Associate, Private Credit Middle Office, PFS

BlackRock•Wilmington, DE

19h•$85,000 - $117,000•Hybrid

About The Position

HPS Investment Partners, a part of BlackRock, is a leading global, credit-focused alternative investment manager that seeks to provide creative capital solutions and generate attractive risk-adjusted returns for our clients. We manage various strategies across the capital structure, including privately negotiated senior debt; privately negotiated junior capital solutions in debt, preferred and equity formats; liquid credit including syndicated leveraged loans, collateralized loan obligations and high yield bonds; asset-based finance and real estate. The scale and breadth of our platform offers the flexibility to invest in companies large and small, through standard or customized solutions. At our core, we share a common thread of intellectual rigor and discipline that enables us to create value for our clients. The Middle Office team (MO) within Private Financing Solutions (PFS) – Blackrock’s private credit platform – is responsible for ensuring the Fund’s positions and cash balances are accurate. They manage the lifecycle of all trades/investments. They are responsible for trade capture, trade settlement, loan administration, daily cash and position reconciliations, corporate action elections/recordings, audit requests, new mandate onboarding, and PnL break analysis and resolution with fund administrators. MO handles ad-hoc requests that come from the deal team and/or separately managed account clients. The team interacts closely with the Deal Execution, Treasury, Fund Accounting, Fund Finance, Cash Management, Portfolio Analytics, Data Analytics, Valuations and the Deal Teams daily. HPS is seeking an Associate to join the Middle Office Operations team. The individual should be highly organized with strong attention to detail, written and verbal communication skills. They should have the ability to meet strict deadlines, work independently and as part of a team, as well as possess excellent critical thinking/problem-solving skills. The platform is scaling very rapidly, so the desire for a fast-paced environment is crucial.

Requirements

Graduate with a Bachelor’s degree in Finance or Accounting
3-7 years of experience in middle office/operations, data management, accounting, or administration, with a focus on alternative investment funds
Deep understanding of alternative investment products (hedge funds, structured products, SMAs)
Trading and settlement
Life-cycle events: coupons, factors, amendments, tenders, maturity
Cash and position reconciliation
Strong Excel and Outlook Management Skills:
Use of lookups, pivot tables, and extensive formulas – with the ability to build from scratch at any time
Ability to sort through high number of emails per day without missing anything important, responding in a timely manner, and escalating when necessary
Enjoys problem solving and critical thinking
Ability to resolve complex issues efficiently and independently by leveraging knowledge obtained via training as well as past experiences
Curiosity; need to not just be willing but wanting to learn and build upon existing knowledge every single day
Experience using trade/accounting/security master systems; FIS VPM, Aladdin, Digitize, IVP Products and S&P Loan products

Responsibilities

Researching and resolving cash breaks vs. custodians
Researching and resolving position breaks vs. custodians/clients/administrators/other systems
Perform cash and asset reconciliations between internal systems (e.g., Aladdin) and custodians.
Play a key role in the daily reconciliation between HPS & BlackRock’s accounting systems
Daily oversight of loan and security administration in the firm’s accounting system to support internal post close loan administration: tracking delayed fundings, contracts, coupon payments, factor payments, and maturities
Investigate any transactional or accrual discrepancies that may arise
Assist with settlement of secondary loan trades and direct lending
Collaborate closely with Administrative Agents, Borrowers and Legal with regards to KYC documentation, including administrative details, tax and fund formation documents
Provide full trade life cycle operational support for products including but not limited to Bonds (Fixed & Floating Rate), ABS, Cross-Currency Swaps, Term Loans, Delayed Draw Term Loans, and Revolvers
Work closely with custodians daily – fielding questions on how to apply cash, and position discrepancies
Assist with confirming positions and providing support where needed for both internal and SMA auditors
Daily interaction with internal and external groups to troubleshoot any booking and/or position discrepancies (Front Office/Fund Accounting/Fund Administrators/SMA Clients/Auditors)
Perform daily transaction reconciliation with accounting administrator, and monthly position/cost/market value reconciliation during the monthly lockdown process
Collaborate with technology teams on automation and workflow enhancements; Execute User Acceptance Testing (UAT), including scenario testing and error resolution before production release
Liaise with multiple internal groups such as accounting, product control, valuations, investment data, etc. to resolve open queries and perform additional responsibilities as required to support team objectives
Engage in cross-functional initiatives and group-level projects.
Manage transactional data for alternative products by sourcing from legal documents and third-party notices, and inputting into internal systems.
Act as a Point of Contact for all external investment managers with regards to life cycle of our deals.
Ensure relevant controls are in place and are being diligently adhered to by the team members to operate in a risk-controlled environment.
Provide requisite oversight on daily and Adhoc process and assist the team in dealing with issues, escalations and complicated scenarios.
Collaborate with external service providers and internal teams to exchange product and asset data and resolve operational issues.
Maintain and regularly update process documentation and control frameworks.