State of Wisconsin Investment Board is hiring: Senior Business Analyst in Madiso

Our Agency

Making a Difference

The State of Wisconsin Investment Board (SWIB), founded in 1951, is a premier global investment organization responsible for managing the more than $156 billion of assets of the fully funded Wisconsin Retirement System (WRS), the State Investment Fund and other state funds. Through SWIB's effective and innovative investment management, WRS remains one of the only fully funded US public pensions. We are the 9th largest public pension fund in the U.S. and the 25th largest public or private pension fund in the world. SWIB is recognized by the investment industry for our teamwork and innovation. SWIB pursues sophisticated global investment strategies across the asset and risk allocation spectrum. Providers across the investment ecosystem seek to partner with SWIB.

Serving more than 677,000 beneficiaries of the WRS, SWIB is a mission-driven organization focused on providing a strong financial future to those who committed their careers to public service. For public employees and the 1,500 Wisconsin employers who contribute on their behalf, we are a trusted partner. Our team innovates continuously to meet the challenges of an evolving investment landscape while growing and protecting the assets of the WRS.

SWIB provides a strong, steady economic pillar for the state of Wisconsin by growing the trust funds under its management, managing risk, and optimizing costs of the long term. We are a mission-driven organization and the participants we serve are our mission. By bringing a disciplined, prudent, and innovative approach to market opportunities, SWIB has been successful in generating required returns and maintaining the trust of the beneficiaries and stakeholders of the funds we oversee.

Home To Top Talent

Our high-performing staff is key to what makes us a premier investment manager. SWIB is committed to investing in talented professionals to implement our robust, sophisticated investment strategies and to keep the organization at the forefront of the investment industry. We encourage innovation and offer professional development opportunities to help staff sharpen and expand their skills. Approximately 61 percent of SWIB's investment professionals are Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) charterholders.

About the Team

SWIB's Project Management Office serves the entire organization, including investment management, operations, technology, data management, and finance. The PMO is responsible for oversight, planning, and ongoing management of projects. The group works closely with key stakeholders, and subject matter experts from across the organization. The team seeks a Business Analyst (BA) to focus on implementation, integration, and process improvement efforts across the Front and Middle office spaces. Functionally, this will cover Order and Execution Management, Portfolio Management, Compliance and Post Trade Processing. The BA role plays a key part in driving change and is a liaison between the investment management teams and the resources (internal and external) necessary to deliver the requested work efforts.

Position Overview

Essential activities:

• Develop a deep understanding of the end-to-end investment and operational process, procedures, and controls.
• Lead and facilitate through planning and execution prioritized work requests in partnership with the delegates from impacted business units to ensure successful implementation and realization of intended business benefits.
• Draft business requirements at the appropriate level of detail for each work effort, ensuring the cross-functional impacts and any required coordination/integration effort has been identified ahead of the solution.
• Work with internal and external stakeholders to gather and validate business requirements and assist with the functional design of solutions.
• Partner with various IT roles to provide input into the technical aspects of solution design.
• Develop, execute, and document user test plans and organize and oversee end-user testing and acceptance.
• In partnership with technology, end users, and other stakeholders plan and perform functional testing of system enhancements/changes resulting from the work effort
• Develop, or assist in the development, of end-user training materials and coordinate / conduct user training.
• Escalate issues and risks accordingly and help drive their resolution - providing input as needed
• Pro-active communication to project team, stakeholders, senior management and the wider organization. Managing expectations is key.
• Prepare well-structured materials and audience appropriate messaging
• Foster team learning and collaboration by encouraging and modeling open expression of diverse ideas and opinions.

The ideal candidate:

• At least 5 years' experience in business analyst roles at investment management organizations with significant time spent in a business analyst role.
• Substantial knowledge of the end-to-end investment operations lifecycle across asset classes, including the processes, workflows, and investment platforms/systems used to support the investment business.
  • Experience with Order/ Execution Management and Post Trade Processing systems: e.g. SimCorp Dimension, Charles River, Flex ONE, etc would be a significant plus
  • Experience with other Portfolio Management/ Risk systems e.g., Blackrock Aladdin, FactSet, MSCI, etc would also be beneficial.
  • Experience with Enterprise Management systems for Finance & HR in an investment management setting: e.g. Workday, SAP, etc.
• Detailed exposure to various investment types, security types and asset classes, with a solid understanding of what makes each unique and its intended application within the investment strategy.

• Ability to forge strong working relationships at all levels of the organization.
• Ability to learn quickly and adapt to new processes and approaches
• Communication skills: demonstrating ability to be clear and relevant at all levels of the organization.
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Experience with creating and driving change management plans.
  • Qualifications/ Certification in project management is a plus
• Superb work ethic, attention to detail, collaborative approach, and commitment to excellence.

SWIB Offers:

• Competitive total cash compensation, based on AON (formerly McLagan) industry benchmarks
• Comprehensive benefits package
• Educational and training opportunities
• Tuition reimbursement
• Challenging work in a professional environment
• Hybrid work environment

The position requires U.S. work authorization.

Pursuant to our Hybrid Remote Work Policy, all staff have the flexibility to work remotely, but are required to have a weekly presence in our offices, the frequency of which is dependent on their distance from office. Staff are not required to reside locally; however, we offer relocation reimbursement to the Dane County area per our policy.

All SWIB employees are subject to SWIB's Ethics Policy and Personal Trade Approvals Policy. These policies include restrictions on outside business activities and employment and have limits on personal trading. You may request copies of these policies from SWIB's talent acquisition team and any questions can be answered by SWIB's compliance team.