Calamos Strategic Total Return Fund

Investment Operations Manager

Calamos Strategic Total Return Fund • $100K — $130K *
Naperville, IL 60540In-Person
Finance & Insurance
8 - 10 years of experience
More than 3 months ago
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • Bachelor's degree in business, finance, accounting, or related discipline preferred.
  • 8-10 years of investment operations experience within the financial services industry.
  • Experience supporting investment products such as Mutual Funds, ETFs, or similar vehicles.
  • Proven ownership of operational processes, including controls and team performance.
  • Strong leadership skills with a track record of developing high-performing teams.
  • Deep understanding of investment operations workflows and data dependencies.
  • Excellent problem-solving and decision-making skills.

Responsibilities

  • Coordinate ETF lifecycle events like rolls and expirations.
  • Support onboarding for new ETFs and operational setups with teams.
  • Supervise daily collateral movements and manage allocations.
  • Oversee tri-party collateral instructions and relationships.
  • Provide escalation support for complex operational issues.
  • Ensure operational processes are executed consistently across all investment vehicles.
  • Act as a subject-matter expert for internal and external partners.

Benefits

  • Comprehensive health benefits including medical, dental, and vision.
  • Flexible spending accounts for additional health expenses.
  • Retirement benefits including 401(k) and profit sharing.
  • Paid time off and parental leave for work-life balance.
  • Wellness benefits promoting employee health and wellbeing.
Full Job Description
Summary of the Role
The Investment Operations Manager is responsible for overseeing daily investment operations, leading and developing a team of Operations Specialists, and ensuring the accuracy, scalability, and control of operational processes supporting the firm's investment products.
The Investment Operations Manager role will utilize their experience to support our Collateral Management, ETF and Mutual Fund Operations. The role focuses on driving operational excellence, efficiency, and scalability across our investment operations platform. The successful candidate will oversee day-to-day operational functions, lead process improvements, and ensure seamless execution across multiple asset classes and fund structures.
The Manager partners closely with Vice President of Operations and cross-functional teams to support growth initiatives, mitigate operational risk, and continuously enhance the operating model.

Primary Responsibilities

Operational Oversight & Execution
  • Coordinate ETF lifecycle events on underlying holdings such as rolls, expirations and maturities.
  • Support new ETF and other product onboardings including operational set-up and testing with counterparties and internal teams.
  • Supervise daily collateral movements including margin calls, substitutions, recalls, and returns.
  • Manage collateral allocation and optimization across multiple accounts and counterparties
  • Oversee tri-party collateral instructions and manage relationships with tri-party agents.
  • Provide escalation support and resolution for complex operational issues including cash breaks, position discrepancies, and system exceptions.
  • Ensure consistent execution of operational processes across investment vehicles and client types.
  • Act as a subject-matter expert and point of escalation for internal stakeholders and external partners.
Team Leadership & Talent Development
  • Directly manage and mentor a team of Operations Specialists, including performance management, coaching, and professional development.
  • Set clear expectations, prioritize workloads, and ensure appropriate coverage across operational functions.
  • Foster a collaborative, accountable, and continuous-improvement-oriented team culture.
  • Work closely with Operations management in hiring, onboarding, training, and succession planning for the Operations team.
Controls, Risk & Compliance
  • Own and maintain a strong control environment, including operational risk identification, mitigation, and documentation.
  • Partner with Compliance, Risk, and Audit teams to support regulatory requirements, internal reviews, and external audits.
  • Ensure standard operating procedures (SOPs) are documented, current, and aligned with best practices.
  • Monitor key controls, metrics, and exception reporting to proactively address risks.
Process Improvement & Strategic Initiatives
  • Identify process inefficiencies and lead initiatives to improve scalability, automation, and operational effectiveness.
  • Support new product launches, market expansions, and client initiatives by partnering with Investments, Technology, Legal, and Compliance.
  • Lead or support system enhancements and vendor initiatives, including testing, implementation, and post launch stabilization.
  • Serve as an operational thought partner to senior leadership, providing insights, recommendations and data-driven analysis.
Cross-Functional Partnership & Communication
  • Collaborate closely with Investment Management, Finance Technology Client Service, and Compliance team
  • Communicate operational impacts, risks, and timelines clearly to stakeholders at multiple levels.
  • Support management reporting and provide visibility into operational performance and capacity planning.


Preferred Qualifications
  • Bachelor's degree in business, finance, accounting or related discipline preferred.
  • Minimum of 8-10 years of investment operations experience within the financial services industry.
  • Proven experience supporting investment products such as Mutual Funds, ETFs SMAs, or similar vehicles.
  • Demonstrated ownership of operational processes including data management, reconciliation, billing, collateral, or related processes, controls, and team performance.
  • Strong leadership skills with a track record of development high-performing teams
  • Deep understanding of investment operations workflows, controls, and data dependencies.
  • Excellent problem-solving, decision making, and prioritization skills.
  • Ability to operate effectively in a dynamic, growth-oriented environment.
  • Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to influence across functions and levels.
  • Experience with portfolio accounting, trading, or investment operations systems.
  • Advanced Microsoft Excel skills and operational reporting and metrics.
  • Familiarity with process documentation, automation initiatives, and system conversions.


Compensation Disclosure
The compensation for this role takes into account various factors, including work location, individual skill set, relevant experience, and other business needs. The estimated base salary range for this position is $100,000 - $130,000. Additionally, this position is eligible for an annual discretionary bonus.

Please note that this is the current estimate of the base salary range intended for this role at the time of posting. The base salary range may be adjusted in the future.

Benefits
Calamos offers a comprehensive benefits package, including health and welfare benefits (medical, dental, vision, flexible spending accounts, and employer-paid short and long-term disability), as well as retirement benefits (401(k) and profit sharing), paid time off, paid parental leave, and other wellness benefits.

About Calamos Strategic Total Return Fund

Calamos Strategic Total Return Fund is a closed-end fund that invests in a diversified portfolio of convertible securities and high yield corporate bonds. The fund seeks to provide total return through a combination of capital appreciation and current income. The fund is managed by Calamos Advisors LLC, a global investment firm that specializes in convertible and high yield strategies. Calamos Advisors LLC was founded in 1977 and is headquartered in Naperville, Illinois.
Learn more about Calamos Strategic Total Return Fund
Market Cap
$2.4 billion
Industry
Finance & Insurance
* Ladders Estimates

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