Director, Investment Risk

Summary:

The Director, Investment Risk will establish a centralized investment risk function within the Legal, Compliance & Risk Management team, building upon GW&K’s existing practices. The role will provide coordinated risk measurement, analytics, governance, reporting, and oversight across the firm’s fixed income and equity strategies. The ideal candidate is a senior, hands-on investment risk professional who combines strategic vision with practical execution. Working closely with investment teams and other key business partners, this individual will advance a consistent, firm-wide approach to investment risk that complements existing risk ownership and expertise within the investment teams while providing independent, credible oversight.

Responsibilities

• Enhance GW&K’s investment risk framework, including risk guidelines, governance, oversight, reporting, and escalation practices.
• Monitor and report portfolio, strategy, and product-level risks across equity and fixed income strategies; identify trends, thresholds, outliers, and material exposures, including concentrations, liquidity, leverage, derivatives, structured products, and model risk.
• Perform portfolio risk analysis, including risk attribution, benchmark-relative assessments, factor analysis, scenario analysis, and stress testing; translate findings into actionable insights for investment teams, senior management, and relevant committees.
• Partner with portfolio managers and investment leadership to understand portfolio construction, risk drivers, and exposures while providing independent monitoring of material investment risks.
• Work directly with investment risk and analytics platforms, including FactSet, Axioma, and Bloomberg, and develop risk tools, dashboards, reporting, and analytical infrastructure.
• Participate in GW&K governance committees and lead the development of a formalized investment risk committee, including reporting on risk trends, exceptions, emerging risks, and escalation matters.
• Collaborate across GW&K to strengthen risk data, reporting, controls, and governance, including where investment risks intersect with operational or regulatory matters.
• Support client, consultant, and internal diligence related to portfolio risk management practices.
• Bring the judgment, credibility, and collaborative approach necessary to identify and investigate potential risk or control gaps and build a practical, scalable independent investment risk program.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required; CFA preferred and FRM a plus.
• 8+ years of investment risk management, portfolio analytics, or related investment oversight experience, ideally within an SEC-registered investment adviser.
• Experience building, formalizing, or enhancing independent investment risk programs and governance frameworks within institutional asset management; experience across both fixed income and equity strategies strongly preferred.
• Experience with investment risk systems and analytics across equity, fixed income, derivatives, and multi-asset portfolios, including Bloomberg MARS, FactSet, Axioma, or comparable platforms.
• Solid understanding of portfolio construction and risk analytics, including benchmark-relative risk, tracking error, factor exposures, scenario and stress testing, VaR, duration, convexity, spread and liquidity risk, leverage, derivatives, and model risk.
• Strong quantitative, analytical, and problem-solving skills, with the ability to translate complex risk matters into clear, actionable insights for investment teams, senior management, clients, and other stakeholders.
• Hands-on, self-directed professional comfortable building and evolving a function, with strong relationship-building skills and the ability to operate independently while collaborating effectively across the firm.
• Experience supporting and participating in governance committees, fiduciary or compliance oversight, and client or consultant due diligence settings preferred.

This role is based in our Boston office on a hybrid schedule - 4 days per week in-office, 1 day per week remote.

The actual base salary is dependent on several variables including but not limited to education, experience, skills, and geography. In addition, GW&K employees may be eligible for a discretionary bonus and/or commission, which is based on a number of factors, including individual and firm performance.

Base Salary Range

$175,000-$225,000 USD

About GW&K

GW&K is a growing and dynamic investment management firm that is always looking for talented, hard-working, team-oriented individuals. We are interested in people that fit GW&K’s unique and highly collaborative culture.

The people who work at GW&K are the backbone of our firm. Everything we do from our mission to help our clients achieve their investment objectives, to building and sustaining a diverse, equitable, and inclusive culture is achieved because of the dedicated, talented, collaborative people who work here.

GW&K provides comprehensive benefits that are designed to meet the long-term needs of our employees and their families. Along with competitive compensation packages, we offer health and dental care coverage, employer-matched 401k, tuition reimbursement, parental leave and a variety of other benefits that support a healthy work/life balance in a hybrid environment.