Vice President, Real Estate Finance, Investment Banking

This senior position within Liberty's Investment Banking division calls for a seasoned professional to spearhead Real Estate Finance Solutions (REF) in Johannesburg. The role is pivotal in managing the entire deal lifecycle, ensuring client requirements are not only met but that ambitious financial targets are consistently achieved. Success in this capacity hinges on the ability to lead complex negotiations for both standard and structured debt solutions, acting as the primary orchestrator between internal teams and external stakeholders. The objective is to facilitate seamless contracting, define favourable commercial terms, and drive the closing processes that ultimately maximise shareholder returns and contribute significantly to the investment banking arm's revenue growth.

Beyond transactional execution, the Vice President will be instrumental in cultivating strategic insights. This involves conducting thorough research and disseminating key findings to team members. These insights will inform the establishment of robust criteria for client segmentation, thereby enhancing the identification and implementation of continuous improvement and development initiatives across the REF portfolio. The role demands meticulous financial oversight, including the measurement, monitoring, and reporting of financial performance against allocated deal revenue targets and budgets.

A critical component of this role involves taking ownership of the conceptual design and maintenance of sophisticated financial models for REF. This includes valuations, financial projections, and transactional analyses. The incumbent will be responsible for ensuring these models are regularly updated and validated for accuracy and reliability, forming the bedrock for structuring effective debt solutions. Furthermore, the Vice President will oversee the finalisation of all essential supporting documentation, such as offering memorandums, engagement letters, term sheets, pricing supplements, and legal agreements, ensuring full alignment with client needs and the Commercial, Risk, and Regulatory frameworks of Corporate and Investment Banking (CIB).

About the Role

The core responsibilities of this position are multifaceted, encompassing leadership, financial acumen, and strategic thinking. You will be tasked with:

• Leading deal negotiations for a range of debt solutions, from straightforward to highly structured.
• Coordinating diverse internal and external parties to ensure the efficient completion of all contracting requirements and deal commercial terms.
• Driving deal closures to meet commercial targets and enhance shareholder value.
• Conducting market research and providing actionable insights to support strategic decision-making.
• Managing and achieving assigned revenue targets for real estate finance deals.
• Monitoring and reporting on the financial performance of your deal portfolio against set budgets.
• Developing and refining financial models for valuations and transactional analysis.
• Ensuring all finalised documentation aligns with client needs and corporate policies.

What They're Looking For

Candidates aspiring to this role should possess a strong academic background, typically a Post Graduate Degree in Business, Commerce, Finance, or Accounting. Crucially, you will need a significant depth of experience, generally between five and seven years, in several key areas. This includes a proven track record in managing and leading deal teams, with demonstrable success in delegating tasks and prioritising effectively within the lending valuation process.

Furthermore, extensive experience in commercial property finance is essential, alongside a solid background in partnering with specialist risk management functions to ensure adherence to business policies and procedures. The ability to monitor portfolios, effectively manage risk and exposure, and interpret relevant regulatory frameworks is paramount. A comprehensive understanding of both local and global lending products, coupled with the expertise to develop and present innovative client solutions, is also a prerequisite. Experience in leading client engagements and debt solutions from inception to completion, ideally with relevant sector or country-specific experience, will be highly valued. Finally, strong financial analysis capabilities, report writing proficiency, and the ability to present complex information to stakeholders are non-negotiable, as is the skill to review and validate quantitative analysis and financial modelling.

In South Africa, senior roles in investment banking, particularly in real estate finance, often command competitive remuneration packages. While specifics vary greatly, compensation typically includes a substantial base salary, performance bonuses, and other benefits aligned with industry standards. Major financial institutions and specialised property finance divisions within banks are common employers for such positions, offering pathways for further advancement into executive leadership within the financial services sector.

• Post Graduate Degree in Business Commerce, Finance or Accounting 
• 5-7 years experience in managing, leading and coordinating deal teams with a proven track record of delegating and prioritizing tasks through the lending valuation.
• 5- 7 years demonstrated experience in Commercial Property Finance 
• 5-7 years experience partnering specialist risk areas,  to align to business risk management requirements, policies and procedures. Portfolio monitoring to manage risk and exposure. Experience working with and interpreting relevant regulatory frameworks.
• 5-7 years understanding and knowledge of local and global Lending products to effectively develop and present innovative client solutions. Leading client engagements and Debt Solutions from cradle to grave, with relevant sector and / or country experience. Conducting financial analysis, report writing and presenting to stakeholders. Reviewing and providing oversight of all quantitative analysis. Interrogating and validating financial modelling (e.g. valuations, transactional).