Associate – Direct Lending – Core Portfolio Management

Associate – Direct Lending – Core Portfolio Management

Requirements

• Strong academic background and ideally 4+ years of private markets experience
• Self-motivated with ability to operate with modest oversight
• Strong organizational and project management skills
• Candidate must be comfortable owning the spectrum of oversight functions for credit mandates, including portfolio management overlays and operational procedures
• Strong attention to detail and ability to multi-task
• Candidate must be able to collaborate extensively across teams and think innovatively around ways to improve existing processes
• Proficiency in Microsoft Excel, including knowledge of advanced functions (knowledge of VBA is not required, but will be viewed positively)
• Experience with Aladdin software will be viewed positively

Responsibilities

• Work closely with senior portfolio managers to calculate and coordinate investment allocations for all funds on the platform and confirm adherence to Allocation Policy (e.g. investment guideline compliance, portfolio construction targets, etc.)
• Create and maintain daily, monthly, and periodic portfolio reporting for investment teams (position level details, available capital, forecast of cash flows, incorporate PM views into portfolio implementation, maintain compliance reporting against investment guidelines)
• Complete pre-trade compliance checks across all portfolios and mandates (e.g. check side letters and/or IMAs to confirm potential investment does not breach any agreed terms or investment guidelines)
• Develop and maintain relationships with key BlackRock operational professionals (e.g., legal, tax, trading operations, portfolio compliance, pricing, cash ops, bank loans, derivative operations and fund administration)
• Anticipate and resolve operational issues arising during the evolving investment processes (e.g., trade execution, settlement, portfolio compliance, hedging, etc.)
• Model, monitor, and document portfolio allocations and coordinate internal approvals
• Monitor and track fund & investment level deployment and performance metrics (e.g. IRR and MOIC)
• Liaison with legal and compliance with regards to investment allocations and certifications for 1940 Act board approvals prior to closing deals
• Partner with Product Strategy and Relationship Managers in response to prospective and existing clients’ inquiries on items such as fund track record/performance, current holdings, and the investment pipeline
• Analyze and provide quarterly write ups on fund performance, including the drivers of specific investments’ performance
• Monitor liquidity for all private funds, including cash forecasting, borrowing capability, and dry powder
• Recommend distributions and capital calls to portfolio managers
• Oversee the ongoing management of subscription lines and leverage facilities to ensure they are used optimally
• Partner with operations and investment analysts to ensure correct booking of interest payments, repayments of capital, and fee collection from underlying investments and through portfolio structure

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with leveraged finance, direct lending, closed-ended portfolio management or structured product will be viewed positively
• Experience in Python, R, and SQL will be viewed positively, but not required