The City and County of San Francisco

Company Description

Who We Are

The San Francisco Employees’ Retirement System (SFERS) is dedicated to securing, protecting, and prudently investing the pension trust assets, administering mandated benefits programs, and providing promised benefits to the active and retired members of the City and County of San Francisco.

Established in 1889 as a fund for families and orphans of firefighters and police officers, today the San Francisco Employees’ Retirement System serves more than 75,000 active, vested, and retired employees of the City and County of San Francisco and their survivors.

What We Do

The Investment Division serves as a resource to the Retirement Board in the development of investment policies and practices. In accordance with the annual investment plan, the investment team brings before the Board, new investment opportunities with the objectives of enhancing the structure and diversity of the investment portfolio and sustaining long-term performance. Additionally, the Investment Division’s professional staff analyzes, develops, and recommends asset allocation mixes, manages investment portfolios, and monitors the activities and performance of external investment managers.

• Application Opening: March 15, 2024
• Application Deadline: Open Until Filled
• Salary: $137,540 to $175,552 annually
• Recruitment ID: RTF0144151- 01125090

This job announcement will not close before March 29, 2024. Interested applicants are encouraged to apply as soon as possible.

Appointment Type

This permanent exempt position is excluded by the Charter from the competitive Civil Service Examination process and shall serve at the discretion of the Appointing Officer.

Job Description

What We’re Looking For

SFERS seeks an experienced investment professional for the position of Associate Portfolio Manager (“APM”) for its Private Equity portfolio, which includes buyouts, venture capital, growth capital, and special situations investments. Reporting to the Director or Senior Portfolio Manager (“SPM”) of Private Equity, the Managing Director of Private Markets, and the CIO, the APM and the Private Equity team are responsible for the oversight and management of SFERS’ large and growing Private Equity portfolio.

The APM will serve as a key member of the team overseeing SFERS’ Private Equity portfolio and will be primarily focused on Buyout investments. The APM will have the opportunity to help construct and manage a global private equity portfolio through the sourcing, underwriting, execution, and active management of global investment partnerships. In addition, the APM will be responsible for supervising and developing one or more investment and/or administrative staff.

The APM conducts work with oversight from the Director or SPM of Private Equity. The APM is responsible for the following and will keep the Director or SPM informed on the relevant issues: 

Essential Duties:

• Work with the Private Equity team and other internal/ external parties to execute fund commitments.
• Source new investment managers for SFERS’ Private Equity portfolio, perform due diligence for new and existing managers, create market maps, and research new investment themes.
• Evaluate investment opportunities, including meeting with investment managers to assess their qualifications and track records, manipulating and analyzing investment manager and underlying investment data, conducting reference checks, and identifying any significant issues to be addressed during due diligence.
• Prepare and present screening memos and detailed investment recommendations (both written and oral) to the Managing Director, CIO and Retirement Board for review and approval.
• Review, evaluate and negotiate key partnership agreements, including amendments and consents.
• Conduct ongoing active portfolio management, including frequent, direct interaction with SFERS’ investment managers globally.
• Conduct periodic comprehensive reviews of the existing investment portfolio and provide recommendations for improvement / optimization.
• Monitor industry trends and conditions that may affect the portfolio and provide regular assessment updates.
• Review and provide recommendations for SFERS’ buyout strategy, including the review of appropriate asset class goals and objectives, asset allocation, cash flow forecasting, and investment pacing.
• Ensure compliance with SFERS’ investment policies.
• Work closely with SFERS’ consultant(s) to achieve asset class goals and manage the portfolio in accordance with the strategic plan.
• Liaise with external consultants and custodian to ensure the accurate reporting of portfolio investments.
• Process cash calls and distributions and oversee administrative tasks and other functions related to the day-to-day management of the portfolio.
• Represent SFERS with distinction and class both internally and to external parties and other stakeholders.
• Collaborate with colleagues across the investment team in idea generation and overall investment process improvements.
• Supervise and develop an Investment Officer and/or Security Analyst.

Qualifications

Education:

Possession of a baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university with major coursework in finance, economics, business administration, accounting, statistics, or similar field.

Experience:

Four (4) years of investment experience with an investment management firm, pension plan, university, endowment, foundation, corporation, family office, or consulting firm.

Substitution:

• Possession of the Chartered Financial Analyst designation, may be substituted for an undergraduate degree in a different field than described above.
• Possession of a graduate degree in Business Administration, Finance, Statistics, Investment Management, Economics, or similar field.
• Three years of investment management experience at a position equivalent to an APM or higher with an investment management firm, pension plan, university, endowment, foundation, corporation, family office, consulting firm or other investment institution with at least $1 billion in assets, or seven years of such responsibility at a firm of any size, may substituted for an undergraduate degree in a different field than described above.

How to Stand Out

Desirable Qualifications:

The stated desirable qualifications may be used to identify job finalists at the end of the selection process when candidates are referred for hiring.

• Advanced analytical capabilities.
• Broad and extensive private markets investment experience in private equity.
• Meaningful active relationships with private equity investment managers.
• Extensive direct and co-investment experience in private equity.
• Experience and skill in understanding and evaluating sophisticated investment strategies and concepts, as well as global private equity trends and developments.
• Experience reviewing, evaluating, and negotiating complex partnership and contractual agreements.
• Ability to work independently as well as in a collaborative, team-oriented environment.
• Excellent written, oral, and interpersonal communication skills and strong attention to detail.
• Proven ability to build networks and positive working relationships with key internal and external contacts.
• Excellent judgment, integrity, and personal values.
• Willingness to travel globally up to 25% of the time.
• Strong organizational and analytical skills with a demonstrated proficiency with Microsoft Excel, Word, and PowerPoint.
• Possession of a Master’s degree in business administration, finance, or economics and/or a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation.

Verification

Applicants may be required to submit verification of qualifying education and experience at any point during the recruitment and selection process. If education verification is required, information on how to verify education requirements, including verifying foreign education credits or degree equivalency, can be found at https://sfdhr.org/how-verify-education-requirements.

Note: Falsifying one’s education, training, or work experience or attempted deception on the application may result in disqualification for this and future job opportunities with the City and County of San Francisco.

All work experience, education, training, and other information substantiating how you meet the minimum qualifications must be included on your application by the filing deadline. Information submitted after the filing deadline will not be considered in determining whether you meet the minimum qualifications.

Resumes will not be accepted in lieu of a completed City and County of San Francisco application. 

Applications completed improperly may be cause for ineligibility, disqualification, or may lead to lower scores.

Selection Procedures

Applications will be screened for relevant qualifying experience. Additional screening mechanisms may be implemented in order to determine candidates’ qualifications. Only those applicants who most closely meet the needs to the Agency will be invited to participate in the selection process. Applicants meeting the minimum qualifications are not guaranteed advancement in the selection process.

Additional Information

• Information About The Hiring Process
• Conviction History
• Employee Benefits Overview 
• Equal Employment Opportunity 
• Disaster Service Worker
• ADA Accommodation
• Seniority Credit in Promotional Exams
• Veterans Preference
• Right to Work
• Copies of Application Documents
• Diversity Statement

How to Apply

All applicants must submit a resume and completed job application (all sections, including Experience and Education, must be completed) in order to be considered. Resumes will not be taken as a substitute for completing the application. 

Applications for City and County of San Francisco jobs are only accepted through an online process.

Visit careers.sf.gov and begin the application process.

• Select the “I’m Interested” button and follow instructions on the screen

Applicants may be contacted by email about this recruitment and, therefore, it is their responsibility to ensure that their registered email address is accurate and kept up-to-date. Also, applicants must ensure that email from CCSF is not blocked on their computer by a spam filter. To prevent blocking, applicants should set up their email to accept CCSF mail from the following addresses (@sfgov.org, @sfdpw.org, @sfport.com, @flysfo.com, @sfwater.org, @sfdph.org, @asianart.org, @sfmta.com, @sfpl.org, @dcyf.org, @first5sf.org, @famsf.org, @ccsf.edu, @smartalerts.info, and @smartrecruiters.com).

Applicants will receive a confirmation email that their online application has been received in response to every announcement for which they file. Applicants should retain this confirmation email for their records. Failure to receive this email means that the online application was not submitted or received.

If you have any questions regarding this recruitment or application process, please contact the recruitment analyst, Michael Nettles, at michael.nettles@sfgov.org.

All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.

The City and County of San Francisco encourages women, minorities and persons with disabilities to apply. Applicants will be considered regardless of their sex, race, age, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition (associated with cancer, a history of cancer, or genetic characteristics), HIV/AIDS status, genetic information, marital status, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, military and veteran status, or other protected category under the law.

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