Octopus Renewables – Investment Associate (Polish Speaking)

Octopus is a group of companies which invests in the people, ideas and industries that will help to change the world.

We believe that the companies serving two of our most important needs – our financial wellbeing and our planet’s future – are failing. And we want that to change. We want everything we do, whether that’s in financial services or energy supply, to have a positive impact on the people it touches.

In our financial services business, we care as much about the impact our investments have, as we do about the returns that we generate for our investors. We manage more than £9.1 billion* on behalf of retail and institutional investors, specialising in renewable energy, real estate, smaller company and venture capital investing. 

Our energy supply business – Octopus Energy, is one of the fastest growing companies in the UK. It has grown from start-up to more than 1.7 million customers over the last four years and is now the #1 rated UK energy supply business, and the only one to be recommended by Which? three years in a row.

Octopus Energy, Octopus Giving, Octopus Investments, Octopus Renewables, Octopus Real Estate, Octopus Ventures, Seccl Technology and Octopus Wealth are all part of Octopus Group. Visit octopusgroup.com.

Octopus Renewables have recently announced some exciting news, to read more about it https://institutional.octopusgroup.com/insights/octopus-renewables-octopus-energy-combining-expertise/?utm_source=linkedin&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=or_oe_joining_forces&utm_content=chris

Octopus Renewables sources, invests in and actively manages a wide range of utility scale energy assets. We are looking to expand our team as we continue to scale our investments base.

Since entering the renewables market in 2010, Octopus Renewables has grown to become the largest investor of solar power in Europe, and a leading investor in onshore wind. We currently manage a global portfolio of over £3bn renewable energy assets. The operational portfolio includes over 300 energy generating companies, delivering revenue in excess of £250m pa.

Our energy investment and asset management team of c.70 professionals is one of the largest and most experienced in Europe. The team is structured to support our rapid growth ambitions and long-term ownership of energy assets.

About the role:

The role is in the expanding Octopus Renewables Investment Team, which is responsible for originating and evaluating new investment opportunities, and offers candidates the opportunity to quickly gain experience, with exposure throughout the investment process. Junior members of the team are encouraged to own and run as many elements of a deal opportunity as they are able. Key Day 1 elements of the role include:

• Assist in origination activities including market research, organising and attending meetings, tracking potential investment opportunities.
• Evaluate new investment opportunities, considering returns in the context of identified risks, how these can be managed and other mitigating factors.
• Analyse, own and maintain complex financial models.
• Conduct financial, legal and technical due diligence on new investment opportunities, managing specialist external advisors.
• Prepare and present investment papers detailing new opportunities to the Investment Committee.
• Assist in the preparation of transaction contracts – reviewing and assisting negotiations of contractual terms.
• Arrange project finance which will include the management of lenders and their advisors
• Manage interactions with professional advisors including legal and technical.

• Full written and oral fluency in Polish, other languages a plus.
• Keen interest in the international Renewables sector.
• Prior experience is required, ideally in a transaction role, from an investment bank, project finance lender, a fund manager, industrial or in a corporate finance team at one of the big 4 accountants. Prior experience in Renewables / Infrastructure / Energy sector is preferred but not essential.
• Strong analytical and Excel financial modelling skills, including VBA.
• A strong understanding of financial valuation theories coupled with core accounting and tax skills and an ability to read financial statements confidently; professional financial qualifications (accountancy, CFA/CA) and/or MBAs desirable but not essential.
• Exceptional project management and organisational skills. Evidence of managing complex workloads in a fast-paced environment.
• An ability to understand risks, reach a balanced appraisal of probability and severity and build workable risk mitigation strategies.
• Strong commercial mindset, able to understand the impact of commercial positions on potential investments and the potential to own increasing degrees of decision making over time.
• An ability to focus on the ultimate customer (the investors who trust us with their money) in all aspects of the role is essential.
• Excellent spoken and written communication, with the ability to influence internally and externally – from team members to project developers, project finance teams to technical advisors, Investment Committee members to potential investors. Strong presentation skills including advanced knowledge of PowerPoint.
• A self-starter with tenacity, initiative and a willingness to commit to deliver.
• A willingness to travel where required.
• Growth mindset to continually improve the way we work and the results we achieve.
• A strong team player with the confidence to exercise judgement appropriately, challenge and coordinate with colleagues at all levels of seniority.

Our Values and DNA 

At Octopus we don’t just focus on what we do but also how we do it. Everyone shares our values of being straightforward, helpful and bold. And while these are the principles that guide us as an organisation, our DNA goes even further, by revealing our inner strength: 

We are loyal: we fully buy-in to the company’s vision and believe in everything that Octopus stands for. We are respectful: we live and breathe the Octopus values of being helpful, straightforward and bold. We are resilient: we have an inner strength that means we never give in We are intellectually curious: we seek to understand how the world works and we’re always learning, adapting and improving We understand who our customers are: and because we know them really well, we always give them our very best. 

What we offer 

Octopus has built an exciting and inclusive high-performance culture where employees feel empowered. This means we welcome discussions around flexible working hours. 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.