Senior Operations & Settlements Manger

Key Skills & Experience

Essential

• Over 10years experience in settlements or post-trade operations within a MiFID-regulated investment firm.
• Hands-on experience across both fund operations and investment management settlements across all asset classes
• Strong understanding of the end-to-end trade lifecycle and settlement infrastructure.
• Proven experience managing settlement risk, controls, and reconciliations.
• Previous people management or team leadership experience.
• Strong analytical skills with a high attention to detail.
• Proven track record in implementing positive change initiatives
• Ability to prioritise effectively and work under regulatory and market-driven deadlines.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills.

Desirable

• Familiarity with CBI supervisory expectations and operational risk frameworks.
• Experience overseeing outsourced settlement or fund administration providers.
• Exposure to settlement platforms, reconciliations systems, and automation initiatives.
• Experience using AI‑enabled tools to enhance efficiency, insight, or decision‑making.

Key Competencies

• Risk & Control Focus
• Client Asset Protection Mindset
• Leadership & Accountability
• Regulatory Awareness
• Stakeholder Collaboration
• Continuous Improvement & Change Management 

Key Responsibilities

Settlement Operations – Investment Management 

• Manage daily settlement activities for fund trades and trading transactions across multiple asset classes (equities, fixed income, funds, FX, derivatives, DCM where applicable).
• Oversee trade matching, confirmations, SSI maintenance, and settlement instruction processing with custodians, brokers, clearing brokers, and fund administrators.
• Ensure timely settlement of primary and secondary market trades, including DVP/RVP and FOP settlements.
• Proactively monitor settlement fails, aged items, and suspense accounts, ensuring prompt investigation, resolution, and escalation where required.
• Coordinate settlement activity across fund structures (UCITS / AIFs where relevant) and segregated discretionary portfolios.
• Responsible for ensuring all trades are processed and reported in line with Regulatory expectations Transaction Reporting requirements.
• Willingness to continuously develop AI and digital skills as tools and ways of working in a manner that protects the integrity of the business 
• Contribute to the responsible and ethical use of AI within the team.

Fund Operations & Asset Protection

• Ensure settlement processes align with fund dealing cycles, NAV deadlines, and administrator cut-offs.
• Work closely with teams to manage cash flows, subscriptions/redemptions, and corporate action impacts.
• Support client asset safeguarding obligations, including segregation, record-keeping, and oversight controls.
• Maintain strong controls around ownership records, custody positions, and client entitlements.

Controls, Risk & Regulatory Oversight

• Oversee and maintain all operational procedures, process maps, and risk & control documentation.
• Responsibility for Operations Risk Control Assessment including identification, mitigation and measurement of risks including settlement, counterparty, liquidity, and operational risks.
• Act as first-line owner for settlement-related operational risk events, issues, and breaches.
• Support internal audits, regulatory returns, regulatory inspections, and risk assessments, including provision of evidence and remediation actions.
• Ensure compliance with MiFID II operational requirements and Central Bank of Ireland expectations.
• Provide operational support for payment and controls to support client transactions. 

Reconciliations & Management Information

• Oversee daily cash and stock reconciliations across custody, broker, and internal records.
• Ensure reconciling items are resolved within agreed timelines and root causes identified.
• Produce and review settlement MI, KPIs, and exception reporting for senior management and governance forums.
• Escalate material risks, trends, or breaches in a clear and timely manner.

Stakeholder & Third-Party Management

• Act as the key operational contact for custodians, clearing brokers, fund administrators, and trading counterparties.
• Monitor third-party service provider performance against SLAs and KPIs, addressing service issues proactively.
• Build strong internal relationships with Front Office, Fund Operations, Risk, Compliance, Finance, and Change teams in Ireland and US. 

People Management & Leadership

• Provide strong leadership for the Operations & Settlements team, fostering a strong control culture and accountability mindset.
• Allocate workloads, manage capacity, and ensure appropriate segregation of duties within the team.
• Support recruitment, performance management, and succession planning.

Change & Process Improvement

• Identify opportunities to improve efficiencies, client experience by leveraging resources, technology and Group capabilities where sensible 
• Participate in system implementations, platform migrations, and regulatory-driven change initiatives.
• Contribute to operational resilience planning, including BCP and contingency arrangements.

Education & Professional Qualifications

• Third-level qualification in Finance, Business, Accounting, Economics, or a related discipline (or equivalent experience).
• Relevant professional qualifications (e.g. IOB, ACCA, ACA modules, or similar) are advantageous.