Senior Manager - Valuations

Who we're looking for

Responsible for the valuation of 'hard to value' investments held within client portfolios or proprietary holdings in accordance with relevant accounting standards, regulatory requirements and applicable valuation guidelines. Investments that need to be valued will be reported to the Senior Manager by the Group pricing committees and/or risk and other areas of the business.

The Senior Manager will be responsible for determining the fair value or, where specialist valuation expertise is required, managing and assessing the work of third party valuation specialists. Where third party valuers are engaged, the Senior Manager will be expected to develop an understanding of the valuation process for ongoing updates to the valuation and for applying to similar investments in the future.

The Senior Manager will report functionally to the Head of Corporate Development but all valuations performed or managed by this team will be presented to and approved by a Valuation Committee chaired by the Head of Corporate Development

About Schroders

We're a global investment manager. We help institutions, intermediaries and individuals around the world invest money to meet their goals, fulfil their ambitions, and prepare for the future.

We have around 5,000 people on six continents. And we've been around for over 200 years, but keep adapting as society and technology changes. What doesn't change is our commitment to helping our clients, and society, prosper.

The base

We moved into our new HQ in the City of London in 2018. We're close to our clients, in the heart of the UK's financial centre. And we have everything we need to work flexibly.

What you'll do

The role is responsible for the following key duties:

• Determining the valuation of 'hard to value' investments, identified and reported to them, in accordance with applicable accounting and regulatory requirements and valuation guidelines.
• Monitoring and updating valuations for relevant securities on a regular basis.
• Developing valuation specialisms as required.
• Manage relationships with Investment, Group Risk, Compliance and other parts of the business with respect to 'hard to value' investments.
• Report and recommend the valuation of 'hard to value' investments to the Valuation Committee, whether developed internally or through third party specialists, on a bi- monthly basis.
• Responsibility for managing relationships with third party valuation specialists and developing contacts with potential new providers as required.
• Has primary responsibility for the determination of valuations of securities reported to the valuation team and obtaining approval from the Valuation Committee.
• Assist Group Finance with the valuation of Group balance sheet investments ; level 3 hard to value assets as well as other complex accounting assets and liabilities (contingent considerations, carried interest etc.).
Responsible for the refinement of existing procedures / practices / processes.
• Responsible for keeping up-to-date with evolving industry and accounting practice with respect to the valuation of hard to value investments, ensuring that developments are incorporated within Schroders' processes as appropriate

The knowledge, experience and qualifications you need

• Typical educational requirement: Graduate plus professional qualification (or extensive practical experience).
• Ideally full or part qualified accountant / CFA charterholder or candidate currently working to obtain qualification
• Experience of the valuation of a range of investments in accordance with accounting and regulatory requirements and applicable valuation guidelines. Valuation knowledge gained from a tax perspective is an acceptable alternative. The investment valuation experience should include, but not limited to, private equity and complex fund structures.
• The investment team will not be responsible for the pricing of real estate or complex derivatives but will be expected to have a good understanding of the relevant valuation principles and requirements.
• Deep knowledge of relevant International Financial Reporting Standards ('IFRS') in respect of investment valuation, including investment property. The valuations team will also be expected to obtain an understanding of relevant accounting requirements where IFRS is not the required accounting basis.

Requirements

• Needs to take key decisions that will likely have a financial and/or operational impact on Schroders. Judgements will be complex, detailed and typically subject to challenge. Precedents and procedures will act as a guide to decisions.
• Develops valuation approaches and procedures with respect to 'hard to value' investments that impact on existing methods, policies and approaches. This will be a continual process, with the key question 'how can I improve this?' being at the forefront of the role holder's mind.
Communication
• Must communicate at an advanced level with others in the organisation. This may include the ability to: motivate and develop teams, influence at senior levels, provide professional counselling, manage sensitive internal relationships.
• Has contact with third party valuation specialists and manages the processes of initiating, managing the delivery of and assessing the performance of valuations provided by those parties.

Risk Management

Maintain an appropriate control framework in respect of the determination of and updates to the valuation of hard to value investments to minimise the risk of misstatement ensuring processes are documented, that appropriate levels of review are undertaken and that key person risk is minimised within the function. Ensuring that there is a clear escalation of any hard to value investments to the Valuation Committee that require third party valuation as a result of their falling outside the competence of the team.

We're looking for the best, whoever they are

Schroders is an equal opportunities employer. You're welcome here whatever your socio-economic background, race, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, religious belief, age or disability.