Director of Investment at Santus Consulting

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Director of Investment

Location: Abuja (FCT)
Employment Type: Full-time

Role Overview

• The Director of Investment is a founding leadership position responsible for establishing, building, and managing an investment desk within a permanent capital institution.
• The role involves originating companies, deploying capital, appointing executive leadership, constituting boards, and building long-term institutional value.
• The Director is accountable for everything the desk builds, originates, and fails to deliver, with responsibility for investment strategy, capital allocation, governance, and portfolio development.

Key Responsibilities
Investment Strategy and Portfolio Development:

• Develop and execute the investment desk's short-term and long-term strategy.
• Identify, originate, and build new companies within the assigned investment sector.
• Develop investment opportunities into viable, capitalised companies.
• Build a sustainable pipeline of future investment opportunities.
• Determine investment priorities and opportunities the desk should decline.

Capital Allocation and Investment Governance:

• Exercise decision-making authority over capital deployment.
• Prepare and present investment cases to the Investment Committee.
• Certify that investment conditions have been met before capital releases.
• Establish investment mandates, restrictions, and conditions for capital deployment.
• Ensure investments comply with institutional governance standards.

Leadership and Board Formation:

• Identify, recruit, and appoint chief executives for portfolio companies.
• Develop executive specifications and lead leadership searches.
• Constitute company boards and appoint suitable board members.
• Build effective leadership teams capable of managing portfolio companies independently.
• Maintain accountability for executive appointments and board effectiveness.

Portfolio Company Oversight:

• Provide strategic direction and oversight for companies within the investment desk.
• Establish mandates defining what each company may undertake and when approvals are required.
• Ensure portfolio companies operate within approved governance and capital frameworks.
• Work with appointed executives and boards without assuming operational management responsibilities.

Institutional Relationships:

• Build and maintain strategic relationships within the assigned investment sector.
• Develop relationships with regulators, development finance institutions, industrial counterparties, and other relevant stakeholders.
• Strengthen the institution's ability to originate investments, raise capital, and establish credibility.
• Maintain relationships that support long-term investment opportunities and sector growth.

Investment Performance and Accountability:

• Deliver agreed operating and performance targets.
• Build companies that generate contracted revenue and sustainable value.
• Ensure portfolio governance withstands due diligence and institutional scrutiny.
• Maintain a pipeline of future companies and investment opportunities.
• Account for institutional delays or constraints that affect agreed targets.

Key Requirements and Experience
The successful candidate should demonstrate:

• Experience taking an asset or company from origination through operation, with accountability for outcomes.
• Direct decision-making authority over capital allocation.
• Proven experience constituting boards and appointing chief executives.
• Experience operating within structured governance frameworks.
• Established personal relationships within the relevant investment sector.
• Ability to identify, develop, and convert investment opportunities into viable companies.
• Strong investment judgement and the ability to explain declined investment opportunities.
• Ability to distinguish between an opportunity and a viable company, and understand how to bridge the gap.
• Understanding of governance as a driver of company value.
• Ability to recognise professional limitations and exercise sound judgement.
• Excellent writing, documentation, and decision-making skills.
• Openness to feedback and willingness to reconsider decisions when challenged.

How to Apply
Interested and qualified candidates should send their updated CV to:  recruitment@santusconsulting.com using the Job Title as the subject of the email. E.g. Director, Investment

In the body of your email, respond to these questions;

• Where do you reside? Eg Wuse 2, Abuja.
• Briefly tell us about a time when you successfully converted an investment opportunity into a viable company.