Platform Strategy Specialist

Stifel•Saint Louis, MO

About The Position

The Platform Strategy Specialist participates in successful business requirements definition, project management, and implementation of projects critical to the strategic development of the Firm and Stifel’s Investment Products and Services platform. The Specialist facilitates prioritizing and overseeing the management of multiple projects and building a good understanding of Stifel’s investment products and services, operational processes, compliance policies, and technology infrastructure. The Specialist will be expected to understand the inputs and goals for each project and use this knowledge to facilitate project implementation and effective communication with key stakeholders throughout the firm.

Requirements

Strong problem-solving skills and proactive desire to turn problems and questions into potential solutions that are grounded in reality and reflect a strong understanding of the subject matter at hand.
Effective time management skills and ability to work on a variety of tasks, changing focus throughout the lifecycle of each project.
Excellent verbal and written communication skills along with strong attention to detail for both inter-departmental and external interactions.
General knowledge and understanding of the wealth management business, including as it relates to investment products (securities, stocks, bonds, funds, separately manage accounts, options, annuities, etc.), strategies (active v. passive), account types (advisory v. brokerage), and the regulatory environment.
General understanding of the fundamentals of portfolio construction, including asset allocation, modern portfolio theory, benchmark assignment, and investment management principles.
General knowledge of investment performance reporting and measurement including various methodologies, calculations, and related statistics.
Demonstrated strong applied data analysis skills, in an investment services context.
General knowledge of portfolio accounting, investment performance measurement, trading methodologies and associated systems within Stifel.
Bachelor’s degree in business or related field required or equivalent work experience.
1+ years' related investment services industry experience.
Proficient in Microsoft Outlook, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.

Nice To Haves

Experience with SQL and VBA preferred.
Experience with investment product research software such as Morningstar Direct, Bloomberg, FactSet, Zephyr StyleAdvisor, or similar.
Experience with portfolio accounting and performance management software such as Vestmark, APL, Envestnet, Advent, or similar.

Responsibilities

Manage with the day-to-day management of large- and medium-scale projects related to key Firm initiatives.
Create and maintain detailed project plans that encompass all requirements and dependencies throughout the Firm for successful completion of a project.
Participate in analyzing business processes and data to determine how to satisfy business needs.
Organize design review sessions to gather business requirements and issue resolution.
Provide business knowledge expertise in a focused area of the business by developing a keen understanding of current processes and areas of need.
In collaboration with management and/or senior team members, work closely with Operations, Compliance, IT, and technology vendors to develop design requirements throughout all phases of the project from system design to implementation.
Align key technology partner development plans with project priorities, and present reports defining project progress, problems, and solutions.
Participate in with the documentation of required processes for ongoing system or service support, organize requirements gathering sessions for ongoing enhancement requests, and own user integration and acceptance testing efforts.
Participate in the launch of new systems, services, and/or processes in conjunction with the business unit owner by assisting in the creation of training documentation, adoption plans, and deployment efforts.