Senior Investment Associate, Fund Solutions

About BII

British International Investment is the UK’s development finance institution, owned by the UK Government. With a mission to solve the biggest global development challenges, we aim to create a virtuous circle of investment and impact. Your contribution will be essential. 

It won’t be easy: we do the hardest work in the most complex markets. Be prepared to test your skills, get creative and say your piece as you take on high-profile work as part of a diverse team of exceptionally smart, passionate people. 

In return, you can take your career to all-new places in a culture that rewards curiosity and collaboration, and balances high performance with wellbeing.

BII at a glance

Over 75 years supporting sustainable business growth in developing and emerging markets

More than £8.8 billion in net assests

1,400+ businesses invested in

950,000 workers in the businesses we support 

650+ people in our diverse global team

3 key development objectives: Productive | Sustainable | Inclusive

Team and role overview  

The Fund Solutions team sits within the Office of the Chief Investment Officer (“OCIO”).  

The Fund Solutions Team operates as an independent function to work with the Funds teams across BII’s business groups, which include ITS fund teams (PEFCO and sector funds’ investments), the Financial Services Funds team and the Infrastructure & Climate Funds team.  

The mandate of the Funds Solutions team covers the following: 

• Manage all funds which are outside of BII’s funds strategy (as updated in HI 2023).   

• Manage special situation-type issues within this portfolio and provide support on similar issues to investment teams managing their respective funds’ portfolios.  This entails considering and managing options to preserve value and accelerate liquidity, restructure the fund and potentially change the GP.  

• Pursue secondary funds transactions across BII’s entire funds’ portfolio as a portfolio management tool, to crystallise returns and encourage mobilisation, as well as delivering liquidity for BII (and be in keeping with BII’s commitment to responsible exits). 

• Develop innovative approaches to managing BII’s tail-end funds at scale – for example via outsourcing, secondary sales or developing strategic partnerships.  

We are seeking to appoint an associate for the Fund Solutions team. Reporting to one of the senior members of the Fund Solutions team, the individual will  work across all aspects of the Fund Solutions mandate.    

In undertaking this work the Fund Solutions team will seek to:  

• Manage risk to protect financial value and development impact. 

• Facilitate delivery of returns, portfolio risk mitigation, and mobilisation through developing secondary sales across BII’s entire funds’ portfolio.  

• Preserve and enhance BIIs reputation and legacy.  

• Support fund managers and our markets through difficult times.  

• Ensure commercial rigour.  

• Be inquisitive and innovative to identify tailored solutions to complex portfolio issues particularly in respect of tail-end funds. 

BII’s Investment Teams have the following structure Associate, Executive, Manager, Director, Team Head.   

The candidate will be based in London, United Kingdom, and report to a senior member of the Fund Solutions team. 

Responsibilities  

• The role comprises fund portfolio management (including distressed situations), secondary transactions and contributing to developing Fund Solutions’ broader strategy.   

Portfolio management  

• Take on a monitoring role as a “second eyes” for, ideally, between 8-12 funds and support the Fund Solutions team portfolio management by working closely with “first eyes” (deal leads) to: 

• Ensure effective reporting and analysis of the underlying portfolio to enable appropriate decision making on the portfolio, including identifying potential issues for engagement and discussing these with the relevant “first eyes”.  

• Collaborate closely with Development Impact (‘DI’), ESG, Business Integrity (BI’), Finance, Legal and Tax teams to ensure BII’s value and impact is safeguarded, when developing objectives and priorities for restructured funds, and when considering funds’ exits.  

• Support the deal lead in their analysis of options to address BII’s LP position in distressed funds, looking to prioritise the preservation of value and impact.  
• Assist in driving internal processes required to implement action plans.  

Transaction work 

• Support the deal lead on all aspects of a secondary transaction and show willingness and capability to take responsibility on specific areas as directed. 
• Have strong analytical and modelling skills to assess potential returns to BII from proposed secondary transactions and fund restructurings; and work closely with a deal lead to assess different options/scenarios for crystallising returns for BII. 

Project work  

• Provide support to the entire Fund Solutions team in respect of various projects such as: 

• Developing and refining the Fund Solutions’ strategy.  

• Analysis of the Fund Solutions NCP and inputting into, and at times taking responsibility for, relevant periodic internal reporting requirements. 

• Broader market research on specific themes relevant to the Fund Solutions mandate. 
• Helping to prepare and present ‘lessons learned’ assessments for sharing with all BII’s funds’/operational teams. 

Collaboration  

• Collaborate effectively with colleagues across the various Fund investment and operational support teams to help ensure BII’s response to solving special situations challenges and/or pursuing secondary transactions is properly co-ordinated internally.  

External Engagement 

• Develop and maintain a network of relationships amongst LP, advisers, GPs and secondary players to assist in the execution of the Funds Solutions’ mandate. 

The candidate  

Building on your investment experience to date, you are eager to develop knowledge and skills that will help Fund Solutions deliver on its’ mandate through both resolving challenging investment situations for BII, as well as enhancing BII’s approach to portfolio management through working on secondary fund transactions.  This will give you ‘cradle to grave investment experience’ and by so doing boost your portfolio management knowledge and experience for BII’s benefit. You are an enthusiastic and diligent learner, with effective communication skills, able to listen to and converse with senior people and with strong project management skills. 

Background, skills, aptitude  

Technical skills  

• Strong analytical skills, proficiency in financial analysis and use of Excel.  

• Good understanding of how to analyse underlying investments and estimate their potential market value. 

• Good presentational skills (written and verbal), fluency in English required.  

• Relevant experience might include working in the financial services sector, with exposure to private investments, and exposure to restructuring investments. 
• Market knowledge of Emerging Markets, (ideally Africa and South Asia) and/or some understanding of fund documentation and terms and how they operate in theory and practice, would be preferable. 

Behavioural Skills  

• Results focus – driven to achieve objectives/results 

• Patience and tenacity – resolving issues can take significant periods of time to close and resolve due to the number of players involved and their differing motivations.  

• Aptitude, desire and motivation to learn and apply acquired knowledge. 

• Willingness to question, interrogate and analyse. 

• Team working – within own team, and the wider BII workforce. 

• Influencing & Persuading – ability to obtain agreement and alignment with stakeholders. 

• Mission driven – alignment with BII’s objectives including an interest in development and sustainability issues. 
• Ownership – comfortable taking on responsibility and working independently once given appropriate guidance and direction. 

Other skills  

• A pro-active approach to networking, growing your own network and conversing with a variety of people, and in particular more senior people, from GPs, LPs etc.   

• An interest and willingness in getting to grips with the detail – legal terms, tax, accounts.  

• A willingness to be pro-active, and put forward ideas, suggestions and potential innovations.  

• Very organised and process-driven.  
• A good, collaborative cross-team worker.

British International Investment is committed to diversity and inclusion and welcomes all applicants regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation or educational background.