Job Description

Trading Assistant — Long/Short Equity Hedge Fund

Role summary

Support the head trader by managing middle‑office trade support and acting as a hands‑on backup trader for a long/short investment desk. This role combines trade lifecycle ownership, settlements and confirmations, P/L oversight, and execution responsibilities. The right candidate is flexible, team‑oriented, and comfortable working in a fast‑paced trading environment without ego.

Core responsibilities

• Trade support — Confirm, allocate, and reconcile trade blotters; resolve trade breaks with brokers, counterparties, and internal trading staff.
• Settlements & funding — Monitor settlement cycles, initiate and track settlement funding/wires, and manage failed/late settlements.
• P/L and position control — Produce daily P/L and position reports, investigate variances, and maintain accurate trading books.
• Confirmations & documentation — Manage trade confirmations, trade capture accuracy, and retention of trade documentation.
• Execution assistance — Execute orders when requested by the head trader and manage order flow across venues and brokers.
• Book balancing — Maintain and reconcile trading books; ensure internal systems reflect live positions and cash.
• Systems & process — Use OMS/EMS and middle‑office systems to capture trades, run reconciliations, and extract reporting; propose process improvements.
• Ad hoc support — Provide real‑time desk support during market events, assist with month‑end and quarter‑end tasks, and cover for the head trader as needed.

Required experience & skills

• 2–4 years of buy‑side or sell‑side operations, trade support, or assistant trading experience.
• Strong understanding of the full trade lifecycle for equities and common derivatives used on a long/short desk.
• Proven experience with settlements, confirmations, and failed trade resolution.
• Demonstrated ability to produce and analyze daily P/L and position reports.
• High proficiency in Excel; familiarity with one or more OMS/EMS platforms and middle‑office reconciliation tools.
• Excellent communication skills and the ability to work directly with traders, brokers, prime brokers, and operations teams.
• Calm under pressure, highly organized, and willing to take direction and execute tasks without ego.

Preferred qualifications

• Prior experience on a long/short equity desk or in a hedge fund middle office.
• Familiarity with prime brokerage workflows and margin/financing mechanics.
• Basic scripting or data‑automation skills (VBA, Python, SQL) to streamline reporting.
• Relevant industry licenses or willingness to obtain them.

What success looks like

• Accurate, timely P/L and position reporting with rapid resolution of discrepancies.
• Smooth, error‑free settlement and confirmation processes with minimal failed trades.
• Reliable execution support that enables the head trader to focus on strategy.
• Proactive identification and implementation of process improvements that reduce operational risk.

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