Associate, Fund Finance - Debt

Pantheon has been at the forefront of private markets investing for more than 40 years, earning a reputation for providing innovative solutions covering the full lifecycle of investments, from primary fund commitments to co-investments and secondary purchases, across private equity, real assets and private credit.

We have partnered with more than 650 clients, including institutional investors of all sizes as well as a growing number of private wealth advisers and investors, with approximately $65bn in discretionary assets under management (as of December 31, 2023).

Leveraging our specialized experience and global team of professionals across Europe, the Americas and Asia, we invest with purpose and lead with expertise to build secure financial futures.

For further details please visit www.pantheon.com

Purpose of Position

Pantheon Ventures (“Pantheon”), a $90B multi-strategy investment firm, is seeking an Associate, Fund Finance, for its Private Debt strategy.  The candidate will have meaningful participation across a wide range of job functions supporting the investment platform. The candidate should appreciate the entrepreneurial nature of the position and the opportunity to play a key role in the ongoing launching of new funds and products within a well-established, global investment firm. The candidate should be familiar with Private Debt Funds fund accounting, valuation, risk management, the role of third-party fund service providers and general finance and reporting oversight functions. The individual will join the Fund Finance team based in Dublin.

The Associate, Fund Finance, working alongside the VP, Fund Finance, and the Pantheon Private Debt teams, will play a central role in the Private Debt Fund Finance team. This will include key fund finance activities such as fund administrator accounting oversight, fund audit, reporting, valuation procedures, and other operational processes that may be required. Additionally, the individual will support the Designated Person for Capital and Financial Management in fulfilling their oversight and reporting responsibilities.

Key Responsibilities

Fund Finance

• Partner with the Private Debt teams to provide financial and operational support to ensure that business objectives are met.
• Build, develop and maintain and develop good working relationships between the team and its internal/external clients and suppliers.
• Provide financial and operational support for the set-up of new structures or funds including working with the structuring team, internal counsel, external advisors, and Private Debt team to ensure that operating frameworks are set up appropriately.
• Fund accounting review for Private Debt Funds, ensuring that financial deliverables are of high quality and financial statements are accurate and complete.
• Review and approval of fund expenses – ensuring these are reasonable and understood.
• Review and approval of management/ performance fees, as required.
• Assist in the delivery for the funds’ reporting and any regulatory reporting that may be required.
• Oversight of third-party fund administration providers, depositaries, and other service providers in conjunction with the Third-Party Administration Management team. 
• Assist with external audits for Private Debt funds, which will include liaising with the funds’ external auditors and ensuring that audit queries are addressed and completed in line with deadlines.
• Review and approval of capital events such as calls, distributions and equalisations, as required.
• Ensure applicable control and risk frameworks and policies are adhered to and that existing procedures are refined to reduce operational risk.
• Complete other ad-hoc projects and tasks from time to time.
• Support the Private Debt and Investor Relations teams, as required.
• Provide transaction support for acquisitions and creation of new entities to ensure transaction closings are achieved as planned.
• Attending the relevant investment team meetings to understand the current deal pipeline, future transactions, new funds and anticipating and coordinating any operational requirements.
• Assist with any fund sales, extensions and, where necessary, liquidations related to Private Debt Funds.

Capital & Financial Management 

• Support the Designated Person to discharge Pantheon Ireland’s Capital and Financial risk responsibilities under CP86 for the funds under management and for Pantheon Ventures Ireland (PVI) itself.
• Ensure compliance with the Central Bank of Ireland regulatory requirements, including the capital requirements of PVI and monitoring of the Minimum Capital Requirement.
• Support the Designated Person with oversight and monitoring of service providers to PVI’s funds under management, including reviewing internal control reports, oversight for delegated activities including AIFMD reporting, remote monitoring and on site due diligence inspections as necessary. This includes reviews of quarterly fund reports and annual financial statements prepared by the Funds’ administrators.
• Assist with the preparation of materials for quarterly board reporting to both the PVI and Luxembourg boards, including oversight of the budget and expense analysis

Knowledge & Experience Required 

Technical 

• Recognised accounting qualification, with strong accounting skills
• Broad knowledge of private markets, preferably funds of funds or Private Debt, and the processes involved in servicing these funds 
• Customer focused, with a background in fund accounting/ operations and passion for quality and efficiency
• Experience in designing, monitoring and understanding the internal controls frameworks in place at each stage of a fund/product life cycle 
• The ability to lay out processes, controls and procedures in simple, clear formats including data flows, controls matrices, etc. 
• Ability to prioritise and manage own workload
• Experience in process change and improvement projects 
• Excellent organisation and planning skills 
• Proficient Excel skills. 

Individual 

• Comfortable acting proactively and always with integrity 
• Strong communication skills, both written and verbal and the ability to develop meaningful partnerships with both internal and external teams  
• Professional scepticism: an ability to ensure that things are not taken at face value and always asking “does this make sense?” 
• Problem solver: an ability to, and an interest in searching for solutions to problems and establishing the root causes of any issues that arise. 

This job description is not to be construed as an exhaustive statement of duties, responsibilities, or requirements. You may be required to perform other job-related duties as reasonably requested by your manager.

Pantheon is an Equal Opportunities employer, we are committed to building a diverse and inclusive workforce so if you're excited about this role but your past experience doesn't perfectly align we'd still encourage you to apply.