This job is with St. James's Place, an inclusive employer and a member of myGwork – the largest global platform for the LGBTQ business community. Please do not contact the recruiter directly. What you'll be doing: As an Investment Associate, you will support our Partner businesses to structure and execute acquisitions using a range of debt and equity financing tools. Working closely with the lending and consultancy teams you will provide insights, guidance and analysis into each Partners financial position to support credit and equity investment decision making. This opportunity is ideal for an established individual who holds a professional accounting qualification (ACCA/CIMA or equivalent) and is looking for exposure within the UK financial services sector. The role is well suited to individuals looking to increase and refine their knowledge of the use of debt and equity instruments for M&A transactions in SME businesses. Key Responsibilities: Working with the Partner Finance Consultancy team to support conversations around how lending and equity investments can be used to structure business acquisitions and growth. Preparing cashflow forecasts to support loan applications and Group business investments into Partner businesses. Analysing and preparing financial data (annual accounts, bank statements, income and expenditure) for senior management. Summarising the conclusion of financial models to support our underwriting and equity investment team in making credit, lending and investment decisions. Assessing the financial and non-financial factors of Partner businesses to produce investment and lending proposals for senior management approval. Lead the execution of transactions working with internal legal counsel to draft and execute transaction documentation. Who we're looking for: You will be a qualified or nearly qualified accountant with previous experience of financial and cashflow modelling, together with good knowledge on different forms of capital investment, including debt and equity instruments. In your previous experience you will have developed the ability to understand key drivers of business performance and their impact to primary financial statements whilst converting this understanding into accurate financial models. You will also have strong working knowledge of debt capital markets and M&A markets with an eagerness to develop skills in this area further. You will take a pro-active approach to problem solving using your strong analytical ability, consultative approach and ability to manage competing objectives to ensure the best outcomes. You will have strong communication, engagement and negotiation skills together with excellent presentation skills. In this role you will be expected to present technical and complex information in a digestible and concise way to support effective decision making.