Head of Operations

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 $162 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. The WRS consistently ranks among the 10 largest public pension funds in the U.S. 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 692,000 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 1,607 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.

Job Description:

Please Note:

The Head of Operations search is being managed exclusively by Sheffield Haworth on behalf of the State of Wisconsin Investment Board (SWIB) .

For consideration, please submit your résumé and cover letter outlining your interest in the Head of Operations opportunity to Brendan Corwen at b.corwen@sheffieldhaworth.com .

Candidates are asked not to contact the State of Wisconsin Investment Board directly . All inquiries, nominations, and applications should be directed to Sheffield Haworth .

Position Summary

The Head of Investment Operations is a senior leader responsible for overseeing all investment operations functions for SWIB. This individual will lead the Operations Division consisting of approximately 40 staff who support the day-to-day middle office and investment operations for SWIB’s internally managed public market investments and SWIB’s private markets, hedge funds and externally managed equity and fixed income investments. This individual will report to the Chief Operating Officer.

The Head of Investment Operations will partner closely with front office investment, technology and data, finance, and legal & compliance leaders to ensure that the Operations Division supports efficient execution, control, and insight across all investment activities.

Strategic and Organizational Leadership

• Lead, develop, and inspire high-performing operations teams that support both internal and external management:
  • Global Public Markets Strategies – including equities, fixed income, derivatives, overlays, and cash; supporting 60 security types, processing 24,000 trades daily, more than 150,000 SWIFT messages annually, and processing multi-billion dollar asset transfers annually.
  • Private Markets – covering $75 billion in private equity, co-investments, private debt, real estate, hedge funds, long-only external investments, and separately managed accounts, with more than 400 managers, including funds and direct investments.
  • Asset & Risk Allocation and Liquidity Management and Beta Implementation – including cash & liquidity movements; security financing through lending, borrowing, and repos; and margin and collateral oversight and management.
  • Transition Management and Portfolio Support – managing transition events and front-end OMS support from order generation to trade execution.
• Lead the design and execution of SWIB’s long-term investment operations strategy and support and provide operational leadership for the agency’s goals.
• Drive continuous improvement and innovation across operational processes, technology, and data infrastructure.
• Oversee and manage third party service providers and vendors to ensure SLAs and other contractual requirements are being met and lead discussions with vendors to align their product roadmaps with SWIB’s strategic business needs.
• Drive recruitment, talent development, and team engagement, fostering a culture of high performance, innovation, accountability, and continuous learning.
• Develop and maintain strong cross-functional relationships with front office investment, data and technology, legal & compliance, and finance teams to enable enterprise-wide alignment and execution.

Operational and Control Oversight:

• Oversee the design and continuous improvement of workflows to enable effective, efficient, scalable, and robust investment operations.
• Take full accountability for operational activities related to public and private market assets.
• Supervise the maintenance and integrity of SWIB’s public markets IBOR and OMS platforms (SimCorp, CRD, WSO) and private markets IBOR platform (eFront).
• Oversee daily investment operations for the full investment life cycle of both public and private investments, including trade support, reconciliations, corporate actions, cash and collateral management, cash flow processing, valuations, onboarding new investment managers, commitment tracking, document management, fees and expenses.
• Ensure daily accuracy of and quality of investment data used for decision support, trading and risk management.
• Provide operational expertise for new investment structures, co-investments, direct investments, and innovative strategies.
• Lead analyses of data quality issues, driving long-term solutions and improvements, as well as providing value-added services to the front office investment teams.
• Define, review, and enhance internal and external service level agreements, KPIs, and performance metrics to ensure alignment with evolving business needs.
• Ensure adherence to and enhance internal control frameworks to manage operational risk.
• Adhere to and monitor relevant regulatory requirements and changes across all operations functions.
• Oversee departmental budgeting, including forecasting and cost management to ensure operational efficiency.
• Leverage and collaborate on improving SWIB’s use of leading investment technologies, including SimCorp Dimension, eFront, and Charles River.
• Pursue operational and structural efficiencies to enable SWIB’s securities financing strategies.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required in finance, accounting, quantitative discipline, or related field; advanced degree or industry-related certifications is a plus.
• Minimum 15 years of leadership experience in investment operations or internal middle office functions in the asset management industry, preferably with a large institutional investor, public pension, multi-manager hedge fund, or large endowment/foundation.
• In-depth knowledge of the end-to-end investment lifecycle across both public and private markets.
• Comprehensive understanding of operational processes and best practices across the front, middle, and back office.
• Proven success leading teams and driving transformation in complex, technology-enabled investment organizations.
• Demonstrated and hands-on experience implementing or managing SimCorp Dimension, Charles River, eFront, or comparable platforms, as well as experience in transitioning functions to both insourced and outsourced models.
• Client-focused mindset that prioritizes the needs of the front office investment staff while maintaining an efficient and controlled operating environment.
• Strong strategic, analytical, and problem-solving skills with a track record of improving efficiency and data quality through technology and process redesign, leveraging automation, machine learning, RPA and/or GenAI.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills with the ability to influence and collaborate across investment, finance, and technology functions and to distill and communicate complex issues.

• 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