Government Affairs Manager - Director

BlackRock

Brussels, Belgium

Corporate Title: Director 
Business/Division: Reg-EMEA-Government Relations 

BlackRock is one of the world’s preeminent asset management firms and a premier provider of global investment management, risk management and advisory services to institutional, intermediary and individual investors around the world. BlackRock offers a range of solutions — from rigorous fundamental and quantitative active management approaches aimed at maximizing outperformance to highly efficient indexing strategies designed to gain broad exposure to the world’s capital markets. Our clients can access our investment solutions through a variety of product structures, including individual and institutional separate accounts, mutual funds and other pooled investment vehicles, and the industry-leading iShares® ETFs.

Business Unit Overview:

BlackRock fundamentally believes that well regulated markets are good for investors. As the business environment evolves and regulators remain active in response to recent credit and liquidity events, we have decided to further expand our Government Relations and Public Policy team. Our goal is to provide, as a fiduciary the investor, a perspective to policy-makers on those regulatory and public policy initiatives that most impact our clients. 

BlackRock is looking to hire a Director who will work within the Government Relations and Public Policy team in the EMEA region. BlackRock runs a Global Government Relations Steering Committee that is responsible for coordinating our efforts with policy makers, legislators and regulators globally. The successful applicant will lead engagement on a number of key issues in the European Union, become an important point of connectivity with Brussels-based policy makers as well as contribute to the Government Relations Steering and EMEA Sub-committees. The role will involve coordination with a number of business divisions, portfolio managers, legal, compliance and product development as well as other functions in order to prioritise, define policy positions and ensure effective collaboration both within BlackRock and with external associations and think-tanks.

Job Purpose/Background:

• To ensure that the perspective of the end-investor is taken into account in European financial services policy making and legislation;
• To connect the business to the global and European policy making environment so that future opportunities and challenges arising from regulatory change are well understood, with a view to shaping the optimal future environment for our clients and broader investing community.

Key Responsibilities:

• Identify and monitor focus issues; identify changes and potential impacts for BlackRock’s clients, businesses and portfolio management;
• Coordinate with others to define BlackRock’s position, action plan and write public policy position papers on a small number of priority issues;
• On priority issues, engage both directly with policy makers and coordinate with trade associations. Seek to be regarded as the “voice of the end-investor.”;
• Maintain networks of contacts within BlackRock and among external participants in the legislative and regulatory process;
• Provide research support to BlackRock’s clients to assist them in developing and executing their strategic objectives;
• Assist in the co-ordination of the EMEA Government Relations Sub-committee;
• Develop presentations to update BlackRock’s clients and staff on the progress of key initiatives;
• Work with BlackRock marketing and PR to develop thought pieces for our clients;
• Engage with BlackRock country offices to facilitate engagement with local policy makers and regulators, where appropriate.

Development Value:

• Broad scope to connect with many different areas of the business - portfolio and risk managers, sales channels as well as central functions such as product development, legal and compliance – and to acquire a good understanding of asset management products, processes and fiduciary culture;
• Exposure to senior management on important regulatory issues impacting our clients and the firm and across a broad range of geographies.

Skills/Experience/Qualifications:

• Proven experience of institutional financial markets; direct experience of asset management an advantage;
• Ideally, experience gained within an EU or Member State legislative body, regulator or gained via engagement with policy-makers either in the UK or in continental Europe;
• Ability to establish and maintain a large network within the UK and EU public policy arena;
• Continental European languages an advantage;
• Strong academic background;
• Excellent communication and influencing skills;
• Strong project management skills.

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