Manager, Client Service

Bridgewater Associates•Westport, CT

15h•$220,000 - $400,000•Hybrid

About The Position

The Management Partner (MP) is a vital role on the Client Service & Marketing’s Advisory management team. The Advisory business is at the center of Bridgewater’s commercial engine, responsible for building and maintaining relationships with Bridgewater’s most sophisticated institutional clients. The role operates in two main capacities: Operational management – the MP will collaborate directly with a Senior Commercial Leader in our Advisory business, internalizing their strategic priorities, cultivating the project plan to deliver it, and supervising the execution to achieve the necessary impact on client relationships and commercial objectives. This includes visualizing the team’s roadmap and key milestones, rigorously measuring and reporting against them, diagnosing deviations, and holding others accountable to standards of excellence across commercial outcomes, client coverage quality, and operational health of the book. Talent Management – the MP supports the team’s senior leaders to develop and drive the team’s talent strategy, including the proposal for team design and employee life cycle management, which will take the form of both direct management (team of 3-4 reports at the Associate level) and dotted-line supervision of more senior team members, operating as an extension of the Senior Commercial Leader. The role requires operating effectively across three dimensions: Managing up – to Region Heads, Department Head, Executive Community, and Bridgewater’s leadership. This person serves as a trusted voice on the state of their area, contributes meaningfully to where the business is going, brings clarity and a point of view, and surfaces and addresses issues before they become problems. Managing intra-team – across all levels (Client Advisors, Client Service Directors and Associates) the MP sets the bar, ensures people get the development they need, holds them accountable and ensures the team is resourced and enabled to do excellent work for clients. Managing across – to the full ecosystem of stakeholders and partners the Advisory business depends on: within Client Service pillars, across front office departments such as TPS, AE, AIA as well as cross-functional stakeholders and subject matter expert at all levels. The Management Partner drives alignment and cohesion across these relationships on behalf of their team. The ideal candidate is a trusted, steady presence who brings good judgment to complex problems, engenders respect across levels, and is genuinely committed to getting things right, for our clients, shareholders and team members.

Requirements

5+ years of management or leadership experience, including direct management of teams, demonstrated track record of developing people and driving accountability.
Strong program/project management skills with experience driving measurable impact. This includes the ability to run multiple workstreams simultaneously with the highest degrees of organization and dependability.
Sound, logical judgment, able to independently solve complex organizational problems with decisiveness and clarity.
Proven ability to manage and collaborate effectively across a wide spectrum of employees at all levels.
Exceptional communication skills; able to effectively convey complex matters clearly to all audiences, including firm leadership, both verbally and in writing.
Able to operate effectively in dynamic and ambiguous environments; be flexible when priorities shift and able to pivot with agility based on new information.
Excellent interpersonal skills, collaborative and organizationally savvy - builds strong relationships and navigates different dynamics well.
Intellectually curious, with a desire to learn and develop independent conclusions, willing to challenge the status quo.
Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Office, familiarity with AI platforms is a plus.
Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent.

Nice To Haves

Experience in a commercial, client-facing environment, familiarity with institutional investors, asset management, or financial services.

Responsibilities

Own the operational outcomes for your book; know the goals and strategy, anticipate risks, and devise the roadmap to ensure client coverage is running at the highest standard.
Work cross-functionally with partners across the firm to deliver on commercial commitments and advance shared priorities.
Build and maintain the operational systems and quality controls your team needs to run well; identify and close gaps before they compound.
Own cross-cutting strategic initiatives - such as the Strategic Partnership program or Client Survey redesign - from framing through execution, driving through to results.
Drive talent planning, capacity, staffing, and design decisions for your team in partnership with the Head of Advisory and COO.
Partner with Regional Heads, CAs and peer Management Partners on cyclical processes including commercial business planning, budget planning, performance reviews, and department-wide initiatives.
Own management of your assigned team; set clear performance expectations, provide ongoing coaching and development, conduct performance assessments, and manage compensation in line with department standards.
Navigate personnel issues related to performance, risk, and employee support with discretion and good judgment.
Serve as the escalation owner for your team; identify and resolve issues at the right level, and ensure senior leaders have the right transparency, context and a clear recommendation.
Contribute to the broader management bench; share perspective, clarify standards, and strengthen the Advisory organization.
Through time, learn about commercial and client strategy such that you can operate as a thought partner to the Deputy Head of CS and other Management Partners on multiple levels.