I'm looking for

The Team

KPMG’s Infrastructure Group in the UK consists of c150 professionals and is widely recognised as one of the world’s leading independent business, financial and regulatory advisers in infrastructure. The group has won many awards, including Financial Advisor of the Year (Infrastructure Journal) for several years. The group has locations in London, Birmingham, Edinburgh, Leeds and Manchester, but 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.

The utilities sector is the largest business area for the Infrastructure Group and encompasses work for large clients in the sector, including all of the leading UK energy and water companies 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 other drivers 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 business is continuously expanding and we are looking for high quality candidates to support our Power & Utilities business with a particular focus on financial analysis, including financeability assessments, risk and scenario analysis, financial modelling, investment appraisal & valuation and assessment of required rates of return. This is to support the development of new service lines, particularly in corporate financial management, building on the work already undertaken in the Group.

The Role

- Contributing to the delivery of specific engagements on a day to day basis;
- Supporting pitching for new business with ideas;
- Developing market intelligence and sector knowledge;
- Contributing to specific business development initiatives, particularly proposals and pitches;
- Building and maintaining relationships with clients and target clients and key market constituents to support personal effectiveness and business development opportunities;
- Contributing to delivery of multiple projects simultaneously;
- Specifying, producing and evaluating financial models; developing a good working understanding of economic regulation;
- Contributing to the effective planning, delivery and closure of projects; maintaining a good understanding of the regulatory frameworks and financial implications in the water and energy sectors; as well as any other duties commensurate with the role.

The Person

Essential Skills
- Degree in Economics, Finance, Mathematics or similarly analytical;
- Familiarity with Bloomberg, Eikon or other financial databases;
- A working knowledge of economic and financial theory, and ability to apply this to regulatory finance;
- Experience in the utilities sector, water and energy networks sectors in particular, preferably in the industry (either with a company or the regulator) or as a consultant specialising in these sectors
- An understanding of current UK economic regulation as well as its application

Desirable skills
- Excellent report writing, Excel and Powerpoint skills—strong writing and quantitative skills are a must;
- An analytical approach to problem solving and intellectual curiosity;
- A willingness and adaptability to work on a diverse range of projects

Opening Date: Friday 25th September 2020
Closing Date: Friday 23rd September 2020
Competitive salary plus negotiable benefits

The Team


KPMG’s Advisory business, one of three major units within KPMG (along with Audit and Tax), generates approximately £1.95bn per year and has 11,000 employees in the UK alone. Deal Advisory represents approximately £400m of revenues for Advisory, and comprises a number of specialist teams including M&A, Restructuring, and Transaction Services.

Deal Advisory has an exciting opportunity to join the Deal Strategy and Value Creation team who are developing a new Integrated Value Delivery (IVD) proposition. This will provide our clients with a holistic, integrated portfolio of implementable value creation opportunities in deal situations, underpinned by advanced data science and industry insights, delivered in a deal-speed timeframe. This team is a cross functional (commercial, operational and digital), agile capability group that will help KPMG generate revenue from broader deal value creation opportunities

We are looking for an experienced deal strategy and value creation practitioner, with a spike in either commercial, operations or digital value creation to play a key role in building out the IVD proposition and delivering high-quality engagements for our Corporate and Private Equity clients.

Role and Responsibilities

Key responsibilities will involve:

- Play a key role in delivering IVD engagements, leading multiple workstreams, from inception to completion, which will involve:
o Hypothesis generation, data request lists, client management, team management, delivery of high-quality output.
o Able to coach junior team on all elements of delivery including storyboarding, deep analytics approaches, and specific expertise in one of the core legs of commercial, operational or digital
o Sustain a reputation for delivery excellence in the marketplace and help grow/ build our brand
- Assist with internal capability build out, which includes; proposition development, recruitment, training, go-to-market strategy development, internal stakeholder management
- Assist with business development activities through development of proposals, pitches and point of view documents, and work with team leadership to win mandates across Corporate and Private Equity clients
- Ability & willingness to travel when necessary

Key Skills

- Possess knowledge of Commercial and Operational Due Diligence and value creation methods, tools etc. and the ability to rapidly identify value creation opportunities for businesses in their market place, thinking innovatively to think beyond traditional ‘CDD and ODD’, and being able to perform analysis to support the hypotheses
- Understanding of the deal lifecycle (pre-deal, deal and post-deal) and the role KPMG can play within it, with proven understanding of project delivery, value identification and deal execution
- Technical and analytical skills with the proven ability to identify areas of potential value across the deal cycle, and develop an approach to assess each area
- Strong slide writing skills that provide impact, present ideas clearly in a convincing manner
- An ability to multi-task effectively and balance time
- Proven management skills, with an ability to coach junior team members to ‘think differently’ and produce high-quality output

Experience and background

- Proven experience in delivering high-quality value creation engagements in either private equity or corporates
- Commercial, Operational Due Diligence and/ or value creation engagements, working with both Private Equity and Corporations, is essential Note, FDD experience will be less relevant for this role
- Experience in top-tier or 2nd tier strategy consulting practice would be beneficial
- Proven ability to manage teams of deal strategy and value creation practitioners that are able to successfully manage and complete multiple projects at once
- Development of high-impact proposals or point-of-view packs as part of the business development process
- Proven ability to work with other teams within a business to identify the most suitable combination of skills to deliver high-impact for clients

The Team


KPMG’s Advisory business, one of three major units within KPMG (along with Audit and Tax), generates approximately £1.95bn per year and has 11,000 employees in the UK alone. Deal Advisory represents approximately £400m of revenues for Advisory, and comprises a number of specialist teams including M&A, Restructuring, and Transaction Services.

Deal Advisory has an exciting opportunity to join the Deal Strategy and Value Creation team who are developing a new Integrated Value Delivery (IVD) proposition. This will provide our clients with a holistic, integrated portfolio of implementable value creation opportunities in deal situations, underpinned by advanced data science and industry insights, delivered in a deal-speed timeframe. This team is a cross functional (commercial, operational and digital), agile capability group that will help KPMG generate revenue from broader deal value creation opportunities

We are looking for an experienced deal strategy and value creation practitioner, with a deep spike in any of commercial, operations or digital value creation to play a key role in building this team by leading both the i) internal capability build-out as well as ii) leading day-today delivery of projects and setting up post-deal opportunities for other areas of the firm (I&S, Consulting) to deliver. All Associate Directors are expected to play an active role in both internal activities and deliver IVD mandates.

Role and Responsibilities

Key responsibilities will involve:

Internal capability build-out (25% of time)
- Key contributor to the development of the IVD proposition, focusing on commercial and / or operational value creation opportunities and building out new propositions (excluding digital)
- Training of junior staff to be able to rapidly identify and structure ‘investment thesis’ ready value creation upsides for target deals (including material development and workshops)
- Play an integral role in recruitment (internal and external) of junior team members (including interviewing, representation at external relevant events etc.)
- Assist with building library of value creation ‘tiles’ specific to UK market, interacting with internal and external experts
- Help IVD build origination pipeline:
o Build internal relationships, through networking, with other KPMG teams to ensure relevant stakeholders are aware of and understand IVD proposition
o Build external marketing suite to re-educate market on KPMG offering; working closely with the team’s leadership to shape go-to-market capability, and help launch the IVD offering in the market
- Assist with thought leadership activity for the team

Client facing Origination and Delivery role (75% of time)

- Manage IVD engagements, operating as a delivery day-to-day lead for end-to-end IVD engagements and act as a key client-facing member of the team
o Be able to articulate sector specific hypotheses to drive value creation potential
o Manage the project from inception to completion, including project risk set-up, hypothesis generation, data request lists, client management, team management, delivery of high-quality output.
o Able to coach junior team on all elements of delivery including storyboarding, deep analytics approaches, and specific expertise in one of the core legs of commercial, operational or digital
o Bringing cutting edge thinking to clients to ensure rapid and insightful value creation delivery; leading innovation in core expertise area
o Sustain a reputation for delivery excellence in the marketplace and help grow/ build our brand
- Manage relationships with clients and investment professionals at Private Equity firms. Interfacing with internal and external stakeholders both at clients and within KPMG
- Assist with business development activities through development of proposals, pitches and point of view documents, and work with team leadership to win mandates across Corporate and Private Equity clients
- Ability & willingness to travel when necessary

Key Skills

- Possess deep knowledge of Commercial and Operational Due Diligence and value creation methods, tools etc. and the ability to identify value creation opportunities for businesses in their market place, thinking innovatively to think beyond traditional ‘CDD and ODD’
- Understanding of the deal lifecycle (pre-deal, deal and post-deal) and the role KPMG can play within it, with proven understanding of project delivery, value identification and deal execution
- Able to set-up ‘post-deal’ implementation storylines/ process to handover to other teams in KPMG
- Technical and analytical skills concerning the deal cycle and ability to identify areas of potential value across the deal cycle
- High-quality presentation skills with impact, competent in presenting ideas clearly, convincingly to influence senior stakeholders and possessing personal presence, with the ability to earn trust and respect
- An ability to multi-task effectively and balance time between project deliver, proposition development, coaching / training, and business development support effectively
- Proven management of teams, developing talent, developing and delivery of training materials
- Experience of delivery of high-quality client deliverables, demonstrating the value identified, and delivered, for clients

Experience and background

- Extensive experience in delivering high-quality value creation engagements in either private equity or corporates
- Commercial, Operational Due Diligence and/ or value creation engagements, with demonstrable experience across the deal lifecycle, working with both Private Equity and Corporations, is essential. Note, FDD experience will be less relevant for this role
- Programme management experience and track record of successful delivery of projects. Minimum of 30 delivered engagements in commercial (including strategy), operational or digital value creation ideally across a number of sectors (Consumer, HLS, Industrial, Technology etc.)
- Experience in top-tier or 2nd tier strategy consulting practice would be beneficial
- Proven ability to grow, develop and manage teams of deal strategy and value creation practitioners that are able to successfully manage and complete multiple projects at once
- Experience of developing new client propositions (ideally utilising new technology for origination, analysis/ delivery), developing and delivering of training and development for team members
- Development of high-impact proposals or point-of-view packs as part of the business development process
- Proven ability to work with other teams within a business to identify the most suitable combination of skills to deliver high-impact for clients

The KPMG Restructuring practice advises a wide range of businesses that find it increasingly difficult to manage their cost base and meet their financial obligations, including in respect of their pension schemes. Following a number of high profile failures, the management of pension scheme obligations has become a primary concern for all stakeholders (government, corporates and trustees) and, as a result, we have seen a material increase in demand for our advice in this area. Our team is targeting further significant growth over the next few years, leveraging our market leading credentials in this area.


During 2019, our Restructuring team advised on several high profile insolvencies, including a number of retail CVAs, where addressing the business’s pension obligations was a key concern. Over the course of 2019 we provided pensions specific Restructuring advice on corporate transactions with a total value in excess of £5 billion, across a wide range of sectors (Oil & Gas, Defence, Retail, Manufacturing), with clients ranging from Financials Investors and Global Listed Groups through to family owned businesses.


Due to the volatility in pension asset values and the UK population living for longer, pension funding requirements have grown materially in recent years. Further, following several high profile corporate failures, the regulations regarding the funding of pension schemes has become increasingly stringent. As a result, dealing with pensions stakeholders is now seen as a key boardroom issue, and our Restructuring pensions expertise means we liaise with our clients at a boardroom level – often directly with the CEO and / or CFO.


Due to the rapid growth in demand for these services, we are looking for a Manager to join our expanding National team, with this role based in London. Further, it is our expectation that there will be the opportunity for the right candidate to progress over time to an Associate Director grade.


The London Restructuring team comprises over 250 people, led by 24 partners and four associate partners. This specific role would see the successful candidate joining the National Markets London team (approx. 60 people, four partners and one associate partner), with a particular focus on assessing the financial strength of the companies that are responsible for funding defined benefit pension schemes and assessing how much these companies can afford to pay to their schemes to meet their funding requirements.


Our work is hands on – as well as producing concise reports, we are in the boardroom providing direct strategic and negotiation support, and then implementing our recommendations. Applicants should be ready to work in a dynamic, flexible and fast paced environment. The role requires strong accounting analysis, report writing skills and a commercial mind-set.


We work with a wide variety of clients, from small privately owned enterprises through to FTSE 100 and high profile businesses. Applicants should expect to work across all sectors.


Further, this role would also be ideal for candidates looking to work flexibly – we would be more than happy to accommodate a 4 day working week, or working reduced hours across a 5 day working week.


Roles and Responsibilities


To be an effective Manager within the Employer Covenant team, and in this role specifically, you will undertake the following:
• Build strong, trusted adviser relationships with senior management and other key stakeholders during engagements (including trustees, solicitors and actuaries);
• Manage teams of colleagues working on engagements, ensuring effective delegation and also multiple work stream delivery;
• Manage engagements and projects to scope, time, quality and budget complying with KPMG engagement management practices;
• Appraise situations (which can be challenging & fast developing) and look to develop innovative solutions, assessing options for businesses and/or stakeholders;
• Communicate views and insights (both in writing and verbally) in an effective and compelling manner to clients and KPMG colleagues, able to adjust style to circumstances;
• Lead the design and development of client ready deliverables with minimal Director and Partner input;
• Coach and develop team members providing high quality developmental feedback;
• Identify opportunities for the wider firm; and
• Involvement in business development activities, including developing pitches and proposals to win new work.


Qualifications and Skills


Key skills and competencies required:


• Strong commercial and business acumen, with evidence of experience;
• Demonstrable experience in leading work streams, advising and working alongside a range of stakeholders;
• Ability to work innovatively and ‘self-start’;
• Desire to build wide advisory expertise and develop knowledge of the team’s offerings;
• Ability to communicate well with operational and financial staff at all levels;
• Good time management and organisational skills, together with the ability to prioritise tasks;
• An ability to produce high quality, detailed and accurate work, and produce concise and creative reports and presentations;
• Enjoy working in a dynamic, flexible and fast paced project environment;
• Willingness to embrace work across all sectors;
• Willingness to undertake some travel, albeit this is typically limited to day trips; and
• Strong financial and analytical skills, with relevant accountancy qualification.


Experience and Background


Prior experience of undertaking pensions related work is not essential. Up front training and continuous coaching will be provided.

KPMG North Restructuring team are looking for a Manager to join their team.


The team of trusted advisors offer a full range of services to stressed and distressed businesses, ranging from formal insolvency through to advising profitable businesses on enhancing value and solving issues.


The team delivers a blend of stakeholder / lender side advisory work (including support with financial restructurings), company side advisory and formal insolvency. The team in the North provides services to a full spectrum of businesses from small owner managed concerns through to large multinationals and also a wide range of work with public sector organisations, all typically experiencing some form of stress or distress.


The team is not aligned to specific sectors and specialisms, however there are individuals with significant experience in certain areas and situations and we would welcome this in applicants. Applicants however should expect to work across all sectors as situations and clients demand.


Where possible, assignments will be resourced to suit individuals’ base locations, but the nature and unpredictability of our work will mean that some travel (and possible international working) will be required.
The role will involve working across a range of assignment types as highlighted above, and applicants should be ready to work in dynamic, flexible and fast moving environments.


Key Responsibilities:
• Working in engagement teams of typically 3 to 6 people, supporting senior team members on a range of product types, with a particular focus on corporate insolvency engagements.
• On certain smaller assignments, overseeing work as the main point of contact with the client, reporting back to engagement leaders and other senior staff.
• Undertaking of detailed analysis to present robust advice to client teams.
• Appraise challenging & fast developing situations and look to develop innovative solutions and assess options for businesses and their stakeholders, which in certain instances may involve consideration of formal insolvency processes.
• Potential involvement in new product development or business development activities.
• Development of junior staff on assignments.


Key skills and competencies required:
• Strong commercial and business acumen
• Ability to work innovatively and ‘self start’
• Corporate insolvency experience essential
• Ideally some stakeholder advisory experience
• Desire to build wide advisory and insolvency skillsets and develop knowledge of all Restructuring offerings
• Ability to communicate well across a range of operational and financial staff at all levels. This is also often in challenging circumstances given the financial positions of the organisations we typically work with.
• Willingness to embrace work across all sectors and potentially undertake some travel.