Client Manager Programme.
Invest in a new career.
Applications have now closed for the 2023 programme
Why change job, when you can change career?
Whatever your background, if you are great at building relationships, then you could become a Client Manager at Baillie Gifford. Financial services experience isn’t necessary, however we are looking for genuine curiosity about the world around you and for you to demonstrate an interest in learning about our industry. If this sounds like you, then an exciting new career awaits.
As a Client Manager, you'll build strong relationships with our clients to gain an in-depth understanding of their requirements, aiming to become a trusted long-term partner and adviser. We put the interests of clients ahead of our own. Clients that include well-known companies, governments, local authorities, charities, and financial institutions.
At Baillie Gifford we have separated the job roles of investment management and client service. This means that our client facing staff are responsible for working very closely with specific investment teams to be able to distil and convey what the investment teams are doing for our clients. Client managers are therefore required to build relationships with our investment teams and take the time to understand individual investment strategies. As our investment teams are undertaking the management of the investment strategies, your job is to convey that information on their behalf.
When it comes to this role, we are looking for individuals who are curious, engaging, resilient and adaptable. These attributes, alongside effective listening and communication are key to success in the role. Join our team and you’ll become the hub of communications between a diverse, global client base and departments across the firm. It’s your role to simplify complex information, build relationships internally and externally and problem solve.
Baillie Gifford is an investment management firm that has remained an independent private partnership for over 100 years. We are single minded about our clients’ requirements and careful stewards of their capital. As long-term investors, our investment philosophy is focused on growth and upside. Our investment teams practice rigorous fundamental analysis and proprietary research, which allows us to capture global opportunities over periods of five years or more. As a Client Manager, you’ll be staying abreast of trends and ideas, to keep up to date with our investment strategies.
The Programme
This two-year programme offers you the chance to transfer your existing skills while learning new ones. Our aim is to develop the next generation of highly talented client contacts with a clear understanding of how Baillie Gifford differentiates itself in the investment industry. We will support you to build an understanding of fund management, its role in society and to talk confidently about our firm – our investment strategies, processes, and culture. In addition, you will learn who our clients are, their expectations and how to anticipate their future needs.
We’ll provide you with the support and training to pass the Investment Management Certificate and beyond that either CISI Level 6 Fund Management module or CFA Level 1. You’ll be given a mentor to help guide your development, plus there’s a variety of on-going training sessions, such as mock client meetings, practice pitches and presentations on the firm. As you learn, you’ll start to assume responsibility for supporting clients and to participate in client meetings, with the occasional requirement to travel.
Upon completion of the foundational learning, you will have three six-month placements in our client contact teams. During these placements you’ll gain exposure to a variety of clients, fund strategies and ways of working. In addition, you will have secondments within our operational areas and investment teams. At the end of the two-year programme, the firm will aim to place you with a team where you will operate in either a relationship, marketing or investment specialist role.
Attending formal courses isn’t just something that happens during the first stage of your career. We’ll encourage you to continue to develop, whether that’s attending a structured training course, signing up to a webinar or spending time in another team. If you have the ambition and talent, you could work towards becoming a director, or even a partner in the firm.
