Morgan Stanley is a leading global financial services firm providing a wide range of investment banking, securities, investment management and wealth management services. The Firm's employees serve clients worldwide including corporations, governments, and individuals from more than 1,200 offices in 43 countries.
As a market leader, the talent and passion of our people is critical to our success. Together, we share a common set of values rooted in integrity, excellence, and strong team ethic. Morgan Stanley can provide a superior foundation for building a professional career - a place for people to learn, to achieve and grow. A philosophy that balances personal lifestyles, perspectives and needs is an important part of our culture.
Position Description:
Morgan Stanley is seeking a Senior Associate/Vice President to join its Contractual Terms Risk Management (CTRM) team within Institutional Securities.
CTRM is a first-line risk function responsible for identifying, assessing, and managing risk embedded in the contractual terms of the Firm’s trading agreements with counterparties and the management and maintenance of structured data in Firm systems. The team operates at the intersection of Legal, Risk, Sales & Trading, and Technology, translating complex legal provisions into decision-ready data and actionable risk insights.
This is not a document negotiation role—it is a strategic risk management role focused on how contractual terms drive exposure, operational outcomes, and downstream decision-making across the Firm.
The role offers a unique opportunity to contribute to firmwide data and infrastructure transformation initiatives, including the expansion of structured contract data and the evolution toward AI-enabled contract analytics.
Primary Responsibilities:
Risk Management & Analysis
- Assess, interpret, and challenge contractual provisions across a wide range of trading agreements (e.g., ISDA, CSA, Prime Brokerage, Repo, Securities Lending)
- Identify risk implications of negotiated terms and escalate to Risk, Credit, and senior stakeholders as appropriate
- Provide subject matter expertise on contractual risk exposures, including during counterparty onboarding and lifecycle events
Data & Strategic Initiatives
- Drive the capture, quality, and expansion of structured contractual data across Firm systems
- Contribute to initiatives aimed at transforming legal agreement data into scalable, consumable datasets for risk, trading, and regulatory use cases
- Partner with Technology and Strats on initiatives to enhance data models, workflows, and automation
Stakeholder Engagement
- Serve as a key point of contact across Risk, Credit, Legal, Sales & Trading, Operations, and Finance
- Lead preparation and coordination of materials for counterparty risk and credit escalation forums
- Influence stakeholders by clearly articulating the business and risk impact of contractual terms
Business & Operational Oversight
- Provide oversight and escalation support for core CTRM processes, including but not limited to:
- Trading without documentation
- Monitoring of key contractual provisions
- Ad hoc reviews of counterparty documentation
- Data quality and governance controls
- Respond to time-sensitive issues and deliver clear, actionable recommendations under tight deadlines
Qualifications / Critical Success Factors:
- Ability to effectively manage various projects and deadlines, including tracking and coordinating responses to internal and external requests with minimal oversight
- Desire to build relationships with senior stakeholders in the Sales and Trading business, Counterparty Risk, Credit, Legal, Compliance, Operations, and Finance, among other support functions
- Highly motivated self-starter with the ability to work under pressure and prioritize competing deadlines
- Ability to work on challenging assignments in a dynamic environment, synthesize information, gather relevant facts and reach logical conclusions
- Excellent written and oral communication skills, as well as the ability to present ideas concisely and tailor messaging to various stakeholders
- Fast Learner with the ability to absorb new concepts and knowledge quickly
- Ability to take ideas forward and to challenge others with integrity and maturity
- Exceptional organizational skills and a high degree of attention to detail
- Strong analytical skills with an ability to understand complex workflows
- Strategic thinker with experience coordinating and collaborating with multiple stakeholder groups
Additional Qualifications:
- 5+ years’ experience in negotiating a cross section of trading agreements, including in-depth knowledge of the various provisions contained in these agreements and their negotiability. Knowledge of and proficiency around the underlying products traded also preferred.
- Knowledge of financial services sector preferred
- Proficiency with Microsoft Office and Microsoft Teams
- Bachelor’s degree required; JD or equivalent legal background preferred
WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT FROM MORGAN STANLEY:
At Morgan Stanley, we raise, manage and allocate capital for our clients – helping them reach their goals. We do it in a way that’s differentiated – and we’ve done that for 90 years. Our values - putting clients first, doing the right thing, leading with exceptional ideas, committing to diversity and inclusion, and giving back - aren’t just beliefs, they guide the decisions we make every day to do what's best for our clients, communities and more than 80,000 employees in 1,200 offices across 42 countries. At Morgan Stanley, you’ll find an opportunity to work alongside the best and the brightest, in an environment where you are supported and empowered. Our teams are relentless collaborators and creative thinkers, fueled by their diverse backgrounds and experiences. We are proud to support our employees and their families at every point along their work-life journey, offering some of the most attractive and comprehensive employee benefits and perks in the industry. There’s also ample opportunity to move about the business for those who show passion and grit in their work.
To learn more about our offices across the globe, please copy and paste https://www.morganstanley.com/about-us/global-offices into your browser.
Expected base pay rates for the role will be between $100,000 and $150,000 per year at the commencement of employment for Associate and between $140,000 and $250,000 at the commencement of employment for Vice President. However, base pay if hired will be determined on an individualized basis and is only part of the total compensation package, which, depending on the position, may also include commission earnings, incentive compensation, discretionary bonuses, other short and long-term incentive packages, and other Morgan Stanley sponsored benefit programs.
Morgan Stanley is an equal opportunity employer committed to building and maintaining a workforce that is diverse in experience and background. Our recruiting efforts reflect our strong commitment to a culture of inclusion, where individuals are hired, developed, and advanced based on their skills and talents.
Our workforce reflects a broad cross-section of the global communities in which we operate, bringing a variety of backgrounds, talents, perspectives, and experiences.
For more information, please visit: https://www.morganstanley.com/people-opportunities/eeo.
Skills Required
- 5+ years' experience negotiating trading agreements (ISDA, CSA, Prime Brokerage, Repo, Securities Lending)
- Bachelor's degree
- Proficiency with Microsoft Office
- Proficiency with Microsoft Teams
- Ability to manage projects, track deadlines and coordinate responses with minimal oversight
- Strong analytical skills, attention to detail, and ability to synthesize complex workflows
- Excellent written and oral communication and ability to influence senior stakeholders
- JD or equivalent legal background
- Knowledge of financial services sector and underlying traded products
Morgan Stanley Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Morgan Stanley and has not been reviewed or approved by Morgan Stanley.
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Parental & Family Support — Family support is extensive, with paid parental leave for all parents, adoption and fertility assistance, backup childcare, and eldercare resources. Feedback suggests these programs meaningfully enhance the overall package and help with retention.
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Healthcare Strength — Health coverage spans medical, dental, vision, mental‑health access, care navigation, and expert second opinions. Convenient primary care access and condition‑specific support reinforce the depth of healthcare coverage.
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Equity Value & Accessibility — Equity compensation and stock ownership are positioned as core motivators that encourage commitment and retention. Feedback suggests education and support are provided to help participants manage equity and related financial benefits.
Morgan Stanley Insights
What We Do
Morgan Stanley mobilizes capital to help governments, corporations, institutions and individuals around the world achieve their financial goals. For over 85 years, the firm’s reputation for using innovative thinking to solve complex problems has been well earned and rarely matched. A consistent industry leader throughout decades of dramatic change in modern finance, Morgan Stanley will continue to break new ground in advising, serving and providing new opportunities for its clients. Morgan Stanley is committed to maintaining the first-class service and high standard of excellence that have always defined the firm. At its foundation are five core values — putting clients first, doing the right thing, leading with exceptional ideas, committing to diversity and inclusion, and giving back — that guide its more than 60,000 employees in 1,200 offices across 41 countries.
