Project Finance Manager

What we’re looking for

Aura Power is looking for a Project Finance Manager to support our dynamic, fast-paced business. This role is crucial for ensuring that we reach financial close in a timely manner on our projects while obtaining strong commercial terms on senior debt.

What you’ll be doing

At Aura Power, we develop large-scale solar and battery storage projects across the UK, Italy, Portugal, Lithuania and Germany. We are setting up a new business unit to take our projects into construction. This is in-line with our strategy to create a fleet of generation projects, focused initially on UK CfD-backed solar PV.

As Project Finance Manager, you will work closely with the director responsible for construction, as well as the project managers to coordinate the various workstreams required for the debt financing of our UK solar portfolio. The workload will be centred around the financing processes that will be running in parallel for our portfolio of assets. Workload may fluctuate with intensity peaking around the project financial close dates.

The ideal candidate will hit the ground running and have a can-do attitude to problem solving.

What experience you’ll need/ Is this the job for you?

We’re looking for someone with a good level of experience in project financing of renewable energy or related infrastructure projects. You will ideally have experience in a commercial, legal or similar financing role. Some knowledge of financial modelling would be advantageous. You should be able to ask the right questions and check work undertaken by your colleagues. You should understand typical debt products, structures and the levers around debt that can drive sponsor returns and minimise business risk in solar project financing.

We’re open to flexible and non-standard working patterns and are focused on finding the right candidate with the right cultural fit. We expect that you will be able to work from our Bristol office several days a week, with a preference for someone who can be in the office regularly to help support the junior members of the team.

Responsibilities

The project finance manager will be responsible for:

• Overseeing the preparation of lender documentation, including investment memoranda, for presentation to internal and external stakeholders.
• Negotiating terms with banks, investors, and financial institutions to secure debt/equity funding for projects.
• Defining scopes of work, and coordinating tenders for external advisor engagements required to support due diligence / project finance activities.
• Coordinating the due diligence process. Driving value and cost efficiencies and managing the associated budget for due diligence workstreams.
• Working with legal, technical, finance and development teams to ensure project and corporate compliance with financing requirements
• Monitoring the financial performance of ongoing projects, identifying opportunities to optimise returns and manage risks.
• Collaborating with the development teams to align financial strategies with project timelines and objectives.
• Collaborating as required with our accounting, financial planning & analysis personnel and external advisors
• Staying up-to-date with market trends, regulatory changes, and innovations in the renewable energy finance sector.

Essentials

• Highly motivated individual
• Degree in a suitable subject
• At least five years of professional experience in project finance, M&A or corporate finance.
• Experience in the independent execution of complex financing transactions
• Fluent English
• Very good MS Office skills (Excel & PowerPoint).
• Entrepreneurial thinking and initiative.

What we expect from you

At Aura Power, we have a core set of values that act as a guideline to outline the beliefs and behaviours that underpin our success. These values are reflected in our daily interactions and help build a culture of belonging where everyone can thrive.

We also include Motivational Fit in our hiring criteria.

Motivational Fit: the individual, role and business have a mutually beneficial and engaging fit.

The role, individual, and business should have a mutually beneficial and engaging fit. Your tasks will be varied and may change from day to day.

Collaborative: involves the right people at the right time and communicates well.

You will work closely with the Directors, the General Counsel, the rest of the Operations team, as well as other workstream leads in the development and central business teams.

Responsible: takes ownership and delivers.

We need you to stay on top of and close out your own workload. You will need to bring in different parts of the business to do that – and you’ll need to manage those relationships too.

A Force for Good: a positive influence for colleagues, community, and the planet.

You will share ideas and best practices with the business, a trusted person who steps up when support is needed.

Impactful: insightful, shows initiative, prioritises, and works smart.

It is crucial that you know how to prioritise – understanding what truly impacts business value.

Curious: adaptable, innovative, and encourages growth.

You will need to flex to the requirements of the business, which can change on short notice.

Where you’ll be working

Hybrid working is possible after you have successfully completed probation, but you should initially expect to be office-based.

Our UK office is located in central Bristol, overlooking the harbour, and just a 10-15 minutes walk from Bristol Temple Meads rail station.

What is the salary range for this job?

The salary for this role ranges from £65,000 to £120,000 per year on a full time basis (based on experience)

Why you’ll want to work for us

We are a young, dynamic business trying to make a difference to the climate change challenge. We are proud of our culture at Aura Power and that is down to the talented bunch of individuals that work for us.

Many of the Aura team are empowered simply by contributing directly to the energy transition in the fight against climate change but we believe in offering a number of other benefits to keep our team motivated.

These currently include:

• Comprehensive, private medical insurance through Vitality
• Twenty-eight days of paid holiday in each calendar year for full-time positions. One additional day is given for every two years of service up to a maximum of 32 days each year. Public holidays are given on top
• Long term incentive scheme
• Career Break allowance
• Death in Service benefit
• Electric Vehicle Salary Sacrifice
• Cycle to Work Scheme
• Vibrant and positive work culture with regular team socials and volunteering days
• Flexible working options
• Pension Scheme
• Our recently refurbished office is in a beautiful, central location in Bristol and has bike storage, shower rooms, and a small gym room

Promoting a healthy work-life balance

We take pride in offering a flexible working model at Aura Power so that our employees can enjoy a healthy work/life balance. If you need to work around childcare, doctor’s appointments or even some time to yourself or with family and friends, we encourage you to do so. We trust all of our staff to deliver their outcomes in their own working pattern and believe that by doing so, our outputs are of a consistent high quality.

We recognise that people have different ways of working and want our employees to flourish in a flexible working environment.

At Aura, we prioritise Equality, Diversity and Inclusion. We understand the detrimental impact of discrimination and strive to create an environment where everyone feels safe. Our goal is to ensure that no individual feels marginalised, silenced or bullied because of their individual characteristics and we are committed to fostering a culture where everyone can thrive.

The important stuff

You must have the right to work in the UK

Applications close: 17:00, 29 November 2024

Potential Start date: as soon as possible

If this sounds like a fit for you and you’d like to know more, please click to apply and tell us why you’d like to join the team.