The Role

Aukera is seeking a Senior Associate to join the Investment Team and work alongside our Italian Development Team based in Rome to support our continuing rapid growth in Italy.

The Aukera Investment Team are responsible for project finance, offtake procurement, M&A and corporate finance transactions. The Investment Team is a core component of Aukera’s business with c.10 members based in London, Edinburgh, Berlin and Bucharest. This will be the first member of the Investment team based in Italy and will be responsible for day-to-day management of all Italian mandates.

The successful candidate will join a close-knit and collaborative team of highly experienced, passionate professionals with an extensive track record of debt and equity deals in the renewable energy sector.

We are looking for someone with direct experience of evaluating inbound opportunities and presenting these to Investment Committee. The individual will be responsible for leading transactions through to financial close with the support of senior members of the Investment Team, working closely with internal and external stakeholders (including legal and technical diligence advisers) to manage the project, identify risks, negotiate terms, and resolve problems.

This role will be at an Associate or Senior Associate level, depending on experience.

Job Location: Aukera office in Rome

Responsibilities

Driving portfolio growth opportunities in the Italian market for Aukera

• Identifying, evaluating and presenting potential investment opportunities
• Creating, refining and maintaining financial models in order to support proposals
• A thorough knowledge of the Italian Renewables legislative framework
• Staying abreast of industry trends, regulatory changes, and market developments, and disseminating this knowledge to the broader Investment Team
• Building and managing a broad network of industry contacts amongst developers, advisers, investors, bankers and consultants
• Co-ordinating and collaborating closely with the UK-based Investments Team and the Managing Director in Italy, acting as the Italian link to the UK Investments hub

Supporting live projects and deals in Italy

• Being a key part of the deal team for financing, offtake procurement and M&A processes, and managing the day-to-day deal process
• Supporting senior team members in negotiating deal terms, preparing transaction documents, and managing multiple workstreams across the overall deal execution process
• Reviewing due diligence materials, coordinating and liaising with external advisers and helping to prepare summary materials for senior management
• Developing and maintaining the financial models to support our transactions
• Supporting periodic valuations of the business’s existing portfolio

Required Skills and Experience

Technical skills and Qualifications

• Strong financial modelling skills - financial modelling underpins the daily role, and it is imperative that the candidate has deep understanding of financial modelling, including the ability to build models from scratch, modify existing complex financial models, and employ industry-standard financial modelling best practices. This lived financial modelling experience will underpin a broader deep understanding of the different financial and non-financial levers impacting project returns.
• Proven experience of the full cycle of an M&A or financing process across a range of transaction types
• 6-8 years of experience in M&A and project finance with a strong focus on renewable energy
• An existing network across the Italian renewables landscape is highly desired

Business Skills

• Fluent in Italian, and strong verbal and written English
• Used to working autonomously and communicating complexity effectively
• A natural collaborator, confident in building relationships internally and externally
• Adept at working to challenging deadlines, prioritising effectively and managing own workload
• A flexible and pro-active attitude, adapting quickly to change and seeking feedback

Employee Benefits

• Private healthcare for you and your family
• Meal vouchers 12 Euros per day worked
• 22 days Annual leave, 30 Hours ROL leave plus public holidays