETFs, in traditional and alternative (private markets) investment products, and services such as fiduciary management.

The Budapest based Sales Excellence team is an integral part of the pre-sales process and also provide complex, high value-added post-sales support to BlackRock’s strategic clients in the region. They focus on tailored client specific materials, organization of webinars, managing follow-ups, customized client analysis and working in close co-operation with field Relationship Managers to understand and fulfil the needs of our clients.

Role Purpose/Background

Are you passionate about servicing clients and exceeding their expectations? In this position you will be able to put all your skills to work and help develop existing relationships and growth of the client book across the region.

As we are increasing our sales support footprint in Budapest, we are seeking experienced professionals to join our Sales Excellence team to establish a brand-new sub-team who will partner with our Middle East Institutional Sales team in covering their client base in the GCC countries.

Key responsibilities

• Direct interactions with clients to answer queries covering our alpha and index offerings and work with functional teams within BlackRock to provide best-in-class service to the sales teams and indirectly to clients
• Produce client intelligence and updates, and aiding the team’s response to ad hoc queries in a timely and professional manner
• Support new business acquisition by coordinating the new business proposals (RFP) and help us defend existing investments by coordinating due diligence requests (DDQ)
• Champion in the adoption of Portfolio360, BlackRock’s state of the art portfolio analysis tool
• Involvement in any projects which support the business development of the team, including the creation, formatting or automation of custom reports, and those of sub-advised mandates
• Independently and collaboratively undertake research of the industry landscape of your respective sales team, contribute to the development of BLK products & solutions to meet evolving needs of our clients
• Liaising with product specialists and other subject matter specialists and in answering client queries
• Creating content and presentations for relationship managers to use in client meetings and obtaining compliance and business approval
• Liaising with automation & reporting team to improve processes, build efficiencies and increase quality standards for tailor-made reporting
• Responsible to ensure that all regulatory and legal requirements and standards are met, including achieving MIFID II Information Provider status

Knowledge/Experience

• In-depth knowledge about financial products and especially mutual funds and ETFs
• Strong general financial services knowledge, strong understanding of capital markets and the regional asset management industry
• Outgoing nature who puts client-interest first and loves to work in a highly dynamic and ambitious environment, with a “can-do” attitude and a pragmatic flexibility
• The individual must be an upbeat self-starter with professional pride and a dedication to perfection and improvement

Skills/Qualifications

• Fluency in English (fluency in Arabic is an advantage)
• 3 years of experience in a corporate environment, ideally in a client-facing, operational, or support role
• University degree in business administration, economics, finance, or in another field
• Shown ability to handle complex projects involving different business groups and to assist the business in implementing solutions across the broad range of BlackRock products and services
• Ability to operate and communicate at executive level – both internally and with clients
• Excellent research, analytical and also consulting & negotiating skills
• Motivated self-starter with high ethical and quality standards, integrity and drive
• Extensive experience in MS Office suite including Word, Excel, Power Point

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.

For additional information on BlackRock, please visit @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.