Shape the Future of Finance: Portfolio & Risk Manager at Alan & Grant

Are you a seasoned finance professional with a keen eye for detail, a strategic mindset, and a passion for managing risk and optimizing portfolios? Alan & Grant, a distinguished Human Resources and Business Advisory firm renowned for co-creating impactful solutions with clients, is expanding its capabilities in HR & Enterprise Products. We are seeking a highly skilled and experienced Portfolio & Risk Manager to join our dynamic team and play a pivotal role in safeguarding our investments and driving sustainable growth.

This is an exceptional opportunity for a leader to contribute to the development and management of a robust portfolio, ensuring financial health, operational excellence, and adherence to the highest standards of risk management. You will be instrumental in overseeing our investment strategies, mitigating potential risks, and reporting on performance to key stakeholders.

What You'll Do: A Comprehensive Overview of Responsibilities

The Portfolio & Risk Manager role is multifaceted, requiring expertise across several critical domains. Your responsibilities will include:

1. Portfolio Monitoring & Portfolio Management

Framework Development: Establish and refine a comprehensive portfolio monitoring framework, encompassing financial, operational, ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance), impact, and governance indicators for all investee companies.
Performance Oversight: Continuously monitor portfolio performance from the initial disbursement to final repayment, proactively identifying risks and opportunities to ensure optimal outcomes.
Compliance & Recovery: Diligently track covenant compliance, repayment schedules, arrears, restructurings, and recovery activities across our diverse debt and revenue-based financing (RBF) portfolios.
Regular Reviews: Lead quarterly portfolio reviews, conducting management meetings, site visits, covenant testing, and thorough performance assessments.
Reporting Excellence: Develop insightful portfolio dashboards and management reports for the Investment Committee, Management Team, Limited Partners (LPs), and the Board, providing clear, actionable intelligence.
Risk Rating: Maintain accurate and up-to-date portfolio company risk ratings and performance assessments.
Strategic Support: Collaborate closely with portfolio companies to enhance financial reporting, governance structures, management information systems, and operational controls.
Post-Investment Support: Partner with our Technical Assistance function to design and implement targeted post-investment support programs that elevate portfolio performance.
Workout & Restructuring: Coordinate effective workout, restructuring, and recovery initiatives when portfolio companies encounter financial challenges.
Investor Communications: Prepare comprehensive investor reporting packs, impact reports, capital account statements, and regular portfolio performance updates.

2. Credit Risk Management

Independent Review: Conduct independent and rigorous reviews of all proposed debt and RBF transactions before submission for Investment Committee approval.
Detailed Analysis: Perform in-depth credit analysis, including financial statement reviews, sophisticated cash flow modeling, stress testing, sensitivity analysis, and meticulous debt servicing assessments.
Methodology & Application: Develop and maintain internal credit risk rating methodologies, ensuring their consistent and accurate application across the entire portfolio.
Expert Opinion: Provide independent risk opinions and well-reasoned recommendations to the Investment Committee.
Structure Assessment: Critically assess transaction structures, collateral arrangements, covenants, and risk mitigation measures to ensure robustness.
Exposure Monitoring: Monitor sector, country, borrower, and concentration exposures against approved risk limits to maintain portfolio diversification.
Stress Testing: Design and oversee portfolio stress-testing exercises to evaluate resilience under various adverse economic scenarios.
Provisioning: Develop and maintain robust provisioning methodologies and Expected Credit Loss (ECL) models in full compliance with IFRS 9 requirements.

3. Enterprise Risk Management

Framework Leadership: Lead the development and ongoing maintenance of the firm's overarching enterprise risk management framework.
Risk Appetite: Establish and monitor clear risk appetite statements, concentration limits, sector exposure limits, and country risk thresholds.
Risk Register: Maintain the organization's comprehensive risk register, covering credit, operational, compliance, liquidity, FX, legal, and reputational risks.
Assessment & Reporting: Conduct periodic risk assessments and present detailed risk reports to senior management and the Board.
Compliance Assurance: Ensure strict compliance with all applicable regulatory, investor, and governance requirements.
Early Warning: Develop effective early-warning indicators and portfolio surveillance tools to proactively identify emerging risks.
Operational Support: Support business continuity planning and operational risk management initiatives.
External Coordination: Coordinate with legal counsel, auditors, and external advisors on all risk-related matters.

4. Impact Measurement & Reporting

Indicator Monitoring: Monitor key impact performance indicators and ESG metrics across the entire portfolio.
Framework Alignment: Support reporting aligned with recognized frameworks such as IRIS+, 2X Challenge, IMP, and DGGF requirements.
Data Integrity: Ensure portfolio companies provide accurate and timely impact and ESG data.
Integration: Integrate impact and sustainability considerations into all portfolio monitoring and risk assessment processes.

Who You Are: Ideal Candidate Profile

We are looking for a highly qualified individual with a strong foundation in finance and risk management:

Educational Background: A Bachelor's Degree in Finance, Accounting, Economics, Business Administration, or a closely related field is essential.
Professional Certifications: Professional qualifications such as CFA, FRM, ACA, ACCA, CIPM, or an equivalent designation are highly preferred and will be a significant advantage.
Extensive Experience: You should possess a minimum of 7–10 years of relevant experience in credit risk management, portfolio monitoring, private credit, SME banking, development finance, impact investing, or fund management.
Debt Portfolio Expertise: Demonstrated experience monitoring diverse debt portfolios and/or revenue-based financing transactions is crucial.
Credit Underwriting Prowess: Strong credit underwriting and transaction risk assessment experience is a must.
ERM Frameworks: Experience in designing or managing enterprise risk management frameworks.
Regulatory Knowledge: A solid working knowledge of IFRS 9, Expected Credit Loss (ECL) methodologies, Basel frameworks, and prudential risk management practices.
Reporting Proficiency: Proven experience in producing high-quality investor, LP, Board, and regulatory reports.
Impact & ESG Familiarity: Familiarity with impact measurement frameworks such as IRIS+, IMP, 2X Challenge, and ESG reporting standards is advantageous.
Sector Experience: Experience working within a DFI (Development Finance Institution), private credit fund, impact fund, commercial bank, microfinance institution, or SME lender is highly desirable.
Regional Insight: Working knowledge of Francophone West Africa markets is advantageous.
Language Skills: Proficiency in French is a plus.

Why Alan & Grant?

Joining Alan & Grant means becoming part of a forward-thinking firm committed to impactful solutions. You will have the opportunity to work at the intersection of finance, risk, and impact, shaping investment strategies and contributing to the success of a diverse portfolio. We offer a stimulating environment where your expertise will be valued, and your professional growth will be encouraged. If you are ready to take on a challenging yet rewarding role that leverages your extensive financial and risk management skills, we invite you to apply.