Investment Director

Big Society Capital

Location London, EC4
Salary £50k - £70k per annum (depending on experience), permanent, full-time
Team Investment Group
  • Closing: 11:59pm, 30th Apr 2018 BST

Job Description

About Big Society Capital

Big Society Capital improves the lives of people in the UK by connecting social investment to charities and social enterprises. We engage with investors, fund managers, charities and social enterprises to make it easier to use social investment.

With our co-investors, we have made over £1bn of new capital available to organisations with a social mission, through investments into fund managers and social banks.

We have a special focus on: providing homes for people in need; supporting communities to improve lives; and early action to prevent problems.

Key purpose of role

Help create lasting improvements in people’s lives by identifying socially impactful and financially viable investment opportunities through working closely with BSC colleagues, sector experts and intermediaries. Help more social enterprises and charities to find appropriate social investment by raising awareness of where opportunities exist. The Investment Director will do this primarily by taking responsibility for deal execution, from idea origination and due diligence through to legal documentation and closing, as well as portfolio monitoring and management. Given the early stage of many investment proposals, the Investment Director will often be required to take a more collaborative approach to building proposals as well as assessing them.

Ultimately, BSC is a lean, nimble organisation, and you are encouraged to build a role for yourself. Social investment continues to grow in the UK, and at BSC you will have the opportunity to influence the development of it.

Key Responsibilities

  • Build understanding of social issues, sustainable business models and investors needs to lead the design of investment opportunities that improve lives of people in the UK.

  • Take the lead within BSC for driving social impact through investment within at least one of our focus areas: communities, homes and early action.

  • Build strong and lasting collaborations with partners to ensure investment opportunities have a sustained positive social impact.

  • Manage the analysis of prospective investments, from both a social impact and financial return standpoint, and lead on investment decision making.

  • Prepare and present papers that include investment recommendations for BSC’s Investment Committee

  • Take the lead in negotiating legal documentation and closing transactions

  • Work closely with social investors to drive their long-term financial and social performance – including using BSC’s Building Blocks framework.

  • Support BSC’s role in changing the financial system to incorporate social impact in its decision making; through building strong relationships across sectors, speaking at conferences etc.

  • Help design and build a world-class social impact investment team and approach at BSC, including the capturing and sharing of knowledge and delivering training programmes.

About You

We believe that successful organisations are purpose driven, performance orientated and principles led. The following five organisational values have become our ‘guiding beacon’:

  • Purposeful – We are passionate and energetic in our work to bring about our long-term vision of a thriving social investment market that enables positive social impact.

  • Pioneering Spirit – We give our team the autonomy and flexibility to be entrepreneurial and creative. We have the courage to push boundaries and have a restless drive for change

  • Openness – We listen, learn, experiment and collaborate. And we are adaptive and flexible in responding to what we learn.

  • Rigorous – We take a rigorous approach in all we do. We expect the highest standards and continually strive for excellence.

  • Respectful – We are genuine in both our approach and aspiration. We value each member of our team and our partners for what they bring.

We are a diverse organisation with employees from a range of backgrounds that seeks to reflect and represent the range of experiences within UK society. BSC is looking for a highly motivated individual that will share our values, can demonstrate the behaviours that will enable our organisation to succeed, and will be able to bring the following range of experience and skills:

EXPERIENCE

ESSENTIAL

  • A passion for, and demonstrable commitment to Big Society Capital’s social mission and the UK social sector

  • Experience of detailed analysis and decision making

  • A strong background in business analysis (such as strategy consulting, venture capital or investment banking) in either the private, social or public sector.

  • Experience of managing people, leading teams, and forming collaborative partnerships

DESIRABLE

  • Social investment background

  • UK social sector employment or voluntary experience

  • Strong investment experience

  • Deal execution skills including comfort with negotiating legal documentation

  • Proven project management skills

  • Experience of operating at, working alongside, and presenting recommendations to either executive or board levels within organisations

  • Experience of activities across the public, private and social sectors

  • Relevant experience in one of BSC’s strategic focus areas (communities, homes and early action)

ATTAINMENTS

  • Computer literacy especially Excel

  • Bachelor’s degree or equivalent

SPECIAL APTITUDES

  • Ability to process and break down investment proposals; analysing social impact, risk and return to make a decision on whether an investment is suitable given BSC’s objectives.

  • Self-starter able to build relationships and source investment ideas to address social issues

  • Ability to work closely as part of a team with exceptional influencing and interpersonal skills

  • Strong verbal and written communication skills

  • Ability to work closely with investee teams, and dynamically prioritise projects around impact quality and likelihood

  • Hunger for continued learning and development, including developing others.

THINKING STYLE

  • Structured thinker able to deal with complexity and uncertainty

  • Approach problem solving in an open and empathetic way with multiple stakeholders

  • Strategic, innovative and creative

BENEFITS OF WORKING FOR BIG SOCIETY CAPITAL

  • We will ask a lot of successful candidates – but in return working life at BSC offers:

  • The opportunity once proven to sit on corporate and advisory boards of investees and partner organisations

  • Formal training and learning opportunities

  • Salary and benefit package that is very competitive within the UK social and public sector, and that includes contributory pension plan, health insurance, child care voucher scheme and other benefits.

  • The privilege (and responsibility) of working in a globally pioneering organisation, backed by a substantial balance sheet

  • The chance to work with exceptional colleagues, who both lead by example but also provide a source of support and encouragement

  • A place where we strive to make things happen and seek to break new ground

Please APPLY ONLINE by CLICKING THE LINK at the TOP RIGHT of this page.

BSC is an equal opportunities employer

Removing bias from the hiring process

Applications closed Mon 30th Apr 2018

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Removing bias from the hiring process

  • Your application will be anonymously reviewed by our hiring team to ensure fairness
  • You’ll need a CV/résumé, but it’ll only be considered if you score well on the anonymous review

Applications closed Mon 30th Apr 2018