Who we’re looking for
We’re looking for a Senior Real Estate Fund Specialist with strong post-qualification experience to oversee outsourced fund services across our UK, Luxembourg and Jersey real estate funds and SPVs. The role requires technical accounting expertise, confidence reviewing and signing off key deliverables (NAVs, reporting and tax/VAT), and the ability to manage stakeholders to meet deadlines and service levels. A collaborative mindset and willingness to mentor others are important.
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 6,000 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
- Oversee the services provided by service provider teams including production of Statutory Reporting, Investor Reporting, Board Papers, NAV Calculations, Income Distribution Calculations and Income Tax and VAT Returns for UK, Luxembourg and Jersey Real Estate Funds or Special Purpose Vehicles.
- Review and sign off outputs produced by service provider teams.
- Identify and work with the outsourced provider to document all stakeholder and regulatory requirements, along with timings for responsibility, production and delivery.
- Monitor that all stakeholder and regulatory requirements are met within the given deadlines, also providing oversight of service provider agreed service levels and KPIs for specified fund range.
- Manage any issues escalated by the service provider in relation to other 3rd parties in the operating model e.g. transfer agents, registrars, auditors, tax advisors, etc. escalating to the Lead Fund Specialist in team for any that cannot be resolved.
- Work with structuring team, internal counsel, external advisors and Fund Managers to ensure that operating frameworks are set up appropriately.
- Provide operational input as required to Product Managers and others as required in the wider team to ensure that business objectives are met and defined clearly for service provider(s).
- Provide input and instruction to the service provider team for acquisitions with potential tasks including assisting with the structuring advice, set-up of investment structures in accordance with tax advice, creation of new entities and close liaison with investment team to ensure transaction closing is achieved as planned.
- Present information to the Boards /Operating Committees/Others charged with governance.
- Build, develop and maintain and develop good working relationships between the team and its internal/external clients and suppliers.
- Work with others to ensure Schroder group policies are adhered to and that existing procedures/practices and processes are refined to reduce operational risk.
- Provide oversight of and involvement in invoice authorisation and cash management operations.
- Complete other ad-hoc projects and tasks from time to time.
- Provide back up support for the Lead Real Estate Fund Specialist.
- Mentor and coach more junior members of staff
The knowledge, experience and qualifications you need
- Qualified accountant (ACCA, CIMA or ACA)
- Strong post-qualification experience in a comparable role
The knowledge, experience and qualifications that’ll help
- Experience in fund accounting and working with real estate and/or private equity structures, gained in audit and/or within an asset manager/fund manager environment.
- Where experience has been primarily within a fund manager: experience overseeing outsourced administrators responsible for day-to-day accounting and fund administration activities.
- Previous people management, supervision or coaching experience.
What you’ll be like
- Ability to plan own workload typically against a background of changing priorities and /or external events for the month ahead.
- Strong interpersonal and communication skills
- Teamwork mindset including the ability to work with a wider team also partnering with those in the service provider
- Strong attention to detail
- Happy to get involved in variety of tasks and projects
- Have strong technical accounting skills and be driven to keep abreast with current requirements
- Able to problem solve, and deal with day-today issues that crop up, including managing a variety of stakeholders to resolve
- Able to work autonomously, keeping your superiors abreast of status as necessary
We recognise potential, whoever you are
Our purpose is to provide excellent investment performance to clients through active management. Diversity of thought, facilitated by an inclusive culture, will allow us to make better decisions and better achieve our purpose. This is why inclusion and diversity are a strategic priority for us and why we are an equal opportunities employer. You are welcome here, regardless of your age, disability, gender identity, religious beliefs, sexual orientation, socio-economic background, or any other protected characteristic.
