Associate Director - Power & Utilities - Reg Finance

Job description

The Team

KPMG’s Infrastructure Group in the UK consists of c240 professionals and is widely recognised as one of the world’s leading independent business, financial and regulatory advisers in infrastructure. The group has won many awards, including Financial Advisor of the Year (Infrastructure Journal) for several years. The group has locations in London, Birmingham, Edinburgh, Leeds and Manchester, but is organised on a national basis, operating under a single national cost centre.

We provide in-depth advice on strategic, financial, regulatory and commercial issues driving investments in infrastructure across Transport, Power & Utilities, and Social Infrastructure in the UK and globally. Our work includes market and policy design, economic and regulatory analysis, deal structuring and execution, as well as strategic and transaction advice to enable private and public capital to fund infrastructure. We work closely with other functions within KPMG to advise clients on mergers and acquisitions, valuations, tax, accounting, and due diligence.

The utilities sector is the largest business area for the Infrastructure Group and encompasses work for large clients in the sector, including all of the leading UK energy and water companies as well as some of the largest utilities in Europe and beyond. We provide in-depth strategic and technical advice on corporate finance and corporate financial management, regulatory finance, regulatory policy, business and financial planning, cost assessment and benchmarking as well as other drivers affecting value. Our work combines elements of policy, finance, strategy and economics to assist our clients in structuring investments, securing financing, supporting regulatory regimes and maximising shareholder value. We are widely recognised by many industry stakeholders as market leaders influencing the future of the utilities sector.

Our business is continuously expanding and we are looking for high quality candidates to support our Power & Utilities business with a particular focus on cost assessment, modelling and benchmarking as well as financial analysis. This is to support the development of new service lines, building on the work already undertaken in the Group.

The Role

• Building relationships with clients and developing wider networks with clients and other advisors
• Running coverage of clients, supporting our reputation as a leading advisor in the utilities sector
• Developing market intelligence and sector knowledge
• Maintaining a good understanding of regulatory finance issues in the regulated sectors e.g. on setting the cost of capital or assessing financeability, as well as how regulatory mechanisms interact with or impact the actual financing of regulated businesses
• Proactive business development to identify new opportunities
• Leading the development of proposals and supporting pitching for new business with ideas
• Managing delivery of several medium to large size engagements on a day to day basis
• Ensuring quality of economic and financial analysis as well as written and verbal advice
• Being responsible for the quality of deliverables produced for clients
• Providing effective management, coaching and mentoring of junior staff on specific engagements
• Managing junior members of the team and as part of the wider business
• Developing the team, inspiring and empowering team members
• Ensuring compliance procedures are adhered to
• Recognising and addressing potential risks
• Any other duties commensurate with the role

The Person

• Have significant experience in the utilities sector, as a regulatory policy maker (gained at a regulatory office or industry) or as a consultant specialising in regulatory or corporate finance
• Educated to a degree level in a quantitative field such as Finance, Economics, Mathematics or similar will be preferred, although candidates with highly relevant, equivalent experience, will also be considered
• Have a detailed knowledge of the current UK regulatory regimes and regulatory finance mechanics for utilities, their application and impact on notional and actual capital structures and business performance
• Demonstrate strong working knowledge of economic and financial theory and its application, preferably with experience in applying corporate finance concepts in the regulated networks space
• Be highly skilled in quantitative economic and financial analysis. The ideal candidate will have experience leading projects with extensive financial modelling elements, and /or have detailed knowledge and experience of financial econometrics and statistics, ideally applied in the utilities sectors
• Have a sound knowledge of finances and financial structures of regulated utilities (we will consider candidates with deep expertise in financial analysis even if they do not have econometrics experience)
• Provide compelling and well-thought out solutions to complex economic and financial problems, being able to provide persuasive and self-assured responses in a credible manner
• Bring excellent report writing, quantitative analysis (Stata or equivalent), Excel and Powerpoint skills
• Be comfortable and experienced in an external facing role and in presenting to clients
• Be an independent thinker with the ability to identify problems and contribute to the development of solutions, helping us to remain at the cutting edge of innovative thinking in the sector
• Relish the opportunity for interaction and dialogue with companies, investors, regulators and other stakeholders, and with a host of functions across KPMG
• Have experience of managing medium size project teams, with a focus on mentoring and coaching junior staff (with or without a finance background)
• Be a proven team player who can demonstrate a clear desire to manage teams, who can gain the trust and support of internal colleagues
• Demonstrable credentials of leading the delivery activities on major consulting projects
• Be highly motivated and ambitious, willing to take advantages of the opportunities this position offers
• Understand the wider UK utilities sector, its structure, composition, stakeholders and relevant policy debates
• Language skills and experience in other markets outside the UK are a bonus
• All UK staff who have not passed a Financial Services Authority (FSA) approved exam will be required to do so.

How we work

Our Deal

If the chance to work with interesting clients and innovative technology wasn’t rewarding enough, we’ll motivate you in other ways too. At KPMG you can expect real responsibilities and opportunities to grow professionally.

‘Our Deal’ sets out all the different ways you’ll be rewarded at KPMG. Among other things you can benefit from honest conversations about your career as well as a range of other rewards. In all these ways and more, we have created an environment that can bring out the best in you.

Our Commitment to Diversity

Our employees have many varied work schedules to suit their individual needs! Our intelligent working options range from role sharing and flexible start and finish times, to home working and more informal arrangements agreed within teams. Check out examples of KPMG employees enjoying different working patterns on our website and please do share your own individual requirements with us. We are proud of the value we place on individuality. We want you to bring your full self to work and maximise your potential. KPMG is a place where everyone can thrive, whatever their gender, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation and socio-economic background. We also value the wealth of experience and knowledge that people who have taken a career break can bring to us, so the role welcomes applications for individuals who have been out of work for 12 months or more and who have previous relevant experience.

Applying with a Disability

While some of our client-facing professionals can be required to travel regularly, and at times be based at client sites, we are supportive where possible of helping you to achieve a balance between your home and work demands. We are happy to discuss individual requirements and our range of flexible working arrangements could be of interest. Furthermore, as part of the recruitment process, we can put you in touch with people who work flexibly so you can understand from them what our culture is like.

 Flexible Working

While our client-facing professionals are required to travel regularly, and often based at client sites, we are supportive where possible of helping you to achieve a balance between your home and work demands. We are happy to discuss individual requirements and our range of flexible working arrangements could be of interest. Furthermore, as part of the recruitment process, we can put you in touch with people who work flexibly so you can understand from them what our culture is like.

A final word from us…

Everybody likes to say they’re different... but we really think we are.

We’re hugely proud of what we’ve managed to achieve so far, but we’re only just getting started. We’re looking for people to grow with us and are committed to helping everybody reach their destination, regardless of what that is.  

Should you choose to join us, you can expect an attractive benefits package, which typically includes:

Financial

• A competitive salary
• Pension options
• Bonus scheme that reflects firm and individual performance
• Rail and Oyster Card reimbursement
• Staff discounts
• Access to preferential banking

Lifestyle

• 25 days holiday, with the option to buy up to an extra 10 days, plus an additional day of leave for your birthday
• Competitive maternity and paternity leave
• 6 days of work time each year for volunteering
• Daily lunch allowance
• Flextra – a flexible benefits scheme that allows you to choose benefits for you and your family, such as, travel insurance, critical illness insurance, dental insurance and discounted gym memberships

Health and Wellbeing

• Private medical insurance
• Personal accident insurance
• Life assurance of 4 x salary with the option to increase this via flexible benefits scheme
• Access to private, remote GP appointments anytime and anywhere via a smartphone
• Online health risk questionnaire
• BeWell employee assistance programme for confidential information, advice, or counselling for life’s daily challenges
• Group Income Protection

No matter what skills you bring to our team, you’ll be surrounded by spirited, naturally curious people. People who want to learn from you, and who’ll also teach you a thing or two along the way. It’s how we make a collective impact, greater than the sum of its parts.

And if this isn’t the role for you but you like what you see, keep in touch. There will be other opportunities to join us.

For more details about a career at KPMG, visit: www.kpmgcareers.co.uk