Client Onboarding Operations Associate

Morgan Stanley•New York, NY

2d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Client Onboarding Operations Associate supports onboarding for new and organic account openings across the IED and FID divisions and OTC Clearing and Listed Derivatives products, excluding PB. The Client Onboarding team represents clients’ interests to internal partners such as Credit Risk, Counterparty Risk, Documentation, and Legal, and serves as a central client contact outside of Sales coverage. The team surfaces, escalates, and resolves client issues, establishes account-opening procedures and controls, and identifies opportunities to streamline onboarding. It also enhances technology used to capture and manage client relationship information and reference data. Within Operations, this role partners with business units across the Firm to support financial transactions, develop effective controls, and build client relationships. It is described as a Director-level position within Client Service & Relationship Management, which manages internal and external relationships through client service, client-experience optimization, and vendor or external business-partner relationship management. The role oversees the end-to-end onboarding process, coordinates with clients and internal stakeholders, and acts as the primary contact for fund launches and onboarding inquiries. It requires knowledge of client and entity structures, regulatory frameworks, market conventions, products, account setup platforms, trading systems, and post-trade processes. The associate also contributes to process improvements and technology initiatives that reduce risk and improve the client experience. The position uses a hybrid working environment, with an expectation of working in the office an average of three days per week.

Requirements

Technical understanding of the transaction life cycle in one or more asset classes: Equity and FI Cash, Rates, Credit and Equity OTC Derivatives, OTC Clearing, Listed Derivatives, FX, or Commodities.
Very strong interpersonal and communication skills, including the ability to work with Sales and Trading, all levels of client organizations, and Morgan Stanley infrastructure teams.
Client-facing experience and ability to manage expectations effectively.
Proven experience communicating and interacting with external institutional clients.
Exceptional problem-solving and organizational skills.
Strong listening, verbal, and written communication skills.
Strong presentation skills.
Ability to navigate the Morgan Stanley organization independently.
Ability to work in a quickly changing environment and remain composed under pressure.
Conceptual understanding of pre- and post-execution onboarding across products, including Legal, Credit, Documentation, NMR, and Compliance.
Ability to work as part of a team and adapt to the team’s needs.
College or university degree, or equivalent, with a business focus and relevant or proven experience.
Ability to work in a hybrid environment, with an expectation of being in the office an average of three days per week.
At least 3–5 years of relevant experience would generally be expected for the skills required for this role.

Responsibilities

Oversee end-to-end onboarding, from document collection through account initiation, and ensure operational setups and reporting are completed before client launch.
Coordinate with Business Units, Legal, Credit, Risk, other Operations teams, and clients to prioritize onboarding, resolve bottlenecks, and escalate issues to minimize business or client impact.
Act as the primary contact for fund launches and onboarding inquiries; manage complex conversations, engage appropriate stakeholders, and ensure clients are accurately set up.
Escalate and resolve client issues promptly and with integrity.
Apply knowledge of entity structures, regulatory requirements, jurisdictions, and internal process flows.
Maintain awareness of market conventions and regulatory frameworks, including Dodd-Frank, EMIR, and MiFID II.
Understand client reference data, account setup platforms, trading systems, derivatives products, and post-trade processes.
Collaborate with internal Morgan Stanley stakeholders to improve processes and implement technology solutions that reduce risk and enhance client experience.
Participate in transformation initiatives, share best practices, and promote scalable solutions across teams.