Manager - Investment Product & Operations

MeDirect; Brussel; On-site; EUR 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

MeDirect Belgium is seeking an Investment Operations & Projects Specialist to drive day-to-day management and future growth of the Belgian investment business. You will collaborate with the Product Team, Operations, IT, Compliance, Risk and external partners to optimise processes and deliver strategic initiatives.

You will coordinate projects, oversee governance of the investment offering and act as the primary contact for complex investment-related issues, ensuring excellent customer experience

Qualifications

• Master's degree or equivalent in Economics, Finance, Business Administration or related discipline.
• Minimum five years in investment operations, brokerage services, or project management in financial services.
• Strong knowledge of investment products and markets including equities, ETFs, bonds and execution-only services.
• Experience coordinating cross-functional projects with business, operations, technology and compliance.
• Understanding of investment operations, securities lifecycle events and customer journeys.
• Experience with UAT, requirements gathering, process design and change management.
• Excellent analytical, problem-solving and organisational skills; able to manage multiple priorities.

Responsibilities

• Define the Future Brokerage Investment Platform with enhancements for fractional investing and new plans.
• Govern the investible universe and evaluate opportunities across markets and instruments.
• Lead operational governance, procedures, and audit-remediation for investment activities.
• Serve as the escalation point for investment customer enquiries and guidance to Contact Centre.
• Coordinate strategic and operational projects with IT, Compliance, Legal and others.
• Monitor incidents, perform root cause analysis and implement preventive actions.
• Lead UAT for developments and ensure alignment with requirements.
• Translate business needs into clear requirements and track delivery against objectives.

Skills

Investment operations

Project management

Business analysis

UAT testing

Stakeholder coordination

Compliance awareness

Data analytics

English proficiency

Dutch or French

Education

Master's degree in Economics, Finance, or related

Job description

Job Purpose

As Investment Operations & Projects Specialist, you will support the day-to-day management and future development of MeDirect's Belgian investment business. Working within the Belgian Product Team, you will contribute to the continuous enhancement of the investment platform and investment offering while ensuring operational excellence across investment-related processes.

You will coordinate investment-related projects, support the governance of the investment offering, oversee key operational processes and act as the primary point of contact for complex investment-related customer and operational matters. Working closely with Operations, IT, Compliance, Risk, Contact Centre and external partners, you will help ensure the successful delivery of strategic initiatives and an excellent customer experience.

Through project co-ordination, business analysis, process optimisation and User Acceptance Testing (UAT), you will contribute to the growth, efficiency and ongoing evolution of MeDirect's investment services in Belgium.

Duties and responsibilities

Define Future Brokerage Investment Platform (Execution Only)

1. Improve the current platform regarding trading in Mutual Funds, bonds, equities and ETFs.
2. Develop new features such as fractional investing, periodic investment plans and other enhancements that improve customer experience.
3. Improve and implement instrument-specific datapoints and analytics that allow customers to make informed investment decisions.
4. Lead and support initiatives that improve filtering capabilities and provide investment inspiration and discovery tools for customers.
5. Follow market trends and industry innovations in Belgium and internationally to develop future-proof solutions and maintain a competitive offering.

Governance of Investible Universe

1. Ensure proper governance of the investment universe and adherence to the applicable compliance framework.
2. Bond Selection: continuously monitor new issues in the market and establish and maintain a MeDirect bond selection on the secondary market. Analyse opportunities to participate in primary market issuances.
3. Continuously assess the stock universe and identify opportunities to improve the offering, including access to new exchanges and market venues.
4. Assess future opportunities in structured notes, capital-protected solutions and other investment products that may add value to customers.

Operational Excellence & Governance

1. Act as the operational lead within the Belgian Product Team for investment-related activities and processes.
2. Maintain effective oversight of operational activities and processes supporting the investment business, monitoring performance, identifying issues and ensuring appropriate remediation and continuous improvement where required.
3. Develop, maintain and regularly review investment-related procedures, policies and operating guidelines to ensure they remain accurate and up to date.
4. Ensure audit findings, compliance recommendations and regulatory actions related to the investment business are appropriately tracked, addressed and implemented within agreed deadlines.

Contact Centre Support

1. Serve as the primary escalation point within the Product Team for investment-related customer enquiries that cannot be resolved by Contact Centre agents.
2. Provide subject matter expertise and guidance to the Contact Centre on investment products, services and operational processes.
3. Analyse recurring customer issues and work with relevant stakeholders to implement structural improvements.

Project Management

1. Coordinate strategic and operational projects related to the Belgian investment business.
2. Identify opportunities to enhance services, processes and platform capabilities and translate these into business requirements.
3. Work closely with IT, Operations, Compliance, Legal and other stakeholders to ensure successful project delivery.
4. Monitor project progress, manage dependencies and support the timely delivery of agreed objectives.
5. Act as the Belgian business owner for investment-related operational enhancements and platform improvements.

Incident Management & Continuous Improvement

1. Act as the Product Team representative in the investigation and resolution of investment-related incidents and operational issues.
2. Coordinate with Operations, IT and other internal stakeholders to ensure timely analysis and resolution of incidents impacting customers or platform functionality.
3. Support root cause analysis activities and identify corrective actions to minimise recurring issues.
4. Ensure incidents, resolutions and lessons learned are appropriately documented and communicated.

Product Testing

1. Lead and execute User Acceptance Testing (UAT) for investment-related developments, platform enhancements and process changes.
2. Prepare test scenarios and validate that developments meet business, operational and customer requirements.
3. Document, prioritise and report defects, issues and improvement opportunities to development teams and relevant stakeholders.
4. Support the successful implementation of new products, features and operational processes through effective testing and post-implementation reviews.

Required knowledge, skills and experience

1. Master's degree or equivalent in Economics, Finance, Business Administration or a related discipline.
2. Minimum five years of experience within investment operations, brokerage services, investment products, securities processing, business analysis or project management in a financial services environment.
3. Strong knowledge of investment products and financial markets, including equities, ETFs, bonds and execution-only investment services.
4. Proven experience in coordinating cross-functional projects involving business, operations, technology, compliance and external stakeholders.
5. Strong understanding of investment operational processes, securities lifecycle events, brokerage platforms and customer investment journeys.
6. Proactive, hands-on and detail-oriented mindset, with a continuous improvement attitude and the ability to work independently
7. Experience with User Acceptance Testing (UAT), business requirements gathering, process design and change management.
8. Excellent analytical, problem-solving and organisational skills, with the ability to manage multiple priorities and deliver results in a dynamic environment.
9. Excellent organisational skills with a structured and methodical approach to work.
10. Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English and either Dutch or French.