Director, Financial Sponsors Structuring, Large Corporate Lending

Join us as a Director in the Financial Sponsors structuring team – part of the Large Corporate Lending (“LCL”) team.

The Large Corporate Lending team are at the heart of the delivery of the UK Corporate Banking’s asset growth agenda. We support Large and Mid-Corporate Coverage colleagues with the ability to originate and structure lending opportunities (within our own risk appetite) that meet our clients’ desire to utilise debt finance to facilitate their own growth ambitions.

As a Director in the Financial Sponsors structuring team you will be responsible for originating, structuring and executing medium to large transactions backed by Financial Sponsors.  You will be responsible for leading the transaction, management of the overall deal process, liaising internally with Coverage, Transaction Management, Credit, Portfolio Management and externally with the client, Financial Sponsor and their advisors. 

You will be responsible for reviewing complex business lending opportunities to assess the suitability vs Barclays’ risk appetite (including the UKC FS mandate); involving interrogation of management’s business plans and seeking to assess and identify the risks contained within whilst using lateral thinking to establish whether / how the specific risks identified through due diligence are mitigated.

You will also be responsible for building and analysing often sophisticated financial models to assess serviceability of the proposed debt structure.  This requires an assessment of the reasonableness of the assumptions used, a critical review of the financial covenants, and identifying appropriate sensitivities to test borrower’s resilience to downside scenarios.  You will also need to ensure all deals comply with Barclays Leveraged Lending policies and carry out the associated tests and recording of results.

You will support the head of Financial Sponsors in driving business development activity through both partnership with Coverage and maintaining close relationships with the key Debt Advisory community, debt funds and Financial Sponsors.

As a senior member of the LCL team, you will also support the leadership team with the development of junior colleagues.

Essential Skills/Basic Qualifications:

• The candidate should be able to demonstrate experience of having led deals earlier in their career to deliver debt transactions
• Credit skills, and debt finance experience as well as an understanding of the end to end lending journeys in UKC with particular awareness of the characteristics of borrowers and transactions in the financial sponsor mid-market
• Geographically mobile with the ability to spend time travelling to client and colleague sites

Desirable skills/Preferred Qualifications:

• Previous experience of working within a transaction environment
• Experience of complex problem solving
• Experience of working in teams and contributing to successful outcomes
• The ability to spot early variances in the performance of a business, identify solutions, and drive those solutions into execution
• A curious mind to challenge, innovate and transform processes and working practices.

You may be assessed on the key critical skills relevant for success in role, such as risk and controls, change and transformation, business acumen strategic thinking and digital and technology, as well as job-specific technical skills.

Purpose of the role

To manage debt relationships with high-value corporate clients and potential clients  Provide support to the bank's senior management team in setting strategic direction and,  managing debt structuring risk across the organisation. 

Accountabilities

• Collaboration with account managers to structure, recommend and fully implement relevant debt products and services to existing and potential clients.
• Management of debt structuring, including oversight of colleagues and their performance, implementation of departmental goals and objectives, oversight of department efficiency and effectiveness.  .
• Relationship management of debt structuring stakeholders, including identifying relevant stakeholders, and maintenance of the quality of external third party services.
• Management of key stakeholder relationships within target companies to understand their needs and recommend appropriate solutions.
• Management of debt structuring risk, including identification of potential risks, development of strategies to mitigate those risks, and maintenance of alignment between the bank’s debt structuring and compliance functions.  .
• Monitoring the financial performance of each transaction completed as well as the wider debt structuring department, including revenue, profitability, and cost control.
• Conducting thorough market research to understand market trends, competitive landscape, and regulatory changes to identify market opportunities.

Director Expectations

• To manage a business function, providing significant input to function wide strategic initiatives. Contribute to and influence policy and procedures for the function and plan, manage and consult on multiple complex and critical strategic projects, which may be business wide..
• They manage the direction of a large team or sub-function, leading other people managers and embedding a performance culture aligned to the values of the business. Or for an individual contributor, they lead organisation wide projects and act as deep technical expert and thought leader, identifying new ways of working and collaborating cross functionally. They will train, guide and coach less experienced specialists and provide information affecting long term profits, organisational risks and strategic decisions..
• Provide expert advice to senior functional management and committees to influence decisions made outside of own function, offering significant input to function wide strategic initiatives.
• Manage, coordinate and enable resourcing, budgeting and policy creation for a significant sub-function.
• Escalates breaches of policies / procedure appropriately.
• Foster and guide compliance, ensure regulations are observed that relevant processes in place to facilitate adherence.
• Focus on the external environment, regulators, or advocacy groups to both monitor and influence on behalf of Barclays, when appropriate.
• Demonstrate extensive knowledge of how the function integrates with the business division / Group to achieve the overall business objectives.
• Maintain broad and comprehensive knowledge of industry theories and practices within own discipline alongside up-to-date relevant sector / functional knowledge, and insight into external market developments / initiatives.
• Use interpretative thinking and advanced analytical skills to solve problems and design solutions in often complex/ sensitive situations.
• Exercise management authority to make significant decisions and certain strategic decisions or recommendations within own area.
• Negotiate with and influence stakeholders at a senior level both internally and externally.
• Act as principal contact point for key clients and counterparts in other functions/ businesses divisions.
• Mandated as a spokesperson for the function and business division.

All Senior Leaders are expected to demonstrate a clear set of leadership behaviours to create an environment for colleagues to thrive and deliver to a consistently excellent standard. The four LEAD behaviours are: L – Listen and be authentic, E – Energise and inspire, A – Align across the enterprise, D – Develop others.

All colleagues will be expected to demonstrate the Barclays Values of Respect, Integrity, Service, Excellence and Stewardship – our moral compass, helping us do what we believe is right. They will also be expected to demonstrate the Barclays Mindset – to Empower, Challenge and Drive – the operating manual for how we behave.