Project Manager, Platform Launch (Equities)

Company

Jefferies is a leading global, full-service investment banking and capital markets firm, providing investment banking, sales and trading, research, wealth management and asset management services to clients for over 60 years. With more than 7,700 employees across 40+ offices, the Firm offers professionals the opportunity to work in a dynamic, entrepreneurial environment with exposure to a diverse range of businesses, products and markets.

Role

Key Responsibilities

• Lead and coordinate the end-to-end launch program, ensuring all business, operational, technology, regulatory, and control requirements are delivered on schedule.
• Drive Day 1 readiness across Equities trading, execution, market access, order management, trade capture, booking, clearing, settlement, and post-trade processes.
• Partner closely with Front Office, Technology, Operations, Risk, Compliance, Finance, and external vendors to implement and operationalize the target trading platform and operating model.
• Manage program governance, including steering committees, workstream oversight, risk management, issue escalation, and executive reporting.
• Develop and maintain a comprehensive integrated program plan covering business readiness, technology delivery, operational onboarding, testing, regulatory approvals, and client readiness activities.
• Coordinate platform implementation activities, including requirements gathering, solution design, migration planning, user acceptance testing (UAT), operational validation, and production deployment.
• Ensure operating procedures, controls, service models, support structures, and escalation frameworks are established and tested prior to launch.
• Manage dependencies across multiple workstreams to ensure successful delivery against agreed scope, timelines, and budget.
• Lead business readiness activities including process design, operating model implementation, training, communications, and transition to BAU support teams.
• Coordinate and oversee testing strategy and execution, including functional, integration, operational, and Day-in-the-Life testing.
• Identify, assess, and manage program risks, issues, assumptions, and dependencies, ensuring timely resolution and mitigation.
• Prepare and maintain key program documentation, including business cases, operating model documentation, project plans, status reports, decision logs, and executive presentations.
• Support launch rehearsals, go-live planning, cutover execution, and post-launch stabilization activities to ensure a successful Day 1 launch.

Qualifications

• 10-15 years of experience in Financial Markets with significant exposure to Equities business, trading platforms, markets operations, or large-scale business transformation programs.
• Proven experience leading or supporting a new business launch, market entry initiative, platform migration, trading platform implementation, or large-scale regulatory/business change program.
• Strong understanding of Equities trading lifecycle, including order management, execution, trade capture, allocations, clearing, settlement, reconciliations, and client servicing.
• Experience working directly with Front Office trading desks, electronic trading teams, sales trading, and markets technology teams.
• Demonstrated program and project management experience, including governance, planning, budget management, risk management, and executive stakeholder communication.
• Strong knowledge of trading platform delivery, system implementations, business readiness, operational readiness, and go-live management.
• Experience coordinating multiple stakeholders across business, technology, operations, risk, compliance, finance, and external vendors.
• Ability to operate effectively in a fast-paced, ambiguous environment with competing priorities and tight delivery deadlines.
• Excellent stakeholder management and influencing skills, with the ability to engage and challenge senior leadership when required.
• Strong understanding of operational risk, controls, regulatory requirements, and governance frameworks within Financial Markets.
• Experience working on exchange connectivity, market access, OMS/EMS platforms, trade processing, or electronic trading initiatives would be highly advantageous.
• Relevant certifications such as PMP, PRINCE2, Agile, or Scrum are advantageous.
• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint, Visio, and project management tools.
• Excellent written and spoken English communication skills.

About Us

Jefferies is a leading global, full-service investment banking and capital markets firm that provides advisory, sales and trading, research, and wealth and asset management services. With more than 40 offices around the world, we offer insights and expertise to investors, companies, and governments.

At Jefferies, we believe that diversity fosters creativity, innovation and thought leadership through the infusion of new ideas and perspectives. We have made a commitment to building a culture that provides opportunities for all employees regardless of our differences and supports a workforce that is reflective of the communities where we work and live. As a result, we are able to pool our collective insights and intelligence to provide fresh and innovative thinking for our clients.

Jefferies is an equal employment opportunity employer, and takes affirmative action to ensure that all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, creed, color, national origin, ancestry, religion, gender, pregnancy, age, physical or mental disability, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, veteran or military status, genetic information, reproductive health decisions, or any other factor protected by applicable law. We are committed to hiring the most qualified applicants and complying with all federal, state, and local equal employment opportunity laws. As part of this commitment, Jefferies will extend reasonable accommodations to individuals with disabilities, as required by applicable law.

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