BlackRock
Vice President, Alternative Data Strategy & Execution - Portfolio Management Group
About this role
Business Overview
PMGTech is the horizontal technology platform within BlackRock’s Portfolio Management Group (PMG), integrating investment research with advanced engineering, AI, and alternative data to make technology a direct driver of alpha. It operates as one global team across three verticals – Platform Strategy, Research Solutions (DS&S), and Platform Change (IPT) – partnering closely with the BlackRock Aladdin ecosystem and PMG investment leadership. This integrated model delivers a coherent tech strategy, strengthens the research community, and scales capabilities across regions, asset classes (Equities, Fixed Income, Multi-asset), and investment styles (discretionary and systematic).
PMGTech leads PMG’s AI strategy by building an AI-ready research environment, unified data layer, agentic orchestration networks, and an investment-focused application layer to deploy AI-powered research solutions into production. As part of PMGTech, you will work directly with investment researchers, portfolio managers, and platform teams to source, scale, and optimise alternative data that enhances research workflows and drives differentiated alpha insights.
Job Purpose / Background
The Alternative Data Strategy & Execution role is responsible for driving the sourcing, prioritisation, and implementation of alternative datasets across PMG. The role sits at the intersection of investment research, data strategy, and commercial execution, ensuring that data opportunities are aligned to Alpha Priorities, investor strategies, and BlackRock thematic views.
This role acts as a central point of contact for third-party data, improving transparency, access, and reuse of datasets across the organisation. It requires strong organisational, commercial, and stakeholder management skills to coordinate across investors, data teams, engineering, and external vendors, ensuring datasets are usable, compliant, and scalable.
The role is not primarily technical, but requires sufficient data fluency to evaluate datasets and partner effectively with technical teams to deliver outcomes.
Key Responsibilities
Partner with investors to identify, prioritise, and source alternative datasets aligned to Alpha Priorities and investment strategies
Maintain a strong view of the alternative data landscape, delivering thematic insights and identifying datasets that enhance existing signals or unlock new opportunities
Prioritise competing demands and drive datasets from idea through evaluation to onboarding, balancing speed, impact, and scalability
Facilitate dataset evaluation with investors and research teams, ensuring practical usability and investment impact
Act as the central point of contact for third-party data inventory, driving visibility, reuse, and discoverability of datasets across teams
Engage with a broad range of vendors, supporting strategic data partnerships, negotiations, and commercial assessment of value and fit
Coordinate dataset reviews with IDS and control functions, ensuring compliant use of data, including licensing and AI/ML usage rights
Partner with Business Managers and platform teams to streamline the data acquisition lifecycle (onboarding → trial → production) and ensure consistent workflows across PMG
Connect investors, data teams, engineering, and vendors to coordinate workflows and bring in the right expertise to drive outcomes
Support governance initiatives (including Aladdin Alpha) and contribute to improving transparency of data usage and spend across PMG
Skills & Experience
Experience in financial services, data strategy, consulting, or investment research
Exposure to alternative data and/or investment research workflows
Familiarity with data licensing, governance, and AI/ML usage considerations
Experience working across cross-functional teams spanning investment, data, and technology
Strong organisational skills, with the ability to manage multiple workstreams and prioritise effectively
Demonstrated commercial acumen, including experience engaging with external vendors and assessing value
Strong stakeholder management skills, with the ability to influence and drive outcomes across diverse teams
Excellent communication skills, with the ability to translate between investor needs, data capabilities, and commercial considerations
Interest in financial markets and the drivers of performance, from macro events to company-level fundamentals
Qualifications
Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience
5+ Years relevant experience in financial services, data, or consulting environments
Nice to Have
Basic familiarity with data tools (SQL, Python) or data platforms.
Our benefits
To help you stay energized, engaged and inspired, we offer a wide range of benefits including a strong retirement plan, tuition reimbursement, comprehensive healthcare, support for working parents and Flexible Time Off (FTO) so you can relax, recharge and be there for the people you care about.
Our hybrid work model
BlackRock’s hybrid work model is designed to enable a culture of collaboration and apprenticeship that enriches the experience of our employees, while supporting flexibility for all. Employees are currently required to work at least 4 days in the office per week, with the flexibility to work from home 1 day a week. Some business groups may require more time in the office due to their roles and responsibilities. We remain focused on increasing the impactful moments that arise when we work together in person – aligned with our commitment to performance and innovation. As a new joiner, you can count on this hybrid model to accelerate your learning and onboarding experience here at BlackRock.
About BlackRock
At BlackRock, we are all connected by one mission: to help more and more people experience financial well-being. Our clients, and the people they serve, are saving for retirement, paying for their children’s educations, buying homes and starting businesses. Their investments also help to strengthen the global economy: support businesses small and large; finance infrastructure projects that connect and power cities; and facilitate innovations that drive progress.
This mission would not be possible without our smartest investment – the one we make in our employees. It’s why we’re dedicated to creating an environment where our colleagues feel welcomed, valued and supported with networks, benefits and development opportunities to help them thrive.
For additional information on BlackRock, please visit @blackrock | Twitter: @blackrock | LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/blackrock
BlackRock is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace. We are committed to equal employment opportunity to all applicants and existing employees, and we evaluate qualified applicants without regard to race, creed, color, national origin, sex (including pregnancy and gender identity/expression), sexual orientation, age, ancestry, physical or mental disability, marital status, political affiliation, religion, citizenship status, genetic information, veteran status, or any other basis protected under applicable federal, state, or local law. View the EEOC’s Know Your Rights poster and its supplement and the pay transparency statement.
BlackRock is committed to full inclusion of all qualified individuals and to providing reasonable accommodations or job modifications for individuals with disabilities. If reasonable accommodation/adjustments are needed throughout the employment process, please email [email protected]. All requests are treated in line with our privacy policy.
BlackRock will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records in a manner consistent with the requirements of the law, including any applicable fair chance law.