Analyst - Private Equity Performance Improvement

**Description**

Private Equity Performance Improvement (PEPI)

**Purpose of the role**:
Alvarez & Marsal’s Private Equity Performance Improvement (PEPI) business is a rapidly growing its high performance European team. To continue our success and to support our ambitious growth plans for the future, we are currently looking for a new Analyst to join our team in Italy.

This is a fantastic opportunity for you to use your financial and problem solving skills to become an integral part of our successful ‘hands-on’ team. As a valued member of the A&M Pan-European PEPI team based in Milan, you will be working on high-impact pan-European projects across the entire private equity life cycle, from pre-acquisition support (operational due diligence, carve-out, merger integration), to transformation, performance improvement and operational turnaround/restructuring through to supporting the exit.

As an Analyst, you will be working closely with Directors, Senior Directors and Managing Directors. You will benefit from constant exposure to the senior members of the team and client, and gain ‘on-the-job’ learning and development, leveraging on their substantial experience. You will have the chance to considerably nurture and enlarge your professional network as well.

**Responsibilities**:

- Being an active part of the teams supporting private equity firms and their portfolio companies in their pre-acquisition and performance improvement activities;
- Producing extensive financial modelling and analysis including cash flow models and projections;
- Synthesizing information after research and analysis into high quality client reports and recommendations;
- Produce integrated models with balance sheet, P&L and cash flow, identifying key trends and red flags;
- Supporting Managing Directors and other senior members of the team with client pitch production
- Build models based on financial and/or operational data and as such have excellent knowledge of Excel (to analyse the data) and PowerPoint (to present the analyses);
- Begin building own network of contacts/referral sources with professionals/institutions;
- Analyse heavy data sets using pivot tables;
- Read financial statements and derive immediate conclusions from it (mainly P&L and cash flow statement) whilst linking to operations;
- Find key information on companies reporting, know what to look for to understand company business performance and key information.

**Requirements**:
**Essential**:

- Graduated from a leading university in Business and / or Engineering, or equivalent;
- Strong problem solving skills and financial background combined with deep understanding of key business and operational drivers;
- Excellent analytical, financial modelling, writing and presentation-building skills; attention to details and striving to produce zero-defect deliverables;
- Fact-based and analytical approach, solution-focused, action-oriented, determined to make a difference and not afraid to challenge the status-quo; self-starter with entrepreneurial flair
- Familiarity with the private equity lifecycle;
- Ability to prioritise - especially in highly pressured situations;
- High integrity that is characterised by the ability to deliver messages even when they are difficult to hear;
- Excel modelling skills - structure data within Excel in a way to draw conclusions and support timely decision making with our clients;
- Ability to quickly understand and piece together very vast or very limited amounts of data and to draw certain conclusions/actions from it;
- Fluency in both English & Italian (written and verbal);
- Ability to travel at very short notice, 4/5 days a week pan-European, most weeks.

**Desirable**:

- Additional MSc or MBA qualifications highly desirable;
- Established customer facing/client handling skills (from any industry);
- Autonomous & entrepreneurial
- A&M is an entrepreneurial business going through high growth;
- Additional European languages are also desirable.

**Our People**:
**Why A&M?**

Companies, investors, lenders and government entities around the world turn to Alvarez & Marsal (A&M) when conventional approaches are not enough to activate change and achieve results.

Privately-held since 1983, A&M is a leading global professional services firm that delivers performance improvement, turnaround management and business advisory services to organizations seeking to transform operations, catapult growth and accelerate results through decisive action. Our senior professionals are experienced operators, world-class consultants and industry veterans who draw upon the firm's restructuring heritage to help leaders turn change into a strategic business asset, manage risk and unlock value at every stage.