Associate, BlackRock Investment Stewardship - Latin America Portfolio

BlackRock•New York, NY

30d•$100,000 - $130,000•Hybrid

About The Position

The BlackRock Investment Stewardship team (BIS) operates across three regions – the Americas (New York, Washington DC, Wilmington and San Francisco); Europe, Middle East and Africa (London); and Asia-Pacific (Tokyo, Hong Kong, Singapore and Sydney) – and undertakes engagement with and proxy voting at portfolio companies on behalf of index clients globally. BIS is proud of our global reach and local presence. This is an exciting opportunity to join a team of high performing specialists globally. Investment stewardship is one way BlackRock fulfills our fiduciary responsibilities as an asset manager to our clients. BlackRock Investment Stewardship serves as a link between our clients and the companies they invest in. We take a long-term approach to stewardship, focused on engaging with company boards and executive leadership to understand the drivers of risk and financial value creation in companies’ business models. Our sole focus when we engage with companies or vote at shareholder meetings is to advance our clients’ financial interests. As part of our fiduciary duty to our clients, we consider it one of our responsibilities to promote sound corporate governance as an informed, engaged shareholder on their behalf. The BlackRock Investment Stewardship Professional will assist the lead proxy voting analysts covering companies in the LatAm Portfolio (including companies in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Mexico, Peru, etc.). They will provide support on portfolio company analysis, engagement, and voting. Over time, this position will also have coverage responsibilities for a portfolio of companies in the United States and Canada. The intention is for the person in this role to ultimately specialize in a subset of companies, and possibly some aspects of relevant policy, to support the delivery of our annual and long-term objectives. This position reports to a lead sector analyst in the BIS team.

Requirements

An undergraduate degree in finance, economics, accounting, sciences, political science, sustainability or other relevant field
Two to four years of experience within this field, ideally with a demonstrated strong understanding of financial statements and corporate finance
Languages required for this role: English and Spanish: Native or full business proficiency required or Portuguese: Limited working proficiency appreciated
A keen interested in corporate governance and material sustainable business practices, specifically including those in the LatAm region
Strong verbal and written communication skills, including the ability to synthesize complex information and convey it in a clear and concise manner to senior-level audiences
A diligent, focused, and persistent work ethic to implement while leading multiple tasks and changing priorities
The ability to prioritize, analyze, and resolve complex issues under time pressure while maintaining consistent attention to detail
An organized, self-reliant, and self-motivated approach to responsibilities
Collaborative working style, and strong interpersonal skills demonstrating the ability to build and maintain successful relationships with colleagues across the firm and with external parties
Proficiency in using Excel, PowerPoint, and other Microsoft Office products

Responsibilities

Demonstrating expertise on sector dynamics, including key measures of economic performance, financial resilience, corporate strategy, corporate governance and material sustainability-related practices across the Latin America region
Preparing for, leading (as needed), and documenting engagement meetings with portfolio companies
Learning and applying BIS engagement priorities, proxy voting policies, and key industry initiatives that have impact on BIS principles
Working with lead sector analyst(s) to implement BIS’ corporate governance policies
Supporting data gathering, benchmarking, and reporting to inform voting decisions and policy positions
Assisting in preparing position papers to facilitate issue discussion with broader BlackRock audiences
Collaborating across the team to identify ways to improve policy and business processes
Preparing for engagement with senior representatives of portfolio companies, including crafting memos in preparation for meetings highlighting key data that will be useful in our engagement and stewardship efforts
Analyzing and benchmarking financial and operational performance as well as governance and sustainability disclosure of portfolio companies
Attending, documenting and leading (as needed) engagement efforts, including recording research notes to be stored and shared with select audiences across BlackRock
Monitoring legal, regulatory or other market developments to improve the relevance of BlackRock’s principles and guidelines
Participating in benchmarking analysis and modeling to contribute to leading engagement and voting practices
Monitoring of proxy voting workflow, to ensure all accounts are voted as intended and are in accordance with the appropriate guidelines
Supporting the development of BIS position papers and reporting
Analyzing companies’ shareholder meeting agendas and related materials in order to vote in the manner most consistent with BlackRock’s proxy voting policies and fiduciary responsibilities
Collaborating with client-facing and communications colleagues to ensure client reporting and client presentations meet expectations, and that client queries on stewardship activities are responded to promptly and to the client’s expectations
Reviewing the BIS team’s output and working practices to ensure risks are minimized and performance optimized