Role Summary
The Client Implementation Management (CIM) Manager is a senior member of the regional onboarding function, responsible for independently leading the most complex, highsensitivity, and highimpact client implementation and transition activities across Asia Pacific. This includes oversight of new account openings, custodian transitions, benchmark changes, account terminations, and other technically challenging events.
The role is expected to demonstrate strong strategic judgment, influence senior stakeholders, drive process excellence across regions, and lead initiatives that uplift the onboarding framework for the broader organization. The Manager actively anticipates risks, navigates ambiguity, and sets standards that elevate client experience and operational readiness firmwide.
Key Responsibilities
1. Leadership of HighComplexity Client Onboardings
- Lead the endtoend lifecycle for the firm's complex and strategically significant onboardings, including sensitive clients, bespoke strategies, and multimarket transitions.
- Act as the senior project owner, providing structure, governance, and expert oversight to ensure successful onboarding outcomes.
- Navigate crossjurisdictional and crossfunctional complexities with strong risk awareness and decisionmaking capability.
2. Stakeholder Engagement
- Serve as the internal coordination point, ensuring effective communication with Distribution, Investment teams, Legal, Compliance, Operations, Technology, and global onboarding partners.
- Participate in and where appropriate, work together with Client Account Servicing (CAS) Manager to drive discussions with clients during planning, implementation, and transition phases.
- Influence stakeholders to secure alignment, resolve escalations, and facilitate timely decisionmaking.
3. Advanced Documentation Review & Operational Interpretation
- Conduct review of IMAs, investment guidelines, fee schedules, ESG disclosures, operational requirements, and other mandate documents to identify implementation impacts.
- Provide expert judgment and guidance on operational feasibility, risk implications, and required internal actions.
4. Process Ownership & Regional Improvement Leadership
- Lead initiatives to enhance the regional onboarding framework, governance model, standard templates, and crossfunctional workflow design.
- Identify structural inefficiencies and propose scalable process improvements aligned with regional and global standards.
- Champion continuous improvement, leveraging insights from complex implementations to uplift team capability and client experience.
5. CrossFunctional Leadership & Influence
- Partner with CAS leadership to refine responsibilities, coordination expectations, and communication frameworks across onboarding models.
- Drive alignment between regional CIM teams, global onboarding counterparts, and related operational functions.
- Represent the CIM function in working groups, governance forums, and senior stakeholder discussions.
6. Senior Subject Matter Expertise & Team Development
- Serve as a regional subject matter expert on onboarding processes, complex operational setups, and crossmarket client requirements.
- Coach and mentor junior team members, providing guidance on complex implementations, stakeholder management, and documentation analysis and interpretation.
- Support leadership in capability development, onboarding training programs, and uplift of regional standards.
7. Governance Oversight, Reporting & Control Framework
- Oversee and validate onboarding reporting, ensuring accuracy, transparency, and senior management visibility.
- Own senior oversight of Day2 items, ensuring strong handover, control execution, and closure of outstanding tasks.
- Champion adherence to regulatory requirements, risk controls, and internal policies across implementation activities.
Qualifications & Experience
- 8+ years of experience in client onboarding, client servicing, or mandate implementation within asset management.
- Proven success leading highcomplexity, crossregional onboarding projects with minimal supervision.
- Strong understanding of investment products, crossmarket operational requirements, and APAC regulatory environments.
- Demonstrated ability to influence and partner effectively with senior stakeholders.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to simplify complexity for diverse audiences.
- Experience coaching and developing junior talent; ability to serve as a role model within the function.
Core Competencies
- Strategic Leadership Demonstrates senior-level ownership, judgment, and foresight in complex implementations.
- Advanced Stakeholder Influence Effectively manages senior stakeholders and drives alignment across functions.
- Risk Mindset Identifies structural risks early and drives sustainable, wellcontrolled solutions.
- Execution Discipline Handles multiple concurrent complex projects with sustained delivery excellence.
- Thought Leadership Shapes process improvements, frameworks, and best practices at a regional level.
