Investment Director

Full Job Description

Department:  Investment Group

Reports to:  Managing Director

Grade and Salary:  £72,950- £87,525 

Contract:  Full time; Permanent

Location:  Hybrid: London (Chancery Lane) and homeworking

The opportunity:

We are seeking to appoint one or more exceptional Investment Director(s) who will specialise in one of our focus areas or in our general investment activity. It is a unique opportunity for investment specialists who want to help transform the way mainstream financial markets help deliver deep and lasting impact on people in the UK. Your work will help to solve some of the UK’s most entrenched social issues, so we are looking for someone who shares our passion to improve people’s lives in collaboration with the wider organisation and our external partners, and who is enthusiastic about designing and developing creative solutions.

This is an exciting time to join BSC as we refresh our strategy for 2025-30, building upon what we have learnt since we started our impact investing journey in 2012.  Our team comes from a wide range of backgrounds, and are driven by transforming the way mainstream financial markets help deliver deep and lasting impact on people in the UK. BSC also makes a significant commitment to your learning and development, with structured support and resources to accelerate your path to leadership in the impact investing industry. If you are someone who shares our passion to improve people’s lives, and who is enthusiastic about designing and developing creative solutions to complex problems, we would love to hear from you.

What you will do:

The Investment Director will take responsibility for some of our investment objectives, working with colleagues across the organisation. The job holder(s) will:

Lead the development of new investment opportunities  including:

• Applying experience, knowledge and networks to identify social issues or market needs where social impact investment can help support a solution in our market systems (social and affordable property, social lending, impact venture and social outcome contracts);
• Identifying a strong pipeline of opportunities that aligns with our impact goals including through building networks and developing creative and innovative solutions to these identified social issues through collaborative partnerships with diverse stakeholders including investors, charities and government.

Manage prospective investments through our investment process in one or more market systems :

• Helping to build a balanced portfolio of investments, with potential to take increasing responsibility for portions of investment strategy
• Supervising and undertaking detailed investment analysis, including of the market, the prospective investee, and the financial, social impact and systems change cases;
• Structuring prospective investments;
• Preparing and presenting investment recommendations to our Investment Committee, and take a lead on investment decision making;
• Negotiating legal documents and closing transactions.
• Demonstrating and championing excellence in investment delivery through the investment process

Own the management of our existing portfolio investments in one or more market systems, including through supervising junior team members:

• Work with fund managers to evaluate and manage their financial and social impact performance;
• Implementing and supervising fund manager reporting so BSC can assess the contribution of the investments to our systems change, impact and financial goals across our portfolio and in the relevant market system
• Having accountability for performance of portions of our investment portfolio within a market system or a whole market system

Systems change leadership

• Being or becoming over time an internal and external expert in a market system or investment process, with potential to lead or second on a market system. This will include:
• Developing strategies for achieving BSC’s goals in the market systems, including identifying and leading strategic projects within market system
• Building and managing key strategic relationships that can help us achieve our market system goals, including with fund managers, investors and charities and social enterprises
• Influencing the behaviour of key system actors, through thought leadership and partnerships, working with our Engagement and Communications teams

Team management

• Working with other Investment Directors to help build a world class social impact investment team and approach at BSC, including supervising and line managing Investment Managers and other members of the team.
• Leading on discrete areas of our investment management approach or team management to help deliver our strategic objectives.
• Contributing to organisation-wide initiatives that help us deliver our mission such as working groups to improve the way we work or how we engage with certain stakeholders.

What you will bring:  

Skills, Abilities and Attributes

• Structured thinker - able to deal with complexity and uncertainty
• Innovative, creative and strategic approach to problem solving
• Solves problems with multiple stakeholders in an open and empathetic way
• Collegial team player - Flexible and willing to work with and contribute to a team
• Self-starter - able to work under own initiative and source new opportunities
• Relationship management – excellent interpersonal skills and able to build relationships at all levels
• Excellent written and oral communication skills
• Hunger for continued learning and development, including developing others

Embody Big Society Capital core values:

• 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 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.

Experience

Experience (essential)

• A passion and demonstrable commitment to improving lives in the UK
• Experience of detailed analysis, communication and decision making, in relation to complex issues
• Experience developing solutions to complex problems
• A strong background in analysis in either the private, social or public sector
• Proven relationship building and influencing skills
• Experience of managing people, leading teams and forming collaborative partnerships
• Experience in and specialist knowledge of one of the following private asset classes: real estate (principally housing), venture investment, social outcomes contracts or lending

Experience (desirable)

• Social impact investment background
• UK social sector employment or voluntary experience
• Strong investment experience including new deal origination and portfolio management
• Deal execution skills including comfort negotiating legal documents
• Proven project management skills
• Experience of operating at, working alongside and presenting recommendations to either an executive or board within organisations
• Experience of activities across the public, private and social sectors

Don’t meet every requirement? Studies have shown that women and people from racialised communities are less likely to apply to jobs unless they meet every single qualification. If you’re excited about this role but your past experience doesn’t align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyway. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles.

Other terms

• Location:  We are a UK-based business with an office in the Chancery Lane area of London, accessible to a number of public transport links. Our current approach allows colleagues to spend 40% - 60% of their working hours in the office, and the remainder from home. We hope that this working pattern encourages Better Society Capital employees to achieve a healthy balance between work and personal goals, as we continue to adapt to the changing needs of our diverse workforce.
• Right to work: for candidates who do not have the right to work in the UK, Better Society Capital may consider visa sponsorship
• Equality, Diversity and Inclusion:  Better Society Capital is committed to being a diverse organisation that is truly representative of the communities we serve. We therefore welcome applications from candidates of all backgrounds, particularly those under-represented in the social impact investment sector (e.g. people from LGBTQIA+; racialised; disabled; under-served communities)

 We are an equal opportunities employer with an inclusive environment where all employees can contribute to their fullest potential. We want every colleague to be able to deliver their work with dignity, equality, comfort and independence. Our office is fully accessible with step-free access and an open-plan set up. We are open to accommodation requests regarding assistive technologies, accessibility tools, flexible working or any other reasonable adjustments that will make working or visiting here more accessible for you. If you have a disability or other access needs and require any support to assist you through the recruitment process, please get in touch with Nica Gordon (People and Talent Officer) at

How to apply:     

Please apply by 9am on Monday 20 May 2023 by clicking the Apply button.

The platform you will be redirected to is designed to minimise unconscious bias in recruitment. You will be asked some work-based questions which are reviewed anonymously by the hiring panel. Please note, while you will upload your CV, it will not be viewed by panel members at this stage, so we ask that you give full consideration to each answer.

As a Disability Confident  employer, we guarantee an initial telephone interview for all candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum criteria for the job. We are defining a disability in accordance with the Equality Act 2010, as a person who has a physical or mental impairment, and the impairment has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on their ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities. You will be asked in your Applied application whether this applies to you.

If you have any questions about the position before making an application, we invite you to a virtual Open Hour  with Drew Ritchie (Investment Director) and Nica Gordon (People and Talent Officer) at 13 May 2024 at 2pm. This is an open opportunity to meet the team and to explore the role and Better Society Capital a little further before you apply. (For anonymity, attendees will have the option to remove their name. and switch videos off). Please contact Danica Gordon: if you would like to attend.

Interviews

Round 1 interviews will be held on w/c 27 May

Round 2 interviews will be held on w/c 10 June

You can find out more about our recruitment approach