WM Platforms COO/Program Manager

DESCRIPTION

Morgan Stanley is a leading global financial services firm providing a wide range of investment banking, securities, investment management and wealth management services. In addition, Morgan Stanley Wealth Management is one of the world’s largest networks of Financial Advisors.

The Wealth Management Platforms organization manages digital platforms and experiences across the Advisor, Workplace and Direct channels, ensuring that our capabilities lead the industry and are delivered and integrated seamlessly.

POSITION SUMMARY
The Program Manager position sits within the WM Platforms COO team and is responsible for providing Project/Program/Portfolio Management support to Product teams by facilitating end to end execution of platform enhancements, from initial idea generation through implementation and roll-out.

As part of the Portfolio Management & Execution Strategy team, this individual will provide program management support and oversight for select initiatives. This role will coordinate across a multi-disciplinary team with a key focus on program delivery, risk monitoring, scope management, budgetary tracking and management reporting. The individual will collaborate with partners in Technology and Product Management to deliver solutions across Wealth Management.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Strategic Planning and Roadmap Development: Collaborate closely with product and business teams to understand their objectives and develop / maintain comprehensive roadmaps and strategic plans. This includes articulating business cases, creating detailed plans, ensuring alignment with the firm’s long-term goals, and working with Leadership/Stakeholders to prioritize key features and Business outcomes in alignment with strategy and budget
• Intake Management: Actively participate in the intake process for new demand in-between quarterly planning cycles, working with product and technology partners on ensuring that new requests are handled efficiently, particularly those requiring incremental funds

• Reporting: Reporting on progress at various levels of detail for a variety of audiences on a weekly, monthly, quarterly basis. Manage a comprehensive deliverable roadmap across the organization, providing a clear view of progress, accomplishments, and upcoming challenges. Synthesize complex information from multiple product and technology teams into a coherent report, highlighting the status, risks, and issues across Business Control and Support. Factoring in the interdependencies across different areas ensures that all relevant information is captured, reducing the risk of overlooking critical issues

• Annual Investment Strategy Submission: Play a pivotal role in the tech budgeting process by proactively identifying interdependencies and ensuring comprehensive submissions. Draft business cases in partnership with the product and business teams to articulate the benefits of the most important priorities and secure necessary resources for critical initiatives.  Coordinate with other departments within Platforms and supporting areas (e.g. Risk) to mitigate risk of duplicate submissions or omissions

• Ad-Hoc Requests and Issue Mitigation: Respond to ad-hoc requests that require cross-functional collaboration, addressing urgent needs that arise unexpectedly. Lead problem solving discussions around key business risks and dependencies (internal/external) with technology, product, legal, compliance, fraud, and risk partners and provide synthesized summaries to leadership 
• Cross-Organization Partnership: Maintain strong partnerships across the business and technology teams to drive successful execution. Support Engagement & Adoption strategy, and provide support for pilot and business launch
• Documentation Management: Maintain and manage a centralized repository on Teams, where critical program delivery artifacts are stored

QUALIFICATIONS

• BS/BA degree required
• 2-4 years of professional work experience in the financial services industry, Wealth Management, or consulting with a focus in project / product management or technology 
• Strong written, verbal and interpersonal communications skills with the ability to interact with senior leadership of the organization and tailor messages appropriately
• Highly proficient in Microsoft Office (Excel, PowerPoint, Word, Project, TEAMS and SharePoint) required
• Utilize strong problem solving and analytical skills to timely escalate risks; must possess the ability to conduct data analysis in Microsoft Excel and identify critical data points for decision making
• Strong presentation skills, including ability to create PowerPoint presentations for various levels of management
• Proven ability to successfully drive cross functional teams, including product management, UX, technology, analytics, marketing, risk, and compliance
• Must have exceptional organization, prioritization and project management skills as well as a keen attention to detail   
• Independent self-starter with strong time management skills who can simultaneously manage multiple project activities and relationships while meeting aggressive deadlines 
• Ability to take direction and work independently, as well as collaborate in a team environment; must understand the importance of accuracy and stellar quality of work  
• Eagerness to learn the business and understand technical requirements 
• Knowledge of Agile Methodology and SDLC processes (e.g., Waterfall)                      
• Must be a highly motivated critical thinker with a strong work ethic and a desire to succeed

WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT FROM MORGAN STANLEY:

We are committed to maintaining the first-class service and high standard of excellence that have defined Morgan Stanley for over 85 years. At our foundation are five core values — putting clients first, doing the right thing, leading with exceptional ideas, committing to diversity and inclusion, and giving back — that guide our more than 80,000 employees in 1,200 offices across 42 countries. At Morgan Stanley, you’ll find trusted colleagues, committed mentors and a culture that values diverse perspectives, individual intellect and cross-collaboration. We Firm is differentiated by the caliber of our diverse team. While our company culture and commitment to inclusion define our legacy and shape our future, helping to strengthen our business and bring value to clients around the world. Learn more about how we put this commitment to action: morganstanley.com/diversity. We are proud to support our employees and their families at every point along their work-life journey, offering some of the most attractive and comprehensive employee benefits and perks in the industry.

We're committed to bringing passion and customer focus to the business.

Morgan Stanley's goal is to build and maintain a workforce that is diverse in experience and background but uniform in reflecting our standards of integrity and excellence. Consequently, our recruiting efforts reflect our desire to attract and retain the best and brightest from all talent pools. We want to be the first choice for prospective employees.

It is the policy of the Firm to ensure equal employment opportunity without discrimination or harassment on the basis of race, color, religion, creed, age, sex, sex stereotype, gender, gender identity or expression, transgender, sexual orientation, national origin, citizenship, disability, marital and civil partnership/union status, pregnancy, veteran or military service status, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by law.

Morgan Stanley is an equal opportunity employer committed to diversifying its workforce (M/F/Disability/Vet).