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.

GW&K Investment Management is an equal opportunity employer and provides equal employment opportunities to all associates and applicants for employment without regard to gender, race, color, national origin, ancestry, pregnancy, marital status, religion, age, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected under applicable federal, state or local laws.