Insurance & Annuity (I&A) Services Operations Platform Management- Director

Morgan Stanley is a leading global financial services firm providing a wide range of investment banking, securities, investment management and wealth management services. The Firm's employees serve clients worldwide including corporations, governments and individuals from more than 1,200 offices in 43 countries. As a market leader, the talent and passion of our people is critical to our success. Together, we share a common set of values rooted in integrity, excellence and strong team ethic. Morgan Stanley can provide a superior foundation for building a professional career - a place for people to learn, to achieve and grow. A philosophy that balances personal lifestyles, perspectives and needs is an important part of our culture. Operations is one of the largest divisions in the firm and has diverse responsibilities, including correctly settling and recording millions of transactions per day, identifying and mitigating all operational risks, developing strong client relationships and partnering with technology to realize the full potential of IT and e-solutions. Throughout, the Operations department continually seeks ways to improve while actively supporting the development of new businesses, structures and markets. Global Wealth Management Operations provides brokerage, investment and financial services to hundreds of thousands of individual investors. We apply our expertise in serving institutional clients to create new opportunities for people to achieve their personal financial goals. Morgan Stanley has one of the largest retail brokerage networks, with numerous worldwide representatives and retail locations. Our services are tailored to each client's investment objectives, risk tolerance, and financial needs. Products include mutual funds, stocks, bonds, and alternative investments where appropriate, as well as banking, mortgages, insurance and annuities. The candidate will work within the Insurance & Annuity (I&A) Services Operations Platform Management team. The candidate will have responsibility for managing and supporting programs that support key components of the change agenda, and will drive program and project management activities supporting the I&A business. Scope of delivery may include product-specific improvement opportunities such as cross-product efforts, business process management, and process improvement. Key activities include general project management disciplines such as delivery, risk/issue identification and escalation, budget and resource management, and management of systems development lifecycle (SDLC) activities such as scoping, business analysis, design document development, and testing, to include coordination of cross functional teams to ensure that projects meet milestones and delivery dates. The ability to foster and develop strong working relationships with business, operations, and IT counterparts is a critical success factor in this role. Responsibilities: -Partner with senior stakeholders (eg: Business, Technology and Operations) to understand and prioritize initiatives to define and execute change agenda and meet program/project goals -Review platforms/procedures and processes to identify opportunities for enhancement/streamlining and develop ways to make them more effective -Coordinate engagement of Operations, Technology and Business partner resources and subject matter experts across multiple projects & geographic regions -Define and drive the implementation of Global Standards and Best Practices -Lead and direct project activities, meetings, understand dependencies, and manage timelines -Manage issues and decisions to timely resolution. Communicate with senior management teams to escalate/resolve project conflicts and resource demands -Manage a cohesive plan across all work streams, ensuring a coordinated approach to analysis, development, testing and delivery -Oversight and management of the teams WSP's, DTP's, and RCSA's Leadership skills: The candidate must have experience leading multiple projects and teams. Candidate must be a strong leader with the ability to implement improvement and drive change within the organization. Problem solving skills: The candidate must have the ability to identify complex risks early and develop actionable mitigation plans. Analytical skills: The candidate must be highly analytical with experience in using objective data to drive strategic recommendations Communications skills: The candidate must be able to concisely explain complex issues to audiences of varying seniority. The candidate must also possess strong written and oral executive-level communications skills Client management and teamwork skills: The candidate must have demonstrated ability in being flexible and working with stakeholders and colleagues at all experience levels. Experience of engaging and influencing senior leaders within the organization is essential. Project management skills: The candidate must have the ability to create practical and comprehensive implementation plans and partner with all levels of management and stakeholders to gain consensus. Experience of managing multiple projects or engagements and their associated budgets is essential. Bachelor's Degree Familiarity with project management tools such as JIRA, Structured Query Language (SQL), waterfall and agile methodologies, Knowledge of SDLC, CSM/PMO certifications are all a plus WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT FROM MORGAN STANLEY: At Morgan Stanley, we raise, manage and allocate capital for our clients – helping them reach their goals. We do it in a way that’s differentiated – and we’ve done that for 90 years.  Our values - putting clients first, doing the right thing, leading with exceptional ideas, committing to diversity and inclusion, and giving back - aren’t just beliefs, they guide the decisions we make every day to do what's best for our clients, communities and more than 80,000 employees in 1,200 offices across 42 countries. At Morgan Stanley, you’ll find an o