The San Francisco Employees’ Retirement System ("SFERS"), a $34 Billion defined benefit pension plan, offers an exceptional opportunity for the right candidates to serve this historic, well established City Department by engaging in interesting and rewarding mission critical work. 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 and retired employees of the City and County of San Francisco and their survivors.

Our Mission

The San Francisco Employees’ Retirement System 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.

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.

Compensation: 
$124,072.00 - $158,366.00 Yearly

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.

The APM will serve as the second in charge of SFERS’ Private Equity portfolio with primary responsibility for SFERS’ venture capital and growth equity 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 and co-investments. In addition, the APM will be responsible for the supervision 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:

• Source and conduct due diligence on external investment managers and direct investment opportunities to help construct an investment portfolio in accordance with SFERS’ long-term strategic investment plan.
• Evaluate investment opportunities, including meeting with investment managers to assess their qualifications and track records, 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 comprehensive review 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’ venture capital and growth equity strategies, 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 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 related to the day-to-day management of the portfolio
• Represent SFERS with distinction and class to external managers and other stakeholders.
• Collaborate with colleagues across the investment team in ideas generation and overall investment process improvements.
• Supervise and develop an Investment Officer.

Minimum Qualifications

These minimum qualifications establish the education, training, experience, special skills and/or license(s) which are required for employment in the classification.  Please note, additional qualifications (i.e., special conditions) may apply to a particular position and will be stated on the exam/job announcement.

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 substitute 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, may substitute for an undergraduate degree in a different field than described above.
• 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 substitute for an undergraduate degree in a different field than described above.

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.

• Broad and extensive private markets investment experience in private equity.
• Meaningful active relationships with venture capital and growth 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 in 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, 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.

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 of the Agency will be invited to participate in the selection process. Applicants meeting the minimum qualifications are not guaranteed advancement in the selection process.

Application Opening:  October 14, 2021

Receipt of applications may close at anytime, but not before October 28, 2021.  Applicants are encouraged to submit their application immediately.

Recruitment ID: RTF0114615 - 01149114

In line with the Official Public Health Order to slow the spread of COVID-19, “shelter-in-place” has been issued for all San Francisco residents that is expected to be in effect until further notice. As a result, Department of Human Resources (DHR)’s office (located at 1 South Van Ness Avenue, 4th Floor, San Francisco, CA 94103) is currently closed to the general public. If you have any questions, please feel free to email the Human Resources Analyst listed on this announcement.

Additional Information Regarding Employment with the City and County of San Francisco:

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

If you have any questions regarding this recruitment or application process, please contact the recruitment analyst, Tess Bobila at [email protected].

CONDITION OF EMPLOYMENT:  All City and County of San Francisco employees are required to be vaccinated against COVID-19 as a condition of employment.  For details on how it is applicable to your employment, please click here.

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.