WM Global Investment Office - Institutional Innovation Lead, Investing with Impact / Impact Private Markets, Executive Director

Morgan Stanley • New York, NY

9d • $175,000 - $265,000 • Hybrid

About The Position

Morgan Stanley is a leading global financial services firm. The Global Investment Office (GIO) is dedicated to assisting Morgan Stanley Wealth Management Financial Advisors with investment advice and implementation. The Investing with Impact team within GIO is responsible for leading the creation, development, and execution of investment strategies, solutions, tools, and reporting to deliver holistic wealth solutions for individual and institutional clients seeking to generate both market-rate returns and positive environmental and social impact. The Institutional Innovation Lead will be responsible for leading and continuing to build out innovative impact and sustainable investing solutions for institutional and sophisticated private wealth clients, with a particular focus on Impact Private Markets and alternative investments. This is a senior, client-facing, and strategic role. The individual will lead the team responsible for impact private markets research, alternative investment due diligence, impact-first product innovation, thematic thought leadership, impact reporting strategy, and institutional client engagement. The role requires strong investment judgment, commercial orientation, client presence, and the ability to work cross-functionally across investment teams, asset managers, Financial Advisors, Legal, Risk, Compliance, Operations, and senior leadership. The successful candidate will be comfortable reviewing private markets strategies, engaging with asset managers, advising on client strategy, shaping a thematic research agenda, and leading a team through complex approval and innovation processes.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree; Master's degree, MBA or CFA strongly preferred; focus on sustainability, impact investing or private markets a plus.
• 10+ years of work experience in financial services, private markets, alternative investments, impact investing, sustainable investing, institutional investing, investment research, product strategy or a related field.
• Strong understanding of private markets and alternative investment structures, manager due diligence, institutional client needs, and investment approval processes.
• Demonstrated ability to evaluate investment strategies through both financial and impact-oriented lenses, including assessment of manager quality, risk, client fit, and impact credibility.
• Proven track record in client service and relationship management, especially with complex clients, senior advisors, asset managers, and multiple internal stakeholders.
• Credible senior presence with the ability to engage with institutional clients, sophisticated private wealth clients, asset managers, Financial Advisors, and internal leadership.
• Experience leading teams, managing complex projects, and influencing across a matrixed organization.
• Familiarity with ESG data, impact measurement frameworks, impact reporting approaches, and sustainable investing products across public and private markets.
• Understanding of impact measurement and management best practices in private markets; familiarity with impact-first investing, catalytic capital, or blended finance strongly preferred.
• Excellent communication skills, including the ability to make complex investment ideas clear, compelling, and actionable in both written materials and presentations.
• Strong commercial judgment and ability to connect investment ideas to client demand, advisor engagement, and business growth.
• Ability to manage multiple deadlines and priorities, including both short-term client requests and long-term strategic initiatives.
• Strong PC skills, especially PowerPoint and Excel; experience with financial market data sources such as Bloomberg, Morningstar, or FactSet a plus.
• Experience navigating a large firm and building consensus among various business units preferred.
• Series 7 and 63 required within first 90 days.

Nice To Haves

• Master's degree, MBA or CFA strongly preferred
• Focus on sustainability, impact investing or private markets a plus
• Familiarity with impact-first investing, catalytic capital or blended finance strongly preferred
• Experience with financial market data sources such as Bloomberg, Morningstar or FactSet a plus
• Experience navigating a large firm and building consensus among various business units preferred

Responsibilities

• Lead the Institutional Innovation agenda for Investing with Impact, with a focus on building and scaling innovative impact and sustainable investing solutions for institutional and sophisticated private wealth clients.
• Help shape the strategic roadmap for the Impact Private Markets platform, including priority themes, product gaps, manager engagement, client demand, and areas for future innovation.
• Partner with internal stakeholders across Legal, Risk, Compliance, investment teams, product, platform, and other control partners to move new ideas from concept to approval and implementation.
• Lead the team responsible for Impact Private Markets research, impact-first alternatives product evaluation, thematic innovation, and related client and advisor engagement.
• Oversee diligence and approval work for impact-focused alternative investment funds and private markets opportunities, partnering closely with GIMA, investment due diligence teams, Legal, Risk, Compliance, and platform partners.
• Develop and maintain rigorous standards for evaluating private markets strategies, including investment merit, impact credibility, manager quality, risks, client fit, and platform relevance.
• Build and deepen relationships with asset managers, general partners, and strategic partners across impact private markets and alternatives; source and evaluate new ideas that may enhance the platform.
• Work with team leadership to drive the strategic vision for impact reporting in private markets, including how reporting can be more useful, credible, scalable, and compelling for clients and advisors.
• Help translate complex impact themes, manager activity, and client outcomes into clear, high-quality insights, reporting, and narrative that can support client engagement.
• Act as a senior client-facing representative of the Impact Private Markets and Institutional Innovation platform with institutional clients, sophisticated private wealth clients, Financial Advisors, and internal partners.
• Partner with advisors and relationship teams to identify client needs, deliver tailored insights, and translate client feedback into priorities for manager research, innovation, reporting, and thought leadership.
• Help ensure advisors understand what the team is building, why it matters, and how to communicate impact private markets opportunities effectively with clients.
• Oversee the development of clear, compelling materials for advisors, clients, and internal teams, partnering with communications, marketing, field engagement, and distribution colleagues.
• Help build a more systematic approach to current clients, prospects, advisor engagement, CRM, and pipeline tracking.
• Partner with current and future distribution resources to support commercialization of the institutional alts and impact private markets platform, including advisor and client targeting, follow-up, events, and sales enablement.
• Help identify which external events, industry forums, asset manager relationships, and sponsorship opportunities are most worth pursuing and aligned with platform growth.
• Represent the team with external partners and industry participants, connecting external engagement back to client needs, investment priorities, and business objectives.
• Manage and develop team members, set priorities, allocate resources, and create leverage through clear processes, decision frameworks, and repeatable approaches to diligence, client engagement, and platform development.
• Engage with partners across the Firm including Investment Solutions, Technology, Marketing, Legal, Risk, Compliance, the Global Sustainability Office, and the Institute for Sustainable Investing.

Benefits

• Ample opportunity to move about the business for those who show passion and grit in their work.
• Attractive and comprehensive employee benefits and perks in the industry.
• Commitment to diversity and inclusion.
• Support and empowerment in the work environment.
• Opportunity to work alongside the best and the brightest.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Executive