Grantham, Mayo, Van Otterloo & Co. LLC (“GMO”)

Senior Writer

Interested candidates should apply on GMO’s website

Company Profile:

Founded in 1977, GMO is a private partnership committed to delivering superior investment performance and advice to our clients.  We offer strategies where we believe we are positioned to add the greatest value for our investors.  These include multi-asset class portfolios as well as dedicated equity, fixed income, and absolute return offerings, many of which employ the firm’s proprietary 7-year asset class forecasting framework.  Our client base is comprised primarily of institutions, including corporate and public defined benefit and defined contribution retirement plans, endowments, foundations, and financial intermediaries.

GMO, whose sole business is investment management, employs approximately 470 people worldwide and is headquartered in Boston with offices in San Francisco, London, Amsterdam, Sydney, and Singapore. We manage roughly $70 billion in client assets using a combination of top-down and bottom-up approaches that blend traditional fundamental insights with innovative quantitative methods to identify undervalued asset classes and securities. Our valuation-based approach embeds several key factors, including: a long-term investment horizon, discipline, conviction, and a commitment to research. Our research emphasizes not only identifying and exploiting pricing dislocations but also understanding the long-term drivers of return in the markets in which we invest. We are known for our candor in sharing our views with clients and for our willingness to take bold, differentiated positions when opportunities warrant.

Position Overview:

GMO’s Senior Writer is responsible for authoring high-quality, readily digestible content that will be used across GMO’s business -- both internally and externally. S/he is a key member of the Marketing department, helping to develop effective communications. S/he must be a skilled writer with professional experience in a writing role in the financial industry or as a financial or business journalist.

GMO is known for our industry leading research, insightful investment perspectives, and close partnering with clients.  We use written work to share our market views, provide portfolio updates, communicate progress on our business initiatives, and build GMO’s visibility and brand.  The Senior Writer acts as a key contributor to this content creation.  This content helps our colleagues to acquire, retain and deepen client relationships and reinforces our firm’s position as an industry thought leader.  

The Senior Writer partners closely with colleagues in Marketing, Global Client Relations, Investment Teams, Human Resources, Senior Management and other parts of GMO. In addition to external communications, s/he is responsible for supporting internal communication efforts across our organization in support of our human capital strategic priorities and in keeping with our values and competencies.

The Senior Writer reports to the Head of Investment Product Strategy.

In order to be considered, please provide a cover letter and at least three samples of relevant, preferably recent, work.

Responsibilities Include:

·         Collaborate with colleagues in Marketing and Investment Product Strategy, Global Client Relations, investment portfolio strategists, researchers, portfolio managers, and firm leaders to develop marketing and communications content that conveys GMO’s vision and voice

·         Conceive, write, and produce a wide range of materials, including marketing documents, investment articles, talking points, client letters, website language, social media posts, video scripts, RFP answers, official statements, and employee communications

·         Write clear, persuasive, original copy that ranges from technical investment content to marketing perspectives that explain GMO’s approach and thinking to a broad, public audience

·         Work with groups across the firm to effectively describe and position GMO’s investment strategies while highlighting firm strengths and differentiators

·         Partner directly with our firm’s management team and other senior leaders to listen to and capture their voices and thinking in written form

·         Guide GMO’s Design team in creating visual aids, such as charts or other graphics, that work together with copy to communicate subject matter in a clear, compelling, engaging way

·         Help shape and reinforce a unique editorial voice that expresses GMO’s beliefs in language that is intelligent, accessible, and tailored

·         Synthesize and edit existing content from subject matter experts

·         Support quick-turnaround communications when events warrant them

·         Manage editorial projects from conception through production, layout, and compliance

Required Skills:

·         7+ years of professional writing experience in the financial industry or in financial or business journalism

·         Bachelor’s degree required, preferably with a major in English, communications, economics, or similar discipline

·         Master’s degree and/or CFA or other similar financial designation preferred

·         Deep knowledge of asset management and investing across equity, fixed income, and alternative asset classes

·         Exceptional writing skills, including the ability to write succinct, effective copy to make complex information engaging and accessible for various audiences

·         Experience with publishing and communications practices; understanding of concepts including voice, tone, and stylistic consistency, and an ability to adapt and develop these concepts to suit various contexts

·         Experience with a wide range of communication forms, media, and distribution channels

·         Understanding of how to write compliant marketing content

·         Superior communication and persuasion skills

·         Professional, client-centric approach

·         Proven ability to work in a fast-paced, collaborative, creative environment

·         Outstanding organizational and interpersonal skills, including the ability to build trust and collaborate effectively within and across teams

·         Understanding of marketing practices, methods, and measurements

Character:

·         Thoughtful and creative

·         Proactive with exceptional attention to detail

·         High energy, positive attitude, professional, and mature

·         Excited to be part of a team and have firm-wide impacts / Comfortable working independently

·         Skilled at prioritizing multiple tasks, setting goals, and meeting deadlines

·         Discretion to handle confidential or sensitive information

·         Self-directed and motivated; Focused on execution

·         High degree of intellectual curiosity

·         Ability to professionally represent GMO, embodying our firm’s values