Director, Investment Strategy - BlackRock Investment Institute (BII) - Italy

About this role What team will you be on? The BlackRock Investment Institute (BII) brings together BlackRock’s expertise and proprietary research to provide insights on the global economy, financial markets, geopolitics, sustainable investing, portfolio construction and long-term asset allocation. The team helps portfolio managers and clients navigate changing market conditions by connecting investment professionals with timely, actionable thinking across markets, asset classes and client segments. You will join the Investment Strategy team, led by BlackRock’s Global Chief Investment Strategist. Why is your role important? As a Milan-based Director and Investment Strategist, you will develop research and analytics that inform global Tactical Asset Allocation (TAA) views and their portfolio implications. At least half of your time will focus on hands-on research, including data analysis, investment modelling and the development and testing of cross-asset hypotheses. You will also represent BII’s investment views in selected client engagements, primarily across Southern Europe, with an initial focus on Italy and potential coverage of Spain, Portugal and Greece. Your work will connect rigorous investment research with the questions and priorities of portfolio managers, professional investors, advisers and internal partners. What will you be doing? In every role at BlackRock, you'll be expected to apply sound judgement and critical thinking to solve complex problems, adapt as the business evolves, and combine the curiosity to explore new approaches and technologies with the rigor to challenge the results. The scope of this role also includes the following responsibilities: TAA research and analytics (at least 50% of the time) • Own research from question to conclusion. Lead agreed projects from the initial investment question through data analysis, modelling, translating findings into actionable investment conclusions and taking responsibility for the quality and delivery of the work. • Develop and critically evaluate investment models, test asset-allocation hypotheses, assess the strength and limitations of the evidence, and use research to support or challenge investment views. • Contribute to investment discussions. Identify topical macroeconomic and asset-allocation questions, prepare substantive inputs for the monthly investment meeting cycle, and present and defend conclusions with the wider TAA team. Client engagement and regional collaboration • Deliver selected Italian client engagements. Take responsibility for the agreed program of client meetings and smaller events, presenting’s BII macroeconomic and market insights and explaining specific portfolio implications. • Connect research with client needs. Collaborate with regional Wealth, Institutional Client Business (ICB) and Investment Portfolio Solutions (IPS) colleagues to connect investment insights to relevant client partnerships and product or solution discussions, while bringing recurring client questions into the research agenda. • Ideally cover Spain/Portugal. Extend client coverage subject to an agreed remit, language capability and travel requirements. What are we looking for? Essential experience and capabilities …