Fixed Income Documentation Negotiator - Americas Team Lead

Company Profile:

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.

 

Department Profile:

The Fixed Income Division (“FID”) sits within the Institutional Securities Group (“ISG”) and is comprised of Interest Rate and Currency Products, Credit Products, Commodities, Repo, and TBAs and Distribution. Professionals in FID assess and actively manage risk, trade securities, and structure as well as execute innovative transactions in the fast-paced and constantly changing global markets.

From the largest global institutions to innovative new hedge funds, investors come to Morgan Stanley for sales, trading, and market-making services in almost every type of financial instrument including stocks, bonds, derivatives, foreign exchange, and commodities. Our professionals provide liquidity and content to clients around the world, actively assessing and managing risk, trading securities, and planning and executing transactions in the fast-changing markets. As the needs of our clients become increasingly complex, we often develop customized solutions.

 

Team Profile:

The Institutional Securities Documentation team sits within FID’s Business Control Unit (“BCU”) and is a first line team comprised of Non-Market Risk (Operational Risk), Counterparty Risk, Conduct Risk and Contract Negotiations. The Institutional Securities Documentation Team covers the contract negotiation function for trading agreements for FID.

Primary Responsibilities:

• We are looking for a senior team lead to manage the Americas coverage team with resources based in the United States, South America and Mumbai. 
• Management and oversight of a contract negotiation team responsible for a range of trading documentation including, but not limited to, ISDA Master Agreements and associated documents, Repurchase Agreements, MSFTAs, Tri-party Agreements, Collateral Agreements, and Confidentiality Agreements in support of a number of FID businesses and covering a broad spectrum of clients.
• Active and daily engagement with Sales and Trading professionals, risk management, credit risk, Legal and other internal stakeholders in connection with the negotiation and execution of trading agreements, including the escalation and resolution of legal and commercial terms within such agreements.
• Serve as primary escalation point for the documentation team, handling myriad requests from the business unit, risk management and other stakeholders. Escalation includes decision making in relation to negotiation terms, prioritization of negotiations, and related client onboarding matters.
• Responding to internal and external negotiation related queries and engaging senior management in escalation and problem solving.
• Driving BCU management strategy across the negotiation space for negotiations and regulatory projects. 
• Senior subject matter expert in relation to the suite of trading documentation including agreement templates, internal guidance and process, system updates, and internal forums.
• Manage team’s engagement in ISG’s responses to regulatory changes including, as needed, repapering campaigns, client communications and internal governance.

Skills Required:

• 8+ years’ experience in negotiating a cross section of trading agreements, including in-depth knowledge of the various provisions contained in these agreements and their negotiability. Knowledge of and proficiency around the underlying products traded also preferred.
• Extensive experience managing a team of document negotiators, including oversight, delegation, prioritization, performance reviews and evaluations.
• Extensive and daily experience in and comfort with engaging directly with Senior Sales and Trading, Credit, Risk, Legal, Operations and other departments to help problem solve, prioritize and manage interpersonal relationships.
• Education Level: Degree in law / business administration degree or equivalent 
• Essential Skills: Excellent written and oral communication skills, excellent people skills (this individual will interface with a variety of people with different skills and seniority levels), general comfort with Technology (particularly Microsoft Word and Excel); a quick learner - including learning internal computer systems, ability to set, track, achieve and report on short/long term goals and projects.
• Essential Characteristics: Leader, decision maker, organized, detail-oriented, self-starter (highly proactive), confident, comfortable overseeing junior and senior colleagues, ambitious, commercial, willing to assist / teach other members of the team.
• Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, open trading floor environment with the ability to juggle multiple tasks and priorities on a daily basis.

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 opportunity to work alongside the best and the brightest, in an environment where you are supported and empowered. Our teams are relentless collaborators and creative thinkers, fueled by their diverse backgrounds and experiences. 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. There’s also ample opportunity to move about the business for those who show passion and grit in their work.

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Expected base pay rates for the role will be between $200,000 and $300,000 for Executive Director, at the commencement of employment. However, base pay if hired will be determined on an individualized basis and is only part of the total compensation package, which, depending on the position, may also include commission earnings, incentive compensation, discretionary bonuses, other short and long-term incentive packages, and other Morgan Stanley sponsored benefit programs.

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).