Investment Associate

Cirencester, England, United Kingdom

12/18/2024

St. James's Place (SJP) works in partnership to plan, grow and protect our clients’ financial futures. We deliver personalised, face-to-face financial advice to our clients, who trust us to manage their money to reach their goals. We provide this service via the Partnership, a network of qualified, expert advisors. We put financial wellbeing and responsible business choices at the heart of everything we do. We believe in the value of difference and know that diverse teams can help us problem solve and innovate for clients.

We look for people to join SJP to make an impact and to contribute to our culture which is based around long term relationships, doing the right thing, and being the best version of ourselves.

Location: Cirencester Office

Workplace Type: On-Site

Employment Type: 5 month Fixed-Term Contract

Seniority: Associate

What you’ll be doing:

As an Investment Associate, you will support our Partner businesses to structure and execute acquisitions using a range of debt and equity financing tools.

Working closely with the lending and consultancy teams you will provide insights, guidance and analysis into each Partners financial position to support credit and equity investment decision making.

This opportunity is ideal for an established individual who holds a professional accounting qualification (ACCA/CIMA or equivalent) and is looking for exposure within the UK financial services sector. The role is well suited to individuals looking to increase and refine their knowledge of the use of debt and equity instruments for M&A transactions in SME businesses.

Key Responsibilities:

• Working with the Partner Finance Consultancy team to support conversations around how lending and equity investments can be used to structure business acquisitions and growth.
• Preparing cashflow forecasts to support loan applications and Group business investments into Partner businesses.
• Analysing and preparing financial data (annual accounts, bank statements, income and expenditure) for senior management.
• Summarising the conclusion of financial models to support our underwriting and equity investment team in making credit, lending and investment decisions.
• Assessing the financial and non-financial factors of Partner businesses to produce investment and lending proposals for senior management approval.
• Lead the execution of transactions working with internal legal counsel to draft and execute transaction documentation.
  
  

Who we’re looking for:

You will be a qualified or nearly qualified accountant with previous experience of financial and cashflow modelling, together with good knowledge on different forms of capital investment, including debt and equity instruments.

In your previous experience you will have developed the ability to understand key drivers of business performance and their impact to primary financial statements whilst converting this understanding into accurate financial models. You will also have strong working knowledge of debt capital markets and M&A markets with an eagerness to develop skills in this area further.

You will take a pro-active approach to problem solving using your strong analytical ability, consultative approach and ability to manage competing objectives to ensure the best outcomes.

You will have strong communication, engagement and negotiation skills together with excellent presentation skills. In this role you will be expected to present technical and complex information in a digestible and concise way to support effective decision making.

What's in it for you?

• Non-Contributory Pension – 10% (increasing with length of service up to 15%) with further pension matching.
• Parental leave – 6 months full pay
• 28 days holiday entitlement plus bank holidays (based on full-time equivalent) with the option to buy up to an additional 5 days holiday
  
  

Flexible Working We know that everyone works best in different ways, at different times and in different environments. We have introduced a hybrid working policy to provide greater flexibility for part-time work, job-sharing, remote working, and flexibility on hours. Our people are encouraged to work in a flexible way that suits their lifestyle, so please ask the question and start a conversation!

Research tells us that applicants (especially those from underrepresented groups) can be put off from applying for a role if they do not meet all the criteria or have been on an extended career-break. If you think you would be a good match for this role and can demonstrate some transferable experience please apply, regardless of whether you tick every box.

Reasonable Adjustments

We're an equal opportunities employer and want to ensure our recruitment process is accessible and inclusive for all, if you require reasonable adjustment(s) at any stage please let us know by emailing us at careers@sjp.co.uk

What's next?

Our team will be in touch. As a business regulated by the FCA we would advise you to familiarise yourself with the conduct regulations and in particular consumer duty obligations prior to an interview with SJP.