Project Manager – Accounting Book of Record (ABOR)

Job Title: Project Manager – Accounting Book of Record (ABOR)

Work location: Boston, MA preferred, Springfield, MA, New York, NY – Hybrid (3 days/week onsite)

Contract duration: Till Dec 2027, w/ possible extension

What you will do:

Planning and delivery:

• Build and own the ABOR project plan, from current-state assessment through conversion, validation, go-live and hypercare, aligned to the Janus master plan and the IBOR go-live sequence
• Define the ABOR conversion approach with Investment Accounting and BlackRock: data sources, conversion dates, opening-balance strategy, reconciliation and sign-off criteria
• Manage scope, schedule, resources and budget; maintain the work breakdown structure in the program planning toolset and keep milestone dates current
• Lead business process re-engineering sessions for accounting workflows and secure stakeholder sign-off

Multi-basis accounting and controls:

• Coordinate the design and configuration of GAAP, STAT and Tax ledgers and their reporting outputs on Aladdin, working with accounting policy, Finance and BlackRock
• Ensure reconciliation design covers IBOR-to-ABOR, ABOR-to-general ledger and legacy-to-Aladdin conversion breaks, with owners and tolerances agreed before testing starts
• Capture control, audit and SOX requirements and confirm they are tested and evidenced before go-live

Testing and cutover:

• Plan and run SIT, UAT and period-end test cycles for ABOR, including month-end, quarter-end and year-end close scenarios across all accounting bases
• Build the cutover runbook and hypercare plan; coordinate the conversion weekend(s) and the first close on the new platform

Governance and reporting:

• Produce weekly status for the program office, maintain the RAID log and drive timely escalation and recovery plans
• Manage cross-workstream dependencies with the IBOR, Conversion, Downstream Consumers, Reporting, Derivatives and Middle Office workstreams
• Prepare steering committee and program working-session materials for the ABOR body of work and present to senior Finance and program leadership
• Manage the BlackRock relationship for ABOR deliverables, including SLA adherence and issue escalation

Who you will work with:

Skills (Required):

• 10+ years of project management experience, including 5+ years delivering large, multi-year technology and business transformation programs in financial services (insurance or asset management preferred)
• Proven track record of delivering a system implementation or platform conversion end to end: planning, vendor management, testing, cutover and hypercare
• PMP, PRINCE2 or equivalent certification
• Strong command of planning and scheduling tools (MS Project / Project Server, Excel, Power BI or similar) and of structured WBS-based planning
• Experience running formal governance: status reporting, RAID management, change control, steering committee preparation and executive communication
• Experience working alongside a software vendor’s implementation team (BlackRock Aladdin, SimCorp, SS&C, FIS or similar) and holding them to deliverables and SLAs
• Demonstrated ability to manage cross-functional dependencies across Accounting, Finance, Operations, Technology and Data teams
• Clear, concise written and verbal communication; comfortable presenting to CFO-level stakeholders
• Able to work on site in Boston, MA as the program requires

Strongly preferred:

• ABOR conversion experience: Has led or played a senior role in converting an investment accounting book of record from one platform to another, including opening-balance load, conversion reconciliation and first close on the new system
• Multi-basis accounting knowledge: Understands the differences between US GAAP, Statutory (NAIC) and Tax accounting for invested assets (amortization methods, impairment, IMR/AVR treatment) and how each basis is maintained and reported in parallel
• IBOR / ABOR architecture: Understands the split between the investment book of record and the accounting book of record, how they reconcile, and how the general ledger and downstream reporting consume ABOR output
• Insurance investment operations: Familiar with the asset classes typical of a life insurer’s general account (public and private fixed income, structured products, mortgages, alternatives, derivatives) and their accounting treatment
• Aladdin Accounting: Hands-on exposure to BlackRock Aladdin, particularly its accounting and data modules, or to a comparable platform (PAM, Eagle, SimCorp Dimension, SS&C)
• Accounting background: CPA, CFA or an accounting degree, or prior time in an investment accounting or financial reporting function