Job of the Week: Anyone for Secondaries?

Looking for an exciting opportunity in deal analysis, structuring and execution?

Look no further than our first private equity job of the week (details below, including our estimate for salary and bonus). This feature will center on what we think is an exciting career prospect in private equity or venture capital for either junior or senior level professionals.

For this first edition we are showcasing a job posting from secondaries pioneer Coller Capital, which has openings advertised for several senior associate positions on its careers website. The one we thought stood out is the opening for a senior associate position based in New York. The firm is also recruiting for a senior associate role based in London; two Spanish-speaking senior associates based in London and New York; a Swedish-speaking senior associate based in London; and an investment accountant and a technical business analyst, both based in London.

The secondaries market is in high-growth mode. According to sell-side advisor Cogent Partners, global secondary transaction volume reached approximately $11 billion in the second half of 2011, resulting in approximately $25 billion for the full year. Cogent marks this as one of the busiest periods in secondary market history, and predicts 2012 transaction volume will exceed $20 billion for a third consecutive year. That’s a lot of portfolios and portfolio companies to be monitoring. Which may explain Coller Capital’s recruitment drive as one of the main players in the industry.

And Coller Capital isn’t the only secondary firm that’s in hiring mode. Global private equity investment management firm Adams Street Partners is advertising an opening on its website for a Chicago-based senior associate to support the activities of its secondary investment team. And global investment firm HarbourVest Partners is also recruiting via its website for a senior associate for its secondary team based in Hong Kong.

Gail McManus, managing director of London-based Private Equity Recruitment Ltd, was formerly an investor at UK-headquartered private equity firm 3i and has been recruiting for the industry for the last fifteen years. “Secondary firm recruiting has picked up a little in quarter one compared to quarter four last year, with most demand at the junior and mid level,” she said.

Added Joseph T. Healey, who is co-Head of the private equity practice at Korn/ Ferry International based in New York: “The private equity secondary business remains a very attractive asset class. Coller is an industry leader with good access to LP capital. It is a great example of an idiosyncratic growth story in a PE industry that is going sideways or shrinking.”

***Job of the Week***

Position: Senior Associate

Firm: Coller Capital

Focus: Global Private Equity Secondaries Investor

Funds Under Management: $8 billion

Location: New York

Job Description: Coller Capital is looking for an individual to “contribute to all aspects of the deal process, from analyzing and valuing portfolio companies to deal structuring, negotiation and execution.”
The successful candidate must “take on responsibility for all primary quantitative and qualitative analysis of portfolio companies and funds working closely with deal teams comprising other investment team professionals as well as Coller’s in-house tax and legal counsel and the finance department.”

Key Responsibilities: Coller Capital lists deal analysis; deal structuring and execution; post investment monitoring; deal sourcing, marketing and fundraising as the core responsibilities for this role

Qualifications: A minimum of 3-6 years experience within a relevant industry is cited with “complete analyst training and some experience at an associate level.” Relevant experience is listed as:
o private equity
o funds of funds
o pension fund
o family office
o corporate finance
o leveraged finance
o M&A
o transaction services or corporate finance within a Big 4 accountancy firm
o investment consulting firm
o as an investor/LP

Experience: Coller Capital lists the following as essential requirements: Excellent academics and a solid career history. Fluent (written and spoken) English. Established network in the US (US based roles) through working in that country. Advanced financial and business modeling skills. Strategic and commercial acumen

Salary for equivalent role (based on 2011-2012 Holt-Thomson Reuters PE/VC Compensation Report; this does not come from Coller Capital):
Average Base Salary Senior Associate at Secondaries Firm: $141,800; Average Salary + Bonus: $220,600

Contact: Coller Capital via Reference number: 37

For more great private equity job opportunities head over to the peHUB career center, co-hosted with eFinancialCareers.com.