Associate Director / Director, Financial Advisory

Financial Advisory Service Offerings 

Teneo guides companies and their stakeholders through periods of uncertainty and stress to assess options, address financing and/or balance sheet stresses, create liquidity headroom, reduce costs, improve profitability, more efficiently run their businesses and turnaround and/or exit underperforming businesses, whilst communicating appropriately with stakeholders and, ultimately, deliver certainty from uncertainty. Our expert team also brings market-leading experience in developing and delivering contingency plans and insolvencies across multiple jurisdictions, providing credible fallback plans to protect value or helping to shape and affect a restructuring.

We advise clients on strategies and actions to create, protect and realize value across the full spectrum of stressed or distressed transactions and industries, while helping leaders solve complex business challenges and achieve their goals. No two situations are the same, and our advice and approach is tailored to each set of circumstances and client.

The Role 

As part of ambitious growth plans for our already successful Saudi business, we are looking for Associate Directors and Directors to join our Financial Advisory team in the Kingdom. Our Associate Directors and Directors have the opportunity to lead on a diverse range of engagements across different sectors and geographies, with responsibility for leading projects or key workstreams, managing junior staff and supporting senior leadership in client-facing delivery. 

Key Responsibilities 

Client service

• Lead and/or manage key parts of engagements, providing support to the Managing Director or often directly to the Senior Managing Director.  
• Support client management teams in preparing and challenging business plans, short and/or longer term cash flow forecasts and restructuring plans.
• Providing cash management services to clients to identify working capital and other cash flow improvements.
• Reviewing and stress-testing integrated business plans, budgeting and forecasting models using a fact-based, data driven approach, including KPI definition, data visualization, reporting automation and touchless forecasting.
• Reviewing detailed, integrated 3 statement forecasts (profit & loss, cashflow and balance sheet), and discounted cashflow (DCF).
• Preparing report outputs that may range from business plan documentation and board reports when working for a company, through to preparation of independent business reviews when working for creditors. 
• Developing, analysing and presenting restructuring, refinancing and/or insolvency options using input from other teams, e.g. insolvency or tax analysis, sector and financial modelling.
• Liaising with the Company’s legal advisors to understand key aspects of legal documentation and also drive any documentation processes (term sheets, waivers, loan documentation etc.).
• Preparation of engagement letter(s) and ensuring adherence to all compliance requirements to support financial and risk management.
• Apply an understanding of engagement economics.

Knowledge acquisition

• Build client relationship skills, sector knowledge and continue to develop leadership skills.
• Continue to build technical expertise, broader business advisory and people management skills.
• Understand the market, topical issues and our Financial Advisory propositions.

People and leadership

• Support practice and talent development.
• Provide on-job coaching and development to staff.
• Develop junior staff outside of jobs through appraising and mentoring.
• Support wider Financial Advisory training initiatives.
• Manage diverse teams within an inclusive team culture where people are recognised for their contribution.

Business development

• Own elements of business development including actively supporting business development activities, building and expending your own contact network and supporting Managing Director / Senior Managing Director led marketing and sales activities.
• Participate in existing business development programmes and key client accounts.
• Identify opportunities to expand jobs as well as opportunities to provide wider Teneo services to existing clients.
• Take responsibility for leading marketing initiatives aimed at specific channels to market, or events.

Examples of the types of projects you would be expected to work on include:

• Company diagnostic, turnaround planning, and implementation
• Debt restructuring
• Short-term cash flow forecasting and cash management office set-up
• Preparation and validation of business plans
• Independent business reviews and options analysis
• Working capital management
• Operational cost reduction
• Interim management and active PMO leadership

Key Skills & Experience

Basic Qualifications

• A minimum of 8 years Financial Advisory experience gained either as an advisor within a professional services company, consultancy or investment bank as an analyst in a debt or special situations fund.
• Understanding of debt markets, banking, loan agreements and other relevant financial and legal documentation.
• Understanding of financial statements and related data to assess historical financial performance and future outlook for client companies and prospects.
• Good understanding of the Financial Advisory marketplace, its trends, and key players (principals and advisers).
• Very strong analytical skills, including: business analytics, business planning, short term cash flows, financing options.
• Excellent interpersonal skills.
• Strong project management skills, with ability to lead mid-large teams and develop people.

Preferred Qualifications

• An Accounting degree and/or Qualified Accountant.
• Arabic language skills are strongly preferred, but not mandatory.
• Experience in the UAE or KSA market is strongly preferred.

About Teneo 

Teneo is a leading global financial advisory powerhouse that provides innovative, market leading solutions from recognized experts across offices in the UK, US, The Caribbean and Bermuda, Europe, Middle East, Australia, and Asia Pacific, supported by Teneo’s wider global offering of c. 2,000 professionals. We offer our clients unique, integrated solutions to complex issues.

Teneo’s full range of advisory services includes strategic communications, investor relations, financial advisory and restructuring, management consulting, physical and cyber risk, organisational design, board and executive search, geopolitics and government affairs, corporate governance, ESG and DE&I. The breadth of our offering and our ability to provide bespoke and seamless advisory services, on either a standalone or integrated basis, makes us truly unique.

Our clients include a significant number of the Fortune 100 and FTSE 100, as well as other corporations, financial institutions and organizations.