Manager, Transfer Agency (UK New Business and Fund Activity)

About Northern Trust As a global leader in innovative wealth management, asset servicing, asset management and banking services, Northern Trust (Nasdaq: NTRS) is proud to guide the world’s most successful individuals, families, corporations and institutions.

Since 1889, we have aligned our efforts with our three guiding Principles That Endure: Service, Expertise, and Integrity. Together, they reflect the three cornerstones of business conduct which we strive to instill in our employees, whom we call partners, and to provide to our clients and the communities we serve worldwide.

With more than 135 years of financial experience and over 24,000 partners, we serve the world’s most sophisticated clients using leading technology and exceptional service.

The Role Reporting to the Head of UKTA New Business & Change, the Manager leads the UKTA New Business & Fund Activity Team and is accountable for the governance, control and delivery of its portfolio.

The team manages new-client onboarding, client and fund offboarding, and fund lifecycle activity such as launches, closures and mergers. Working across operational teams, clients, technology functions, vendors and other business partners, you will ensure that priorities are clear, resources are appropriately allocated, risks are actively managed and activity is delivered to the required quality and timeline.

This is a full-time, permanent position, Monday to Friday. The work is varied and fast-paced and can require activity outside core hours, including some weekend work. Approved weekend work will earn Time Off in Lieu.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead, motivate and develop the UKTA New Business & Fund Activity Team, setting clear priorities, objectives and standards.
• Allocate new business, fund activity, transition and change assignments according to complexity, risk, capacity and capability.
• Maintain oversight of delivery plans, milestones, dependencies, testing, approvals and operational readiness.
• Ensure skilled and appropriately authorised Partners are assigned to lead and independently review activity.
• Maintain an effective control environment covering ownership, segregation of duties, quality review, evidence retention, issue management and escalation.
• Provide governance and constructive challenge over client and fund setup across relevant transfer-agency systems.
• Ensure procedures, checklists, runbooks, operating models and lessons learned remain current, accessible and embedded.
• Oversee requirements, solution design, testing, defect management, implementation and post-implementation review.
• Provide clear management reporting on portfolio status, capacity, risks, issues, dependencies and outcomes.
• Own workforce planning, including recruitment, onboarding, succession planning, cross-training and contractor support.
• Set individual objectives and hold regular performance, development and coaching discussions.
• Build an inclusive, collaborative and high-performing team culture.
• Maintain effective relationships with clients and colleagues across Fund Accounting, Technology, Custody, Depositary, IOO, Product, Risk and Compliance.
• Oversee dependencies and risks associated with external providers and vendors
• Sponsor improvements that strengthen controls, enhance client outcomes, increase efficiency and reduce operational risk.
• Act as the senior escalation point and decision-maker for complex or high-risk activity.

Skills And Experience

• Strong knowledge of Northern Trust, UK transfer agency, the relevant regulatory environment and UKTA products and services.
• Proven people-management experience, including objective setting, coaching, development, recruitment, performance management and workforce planning.
• Experience leading teams responsible for complex new business, fund activity, operational change, transitions or comparable delivery portfolios.
• The ability to govern multiple concurrent assignments through structured planning, reporting, risk management and timely escalation.
• Strong client and stakeholder-management experience within financial services.
• Experience overseeing requirements, process design, testing, implementation readiness and post-implementation review.
• A strong understanding of operational risk, controls, incident management, regulatory obligations and audit-ready evidence.
• Experience coordinating distributed teams and delivery across multiple functions, location…