Credit Analyst - Associate Director - Corporate Ratings (Manchester)

Fitch Ratings is currently seeking a Senior Analyst or Associate Director on our Corporate Ratings team based out of our Manchester office. As one of the world’s top three credit ratings agencies, Fitch Ratings plays a critical role in global capital markets by providing supplementary credit analysis, ratings, research, and commentary to financial market participants.

For over 100 years, Fitch Ratings has been creating value for global markets through its rigorous analysis and deep expertise, which have resulted in a variety of market leading tools, methodologies, indices, research, and analytical products. Fitch Ratings is part of Fitch Group, a global leader in financial information services with operations in more than 30 countries, which also includes Fitch Solutions.

Explore a career at Fitch Ratings and you’ll join a collaborative network of curious minds. Here, our differences are our strengths - in life as well as our work. Together we work with integrity and objectivity to provide clarity to the world’s financial markets.

About the Team: Fitch Ratings’ EMEA Corporate group provides public and private ratings of companies and their debt instruments in Western Europe and, increasingly, also in CEE, the Middle East and Africa. The department employs a team of over 100 credit analysts across Europe.

In addition to London, Fitch’s largest office, the department has analysts on the ground in Frankfurt, Paris, Milan, Madrid, Barcelona, Stockholm, Warsaw and Dubai. The Corporates group is split into six sector teams: Utilities and Transport, Consumer and Healthcare, Natural Resources and Commodities, Industrials, Telecoms, Media and Technology, and Real Estate. In addition, a specialist Leveraged Finance team focuses on credits with leveraged capital structures.

The EMEA Consumer & Healthcare Ratings team covers the widest range of industries and is the second largest in terms of the range portfolio with over 100 public credits and by team size with 20 analysts, half of which are based in London, with the rest located in Frankfurt, Madrid, Barcelona, Milan, Paris and Stockholm.

How You’ll Make an Impact:

• Support and lead rating processes for a portfolio of credits focusing on consumer-oriented sectors interacting with corporate debt issuers and rating advisors, including in collaboration with other corporate sector teams, especially with Leveraged Finance on high-yield bonds or leveraged loan transactions.
• Present and discuss your rating recommendations, ideas and facts effectively in writing and verbally to a rating committee.
• Deliver quality outputs to internal and external peers within deadlines using effective questioning and listening skills in internal credit discussions and with external constituents.
• Initiate and assist in producing thematic research reports in your coverage sectors.
• Participate in investor and prospective issuers outreach.
• Keep fully up to date with market/industry developments and proactively manage your rating portfolio in response to credit events.

You May be a Good Fit if you have:

• 4-6 years of work experience with financial institutions.
• Independent thought and solid corporate credit analysis skills, backed by a multi-year corporate finance background in banking, financial services, or industry.
• Strong cash flow modeling skills.
• Knowledge of financing instruments and familiarity with financing documentation.

What Would Make You Stand Out:

• Knowledge of retail or consumer products industries.
• Knowledge of leveraged finance and high-yield finance products.
• Project management skills to drive rating assignments and research in collaboration with other sector teams.
• Knowledge of other European languages such as French, German, or Italian.

Why Choose Fitch:

• Hybrid Work Environment: 3 days a week in office, with the option to work from home the other two days of the week.
• A Culture of Learning & Mobility: Dedicated trainings, leadership development and mentorship programs designed to ensure that your time at Fitch will be a continuous learning opportunity.
• Investing in Your Future: Retirement planning and tuition reimbursement programs that empower you to achieve your short and long-term goals.
• Promoting Health & Wellbeing: Comprehensive healthcare offerings that enable physical, mental, financial, social, and occupational wellbeing.
• Supportive Parenting Policies: Family-friendly policies, including a generous global parental leave plan, designed to help you balance career and family life effectively.
• Inclusive Work Environment: A collaborative workplace where all voices are valued, with Employee Resource Groups that unite and empower our colleagues around the globe.
• Dedication to Giving Back: Paid volunteer days, matched funding for donations and ample opportunities to volunteer in your community.

Fitch is committed to providing global securities markets with objective, timely, independent and forward-looking credit opinions. To protect Fitch’s credibility and reputation, our employees must take every precaution to avoid conflicts of interest or any appearance of a conflict of interest.

If you, or your immediate family, have any holdings that may conflict with your work responsibilities, you may be asked to divest yourself of them before beginning work. Fitch is proud to be an Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action Employer. We evaluate qualified applicants without regard to race, color, national origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, protected veteran status, and other statuses protected by law.