Senior Investment Associate – Sydney & Melbourne Australia

This is an opportunity to join the Octopus Australia business, as we spread our tentacles across renewable energy investments throughout Australia and beyond. The successful applicant will be a member of the Investment team and be part of a fast growing, dynamic and energetic business, shaping the energy transition in Australia. Helping us to build an enviable portfolio of renewable assets for our investors.

About Octopus

Octopus Group is one of the largest owners of renewable energy projects in Australia and Europe.  It owns some 260 assets, on behalf of wholesale and institutional investors. Domestically, Octopus Australia is responsible for managing over $1 billion of assets for local and international investors.

Octopus Australia mission is to accelerate the transition to a future powered by renewable energy. As a specialist renewables manager, we believe there is a huge opportunity to unblock investment in renewables by building a bespoke portfolio of multi – technology renewables assets in Australia.

We have invested in the 333 MWDC Darlington Point Solar Farm – one of the largest so far connected to the grid in Australia – and the 180MW Dulacca Wind Farm. We also have a strong national pipeline of projects across solar, wind, battery storage and hydrogen opportunities. 

Our local team has extended its on the ground presence, with 30 dedicated energy professionals across a broad range of expertise including funds management, investment, development, engineering, energy markets, and asset management.

We have a team of 30 plus across Melbourne, Sydney, and Auckland.

About the Role

We are looking for a Senior Investment Associate, reporting to a senior member of the investment team at Octopus Australia. This exciting role will work across renewable investment and development opportunities to build and shape our future portfolio.

As a member of the investment team, the successful candidate will help deliver on our M&A and deployment ambitions across all renewable technologies.  The successful candidate will get to play an active role on transactions across different technologies and jurisdictions in Australia broadening your skillset and capabilities.  

You will be a forward-thinking person who is inquisitive in nature and is comfortable working in the detail and pivoting to a portfolio view.  Just as important as what you achieve in this role, is how you perform the role. We’ll need you to be an engaged team member, who can cross pollinate your experiences and capabilities into an investment and development world with both internal and external stakeholders. Be ready for a dynamic work environment, with a start-up mindset. You’ll be encouraged and supported to be bold in your thinking and leadership, whilst being a helpful colleague to those around you.

Our Melbourne office is based in South Yarra, and just a stone’s throw from the train station. Our Sydney office is in the CBD. Flexible working arrangements are typical at Octopus with the team working from both home and office over the working week.

Essential Job Functions

The successful candidate will be expected to be able to demonstrate the following:

• Renewable Energy Industry: Understanding of the Australian industry and energy markets including opportunities for growth for our renewables portfolio considering key market challenges.
• Deal Execution: Exposure to transaction execution in an renewable energy transaction is required from either a debt or equity side on either operating or development assets. An ability to contribute to solutions to create value, recognise and mitigate risks.
• Deal Process: Strong understanding of deal processes, demonstrating ability to manage across multiple work streams with internal and external stakeholders or advisors.
• Financial Modelling: Strong financial modelling experience including renewables to assess risks and bankability of both operating and development assets. Experience with project finance is well regarded.
• Investment Committee/ Board Reporting: Strong communication skills and proven ability to effectively present ideas and write investment committee papers to senior management.

Qualifications

Outline of skills/experience required

Prior relevant renewable experience ideally in a utility, IPP/ developer, investment bank, private equity house, or in a corporate finance team of one of the big 4 accountants

• Professional financial qualifications (accountancy, CFA/CA) and/or MBAs desirable but not essential.
• Eligibility to work in Australia – visa sponsorship is not offered.
• Core finance related business skills required:
  • A commercial mindset, able to present conclusions and recommendations on investment decision making and articulate the impact of these decisions on potential investments.
  • Strong written and verbal communication.
  • Strong project management and organisational skills. The role will require balancing complex and regularly changing workloads and priorities in a fast-paced environment.
  • Strong financial modelling and risk analysis.
• Ability to communicate with and influence a broad range of individuals, ranging from team members and external advisors/partners.
• A strong team player with the confidence to exercise judgement appropriately, challenge and liaise with colleagues at all levels of seniority.
• An ability to focus on the ultimate customer (the investors who trust us with their money) in all aspects of the role is essential.
• A self-starter with tenacity, initiative, and a strong desire to succeed and be part of a team environment.

And to really stand out from the crowd, you will display the following qualities and characteristics:

• Self-motivated with the ability to work in a fast paced environment with support to develop and grow.
• Communicates in a straightforward way, effective at giving feedback while open to receiving it.
• Able to find and create opportunity, develop solutions to problems.

What we offer

💰  A competitive salary, bonus, share incentive plan
✈️ Take what you need holiday
🏡 Flexible working 
👪 Enhanced family leave policies

Octopus has built an exciting and inclusive high-performance culture where employees feel empowered. This means we welcome discussions around flexible working hours or part time work. We also understand the value of diversity, and we have a team dedicated to promoting gender, ethnic, socio-economic, LGBT and disability equality, to make sure we back up our words with actions. All Octopus employees are given the opportunity to develop new skills, aim higher and accelerate their careers.

Octopus culture

Our culture is critical to our success and is built around three principles that underpin how we pursue our goals.

• Straightforward – Consistently clear and straightforward communications with everyone that you work with.
• Helpful - Assist teammates and wider colleagues to reach and exceed their business targets. Get stuck in and demonstrate you have the passion to make a difference at Octopus.  Manage your own mood positively and act with humility, transparency and integrity in all that you do.
• Bold - Identify, develop and implement fresh ideas that demonstrate commercial insight and contribute to greater success at Octopus.  

Our Values 
At our core, we believe that how a company behaves is just as important as what it does. That’s why we chose to become an accredited B Corp (the equivalent of a Fairtrade coffee stamp but for companies) and to change our Articles of Association so that the interests all our stakeholders – employees, customers, communities, environment and shareholders – are considered in every decision we make.   

We’re committed to creating a diverse and inclusive employee experience for all. We promote equal opportunities for growth and development regardless of race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, age, disability, or socio-economic background. We believe strongly that teams are at their best when every member of the team feels safe to bring their whole self to work.