Power & Utilities Performance & Cost Assessment Director

Job description

The Team

Infrastructure Advisory Group (IAG), a part of KPMG Deal Advisory in the UK, consists of c350 professionals and is widely recognised as a leading independent business, financial and regulatory advisers in the infrastructure space. The group has won many awards, including Financial Advisor of the Year (Infrastructure Journal) for several years. The group has presence across the UK and 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.

Power & Utilities (P&U) is one of the largest business area of IAG and encompasses work for large clients in the sector, including all energy and water companies in the UK 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 in other areas directly 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 P&U business is currently divided into several practicesincluding Finance, Strategy, Regulation, Projects, Transactions, Renewables and Cost & Performance Benchmarking and is continuously expanding achieving double digit growth every year over the last 12 years. We are looking for high quality candidates to support our growth and development of existing and new service lines, while building on the work already undertaken in the Group.

The Role

The candidate should have a very good understanding of the water and energy sectors in the UK, extensive experience of working on cost and performance assessment in the context of price reviews (including advanced cost modelling, cost benefit analysis and business case development), business transformation and transactions. They should also have a good track record of working in professional services, including leading a team, and both winning and delivering advisory services, supported by a proven reputation in the sector. The role involves working with other teams inside P&U as well as across KPMG more broadly. Building and maintaining a strong working relationship with the other teams will be important.

Services provided by the Cost and Performance Assessment and Benchmarking team in IAG P&U include inter alia the following:

• Understanding and analysing drivers of companies’ activities, performance and efficiency, 
• Benchmarking companies’ costs and performance using different techniques including econometric modelling.
• Use of cost benefit analysis and business case development to support corporate business plans and cost estimates.
• Use of cost assessment techniques to identify and support business transformations, turnaround and business improvement plans.
• Regulatory and commercial due diligence on transactions involving regulated utilities and other companies in the P&U sector.

Role and Responsibilities

As a Director responsible for the Cost Assessment practice in P&U the individual will be responsible for:

• Leading advice on major projects for companies, investors and regulators
• Operating at the C suite and board level with companies and investors
• Growing the business
• Identifying and recruiting talent
• Be the focus for our cost and performance assessment capability in P&U and bring insights and leading practices
• Ensuring KPMG's quality and risk management procedures are completed to the appropriate standard
• Pro-actively keeping up to date with cost assessment thinking at a global level
• Leading the performance and cost assessment team, and playing a key part in the P&U leadership team
• Coaching and mentoring other staff
• Being a role model for less experienced staff and for the firm's values
• Working with the other senior staff in the P&U team to define and implement the strategy for the unit 

Business development activities will include:

• Working closely with our colleagues in other parts of P&U to develop and maintain business relationships with key companies and investors
• Targeting key companies in-line with our strategy and developing a pipeline of opportunities to support the growth of the cost assessment business as well as wider P&U team
• Building and managing sustainable business relationships with corporates and regulators
• Building a strong external and internal network to promote our services and the value provided
• Supporting the development with thought leadership and speaking engagements 
• Pro-actively promoting our services
   

The Person

We are looking for a person who can work at pace and bring experience and best practice and collaborate closely with other parts of the team and other parts of the firm. The person should have proven experience of advising on cost assessment with a high level of client relationship management and a track record of delivery high quality outputs and securing further work
 

Skills, Qualifications and Experience

• In depth knowledge of utilities and energy sectors in the UK (key market segments)
• Extensive experience of working on performance and cost assessment in utilities and infrastructure, including price reviews and transactions
• Understanding of key value drivers in utilities including policy, regulation, financing, investments, markets etc
• A strong track record of working in professional services, including leading a team, and both winning and delivering advisory services
• Excellent presentation and communications skills 
• Skills successfully to develop and manage client relationships
• Preferably formal education in economics at advanced level or similar qualifications 
• Strong commercial awareness

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