At Barings, we are as invested in our associates as we are in our clients. We recognize those who work diligently for us and reward them for personal and professional integrity, communication skills, distinct competencies and expertise in specific strategies, ability to collaborate as a team member and true dedication to the interests of our clients.
We thank you for your interest in joining the Barings team, and invite you to explore our current employment opportunities.
Title: Finance Director, Real Estate Debt- Europe
Business Unit: Global Portfolio Services
Location: London, UK
Barings is a leading global financial services firm dedicated to meeting the evolving investment and capital needs of our clients and customers. Through active asset management and direct origination, we provide innovative solutions and access to differentiated opportunities across public and private capital markets. A subsidiary of MassMutual, Barings maintains a strong global presence with business and investment professionals located across North America, Europe, and Asia Pacific.
Job Summary
1. Serve as the lead finance partner and strategic adviser to the Real Estate Debt portfolio management team.
2. Oversee all financial and operational activities for Barings European Real Estate Debt, ensuring alignment with the company's strategic objectives.
3. Foster cross-functional collaboration within the Real Estate team across Europe, US and APAC, driving platform solutions and operational efficiencies.
4. Optimize investor returns through strategic financial management and innovative solutions.
Primary Responsibilities
General
5. Finance lead for European Real Estate Debt
6. Pivotal role in fostering cross-regional collaboration within the Real Estate Debt team across Europe, the US, and APAC.
7. Day to day monitoring of operational and financial risk (including liquidity risk, capital risk, credit risk, tax risk and foreign exchange risk).
8. Develop and implement strategies to mitigate risk and optimise fund performance.
9. Design and implement strategies / processes to ensure operational efficiency.
10. Engage with stakeholders at all levels to influence and drive operational strategy across the organization.
11. Lead initiatives to develop and implement platform solutions that enhance operational efficiencies and streamline processes across regions.
12. Facilitate regular communication and coordination between regional teams to share best practices, address challenges, and leverage synergies.
Investor communication
13. Regular meetings with and presentations to investors, defining content delivering key messages.
14. Preparation of investor questionnaires and ad-hoc financial analysis requested by investors
15. Support Investor Relations and Fund Analyst through timely and accurate responses to ad hoc queries
16. Coordinating with lawyers, accountants and other advisors in drafting responses to questions from potential investors during fund raising
17. Work with the legal advisers and administrators in on-boarding investors and developing a good relationship with investors.
Reporting and financial appraisal
18. Supervision of monthly and quarterly fund reporting cycles, including co-ordination and review of quarterly NAVs (IFRS), US GAAP reconciliations and payment of distributions.
19. Supervision of annual financial / tax reporting process, including audit of the entities.
20. Analysis of budgeted income, opex and capex expenditure
21. Returns attribution analysis and interpretation
Treasury
22. Optimise cash management / liquidity ensuring timely accurate funding of deals, opex, etc
23. FX hedging – develop and implement hedging strategy (both asset and share-class)
Operations
24. Oversight of all operational activity related to the Real Estate debt business including:Supplier / advisor management (Co-Sec, valuations, hedging advisor, auditors, tax advisers)Maintenance and compliance of tax structureVAT complianceDebt complianceDrive operational efficiency with Barings internal systems (Aladdin, Real Insight, Anaplan)Manage fund governance - regular board presentations
Debt raising and management
25. Implementation of finance facilities and related security packages together with Director, Debt Capital Markets. Satisfaction of CPs, including dealing with vendors / lenders / advisers.
26. Management of interest payments, draw-downs and repayments.
27. Monitoring satisfaction of debt covenants.
28. Preparation of periodic covenant reporting.
29. Dealing with any bank queries and remedying any instances of financial default.
Qualifications
The Senior Fund Controller will also be required to assist with other projects as required by Barings from time to time.
30. Highly organized, proactive self-starter with a strategic mindset.
31. Strong commercial acumen and ability to drive business growth.
32. Proven experience in managing global teams across multiple time zones.
33. Exceptional communication skills, with the ability to influence and engage stakeholders at all levels.
34. Ability to multitask and prioritize a high volume of tasks effectively
35. Ability to interpret and manage complex financial models
36. Extensive experience in commercial Real Estate credit, with over 12 years in the industry.
37. Advanced excel
38. Deep understanding and experience of FX hedging – asset and share class
39. Experience with large scale systems implementations highly desirable.
40. Qualified Accountant (12 yrs+) with a strong background in Luxembourg open ended fund structures
#LI-JS1
Requisite Skills
Additional Skills
Barings is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer; Minority/Female/Age/Sexual Orientation/Gender Identity/Individual with Disability/Protected Veteran. We welcome all persons to apply.