Financial Analyst

Does the prospect of working on sports-based investment funds at a growing and dynamic social enterprise appeal to you? We are looking for a Financial Analyst to join our fund management team. Our team works with major sector bodies in sport to manage projects and loan funds delivering benefit to sport and communities throughout England.

Role highlights

• Exciting opportunity to join a growing social enterprise focused on maximising the positive impact of sport and physical activity on individuals and communities.
• Opportunity to work on interesting projects that result in significant community and social impact with a variety of sports organisations.
• Chance to gain first-hand experience of impact investment, playing a key role in its growing application in the sports sector.
• Ideal for an entrepreneurial individual who aspires to progress their career in an emerging field who can fit into a high performing team.
• Opportunity to earn £45,000 from base salary, bonus and pension.
• Hybrid working, combining weekly office time in London or Leeds with remote working.
• Full time (5 days per week) is preferred although part time will be considered for outstanding candidates.

About us

Sporting Assets is social enterprise specialising in grassroots sport, community activity and finance. Our mission is to help develop a resilient and impactful Community Sports Sector; we do this by providing a unique offer as both advisors to, and investors in, the community sports sector.

We work across two key areas, Advisory and Fund Management, and take the learning from each to inform and develop our work in the other.

A key to our growing business is a dynamic, hard working team within a supportive environment, along with an opportunity to gain a shareholding for those that go consistently ‘above and beyond’.

Sporting Assets is part of The Finance For Sustainability Group, a group of social enterprises that collectively has structured over £500m of Impact Investment Funds, manage over £60m of Impact Investment Funds, and have advised on over 100 impact investment assignments across sport, the environment, arts and heritage, as well as creating new pieces of market infrastructure for the wider impact investment market. https://financeforsustainability.co.uk/

The role

The successful candidate will play an important role supporting both our Advisory and Fund Management teams.

The Fund Management team currently manage £13m under two impact investment funds, Sporting Capital and Club Capital, focused on community sport, physical activity and facilities. We have designed sport focused impact investment funds of over £500m for other sector bodies and are in the process of developing new funds. The role will support the Fund Management team through:

· Aiding the development of investment proposals by undertaking financial analysis, for example assessing organisation’s financial forecasts to test financial viability of proposed investments

· Helping to develop new funds through providing data interpretation, this will include manipulating large data sets, identifying and extracting key information from these data sets and presenting them in a clear and concise way

· Supporting where required across the full fund management lifecycle, e.g Initial enquiries, development of investment proposals, contracting and ongoing reporting.

The Advisory team currently work on a variety of sport projects, ranging from small community clubs to large multi-sport community hubs. We also work with well-known clients within the sports sector including Sport England, FA, Football Foundation and RFU with a focus on sport for social impact. We specialise in sports-based community activity, club development along with business development with a focus on developing sustainable and impactful community sports facilities. The new role will support the Advisory team through:

· Financial analysis, for example assessing the financial viability of community sports business

· Supporting with financial and operational modelling e.g., creating a financial model for a new community sports project

· Supporting the development of financial tools and resources for sector bodies

· Providing technical and development support to help clients improve their financial and business management with enhanced capability and capacity

Skills and experience

You will have at least two years’ work experience, preferably in a related sector such as impact investment, sports-based investment, corporate finance, investment banking, accountancy, management consultancy and/or project management.

Expected Personal Attributes

• Enthusiastic, self-starter and strong team player.
• A willingness to present ideas to peers and senior colleagues.
• Excellent communication and relationship building capabilities, and an adaptable style.
• Ability to operate in a dynamic working environment.
• Excellent time management and planning skills to effectively prioritise workload.
• A highly committed individual with the ambition to take ownership of projects.
• We are a small team who work hard and have fun, you’ll need energy, enthusiasm and be able to work well independently where required.

Technical Skills and Competencies

• Well-developed analytical skills including the ability to assimilate complex information and identify key issues.
• Financial analysis.
• Understanding of business finances and the drivers behind profitability.
• Creating budgets and financial forecast including basic understanding of taxation and VAT.
• Understanding of basic business planning principles and statutory reporting.
• Strong writing capability and presentation skills.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office especially in Microsoft Excel.

We do not expect candidates to possess all of these skills and competencies; importantly, what we are looking for is someone who can creatively show how their skills and experience could be adapted to fit this profile, if/where there are gaps.

Compensation and location details

• Base salary of £30,000 - £35,000 per annum
• Discretionary bonus of up to 30% of base pay, plus statutory pension contribution
• Full time (5 days per week) is preferred although part time will be considered for outstanding candidates
• 25 days flexible holiday plus 2-3 days free at Christmas (plus English bank holidays)
• Flexible home working arrangements
• Potential to become a shareholder in the future
• Learning and continuous improvement is core to how we support staff develop. Support is provided for individual development, through external training and coaching from members of the executive team.
• Opportunity to progress rapidly in a growing business and dynamic team

It is envisaged that the role will be semi-flexible, with at least 2 days per week attendance required in our London Vauxhall or Leeds office. The remaining days can be worked remotely if required.

When appropriate to do so, it is expected there will be some travel.

Application and Interview Process

Interested candidates should send a CV and covering letter detailing their interest in Sporting Assets and relevant experience to: [email removed - click apply for more details]

Applications that do not include a cover letter will be immediately discounted.

Please include in your cover letter your preferred location, London or Leeds.

The closing date for applications is 25th November 2022, however we will assess applications on a rolling basis and so the role may close before this date if we appoint a suitable candidate.

All candidates are required to hold the relevant Visas/Work Permits.

Sporting Assets is an equal opportunity employer. We work to provide a supportive and inclusive environment where all individuals can maximise their full potential. Our strong commitment to a culture of inclusion is evident through our constant focus on recruiting, developing and advancing individuals based on their skills and talents.