Vice President, Market Data Services

At BlackRock, our smartest investment is you. We are a global investment manager helping more and more people experience financial well-being. BlackRock’s business is investing on behalf of our clients, from large institutions to parents, grandparents, doctors and teachers who entrust their savings to us.  We are committed to our clients – period. Our promise is to offer them the clearest thinking about what to do with their money and the products and services they need to secure a better financial future. 

That’s why investors of all kinds have made us the world’s largest asset manager, entrusting us with trillions of dollars, and it’s also why companies, institutions and global governments come to us for help meeting their biggest financial challenges. 

About Index & Data Solutions (IDS) 

Financial information is at the heart of what BlackRock does. The Index & Data Solutions team (IDS) is responsible for sourcing the index and market data that supports the firm’s investment and risk management products and services as well as managing the relevant commercial relationships, focusing on fostering & maintaining strong partnerships with the largest and most strategic index and data providers.  To do this well, IDS (i) support the most strategic initiatives of BlackRock as those initiatives relate to market data providers and (ii) works closely with key internal business stakeholders to ensure we maintain strong alignment on business strategy and partner effectively to resolve challenges.  

The Role 

The team is looking for a VP to join the Relationship Management function who will (i) contribute meaningfully to managing relationships with our strategic data providers, with a focus on understanding the legal underpinnings of data Licensing and intellectual property (IP)  (ii) keep up to date with industry initiatives that affect those relationships and keep the business informed of them, especially around the impact of AI on the usage rights BlackRock can make of 3rd party content, without exposing BlackRock to risk and (iii) keep up to date with the fast changing regulatory landscape for market data and how that impacts BlackRock and our clients,   

The best candidate for this role will understand the importance of our firm’s culture & principles in driving execution, and how to “connect the dots” with businesses & functions across the firm to achieve the best commercial outcomes with high provider partnership and accountability. To be successful in this role will require the ability to identify and prioritize critical issues while demonstrating outstanding communication and organizational skills in progressing and resolving. 

The successful candidate will need to be able to converse and influence C Suite executives on a wide range of issues relating to their subject matter expertise. 

Key Responsibilities: 

• Be the lead in developing deep relationships with major business units within BlackRock, BlackRock Global Markets, BlackRock Tech & Ops, all on a global basis. This will entail: 

• Developing relationships with senior (COO) colleagues in those groups to make sure IDS meets their needs. 

• Working with IDS colleagues who own relationships with other business units (PMG, Aladdin, etc.) to make sure we have a consistent message to those business units, and we are sharing best practices on how IDS best serves those businesses. 

• Working with those business units to develop data strategies so they are best prepared to meet their immediate and long-term objectives. 

• Understanding the legal underpinnings of our relationships with strategic vendor partners and be able to convey those to senior management. 

• Working with other members of the IDS team to ensure consistency across IDS in implementing best practices and working with senior members of the IDS team to implement streamlined processes, especially as it involves the potential use of AI from vendors. Developing deep, constructive relationships with our key market data partners by building mutually beneficial commercial engagements. You will be a key resource in managing those relationships and will be responsible for ensuring they are mutually productive. 

• Partnering closely with our Legal team and senior management to ensure contracts with our market data providers include favorable terms at the lowest risk and optimal cost. 

• Holding market data providers accountable for service delivery according to agreed expectations. 

• Negotiating and driving to conclusion the market data contract process with providers ensuring relevant business needs are covered and fees are clearly documented. 

• Monitoring upcoming contract renewals and expirations 

• Understanding the fast-changing regulatory landscape as it applies to market data and be an active member of internal BlackRock committees that interpret how those regulations will affect BlackRock and our clients. 

Required Education and Skills:  

• Bachelor's degree preferably in finance, business, economics or related area. 

• Minimum of 7 years of data provider relationship management & contracting experience. 

• Exposure to previous strategic market data provider licensing issues would be an advantage. 

Preferred Education and Skills:  

• Knowledge of the financial services industry. 

• Experience in commercial negotiations, data licensing and provider partnerships. 

• Deep understanding of the market data/index and portfolio risk landscape and providers. 

• Experience with index, ratings and other core data providers. 

• Knowledge of provider risk management frameworks, processes and tools. 

• Willingness to learn and contribute is essential.