Associate Director, Product Strategy

IFM Investors; London; Hybrid; GBP 85,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

IFM Investors, a leading private markets manager, is seeking an Associate Director for Product Strategy in London. The role emphasizes strategic collaboration, market analysis, and the development of innovative financial products to enhance client relationships and firm capabilities. The ideal candidate will possess extensive experience in asset management and stakeholder engagement.

Benefits

Competitive salary

Generous leave entitlements

Flexible working

Qualifications

• 8+ years of relevant experience in asset/funds management or consulting.
• Demonstrates experience in product management or strategy roles.
• Detailed market and product knowledge in Infrastructure, Debt, Listed Equities.

Responsibilities

• Lead strategic collaboration for innovative asset class strategies.
• Conduct in-depth analysis of client needs and market opportunities.
• Manage pricing and financial analysis methodologies for product development.

Skills

Strategic Collaboration

Market Analysis

Stakeholder Engagement

Financial Modelling

Product Management

Education

Tertiary qualifications in finance, economics, business or similar

Professional qualification such as CFA (beneficial)

Job description

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Job Description

Associate Director, Product Strategy - Clients & Strategy

About Us

IFM Investors is a private markets manager, with a focus on infrastructure and capabilities in unlisted and listed equity, private equity and debt. We invest on behalf of 762 institutional investors globally - who collectively manage the retirement savings of more than 120+ million people around the world (at 31 March 2025). We have 230+ investment specialists across our capabilities. We're based on four continents, operating from offices in Melbourne, Sydney, London, Berlin, Zurich, Amsterdam, Milan, New York, Houston, Hong Kong, Seoul and Tokyo. We have a global network that helps us uncover opportunities. Our reach, reputation and relationships mean we can access deal flows that few other managers can.

IFM was founded by pension funds. It's still owned by pension funds today. Our clients are stewards of capital too, with the same duty to deliver value over decades. We share a multigenerational vision: to invest, protect and grow the savings of millions of people. We do this by investing, owning and financing the assets our clients and their beneficiaries rely on to live their lives. Where we own assets, our engineers and sector experts join their boards and management committees, with the aim of becoming pivotal to their success.

From Vienna Airport to the Indiana Toll Road, from energy storage to data storage, we invest in what matters: real assets that will serve society's needs for decades to come and seek to deliver for clients the positive outcomes they need. For more information, visit ifminvestors.com.

Business Overview

Our Clients & Strategy team covers Business Development, Investor Relations, External Relations, Sustainable Investment and Brand, Marketing & Communications, including Internal Communications.

It is responsible for all communications to investor prospects, existing investors and their asset consultants, as well as a broad range of other stakeholders, including governments and media.

The Opportunity

At IFM, you're not just part of an investment company - but an invested one. We see the work we do as the chance to take sustainable, responsible steps forward for millions of people around the world.

So, we have made sure to create a workplace that's inclusive, accountable and collaborative. Where you're given the opportunities to make a meaningful contribution and grow your skills. All while feeling valued and supported for who you are and what you bring to the team.

Along with the chance to make a meaningful, positive difference from day one, we offer a competitive salary and generous leave entitlements. Our hybrid and flexible approach can vary by team and role, it is built around trust. We encourage our people to manage their work life rhythm in a way that works best for them and their teams.

The Role

• Lead strategic collaboration with investment, client, and senior leadership teams to develop and implement innovative asset class strategies aligned with market opportunities.
• Drive in-depth analysis of global client needs, competitive landscapes, and regulatory developments across institutional and private wealth markets. Identify emerging market trends and opportunities, informing the firm's investment capabilities, product offerings, and pricing strategies.
• Direct the ideation, validation, and market testing of new product concepts using client insights, market research, and analytical frameworks.
• Manage and own pricing and financial analysis methodologies to optimize product economics and support successful fundraising initiatives.
• Lead the development and management of strategic partnerships with institutional and major investors, driving growth and reinforcing relationships.
• Act as an expert advisor across Investments, Global Client Solutions, Regulatory Affairs, and other internal functions to execute cohesive product strategies.
• Champion talent development within the product strategy and innovation team, fostering skill-building and professional growth.
• Participate actively in a global innovation forum, promoting diverse perspectives, sparking idea generation, and facilitating cross-functional collaboration.

Product Strategy

• Develop actionable investment insights to allow IFM to enhance its reputation as a strategic partner of choice for large institutional investors, enhancing our strong
• relationships with our owners in Australia and strategic
• partnerships with third-party clients around the world.
• Develop frameworks and recommendations based on market insights, competitor analysis, storylines, and narratives to help the Global Client Solutions team and other senior client facing executives build strategic client relationships and test market demand for potential future products and solutions.
• Lead financial modelling for input into Product related business cases
• Lead regular product review processes which will include cross-functional engagement with teams across the business
• Work closely with IFM's investment teams to translate
• product ideas into well-defined investment strategies,
• including investment methodologies, risk management frameworks, and portfolio construction techniques.

Market Research and Competitive Analysis

• Lead the design and establishment of a robust competitor-monitoring capability, systematically tracking competitor strategies, products, and industry developments to benchmark IFM's offerings.
• Develop standardized processes for capturing and analyzing client feedback, industry reports, and data-driven insights, ensuring market intelligence informs product creation and enhancements.
• Drive continuous identification of emerging trends, opportunities, and potential product gaps that align strategically with IFM's investment capabilities.
• Collaborate closely with investment teams, leveraging their insights into market trends, performance benchmarks, pricing dynamics, and competitive positioning to surface actionable investment strategies and product opportunities.
• Drive continuous improvement and refinement of competitor intelligence methods, ensuring timely, actionable insights inform strategic product decisions.
• Serve as the internal expert and primary point of accountability for competitor insights, embedding market intelligence into strategic planning across the firm.
• Pricing and economic analysis
• Implement and refine the pricing framework to optimise product economics and competitive positioning
• Lead and own the end-to-end process of developing new pricing proposals and exceptions
• Lead on financial modelling and scenario analysis to evaluate product profitability, revenue potential and risk implications
• Assess and benchmark industry fee structures, recommending adjustments to maximize market competitiveness and investor alignment

Collaboration

• Build frameworks to share deep understanding across the
• firm of broader industry trends, their impact on client
• needs, competitive dynamics and regulatory trends
• Engage with senior executives and stakeholders to gain
• support, alignment, and buy-in for product strategy, its objectives, and deliverables.
• Facilitate effective communication and co-ordination
• among cross-functional teams, including investment teams, C&S, risk, compliance, legal, tax, finance and ops
• Collaborate with the four other teams within Clients &
• Strategy to ensure that all deliverables of the investment research engine align with;
• Client relationships and business development efforts undertaking by Global Client Solutions team;
• Policy research done by the Global External Relations team;
• Sustainability strategy delivered by the Sustainable Investment team;
• Marketing strategies and materials for new and existing products developed by the Marketing team

Your Background and Experience

• 8+ years' relevant experience within asset/funds management industry gained in similar roles and/or within a consulting/strategy function
• Experience working on complex interactions with stakeholders and consultant firms
• Tertiary qualifications in finance, economics, business or similar
• Professional qualification such as the CFA is beneficial but not essential
• Demonstrates knowledge and experience gained in previous product management or strategy roles within financial services
• Detailed market and product knowledge in the areas of Infrastructure, Debt, Listed Equities, Private Equities and Real Estate at a global level.
• Detailed understanding of the competitive landscape in global funds management and business dynamics of large global asset owners
• Business strategy, including financial metrics and key performance drivers.
• Stakeholder engagement and management
• Pricing, competitor data, ability to undertake analytics on various data sets

Ready to invest in what matters?

With IFM, that includes your own career. Visit ifminvestors.com/careers to find out more.

IFM Investors is committed to promoting an inclusive culture where all employees are valued and recognised for their unique qualities, backgrounds, and perspectives. We champion all groups regardless of race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, age, disability, or family status. We are committed to providing individuals with disabilities reasonable adjustments to participate in the job application or interview process. Please contact us if you require specific support at any stage of the recruitment process at [e-mail]

About Us

Established by all-profit-to-members Australian superannuation funds, IFM Investors focuses on delivering superior net investment returns to members of superannuation and pension funds and like-minded institutional investors around the world.

About the Team

Our Clients & Strategy business unit brings together the key areas of Marketing, Brand and Communications, Shareholder & External Relations, Policy and Strategy, and Sustainable Investment.