Head of Real Estate Fund Finance & Operations
M&G · London, United Kingdom · 1d ago
At M&G, our purpose is to give everyone real confidence to put their money to work. With a heritage dating back more than 175 years, we have a long history of innovation in savings and investments, combining asset management and insurance expertise to offer a wide range of solutions.
Our two distinct operating segments, Asset Management and Life, work together to provide access to balanced, long-term investment and savings solutions.
Through telling it like it is, owning it now and moving it forward together with care and integrity; we are creating an exceptional place to work for exceptional talent.
We will consider flexible working arrangements for any of our roles and offer workplace adjustments to ensure you have the support you need to succeed in your role.
The Role:
The Head of Real Estate Fund Finance and Operations is a senior leadership role based in London, accountable for the strategic direction, governance and performance of the fund finance and operational capabilities supporting the global real estate fund platform.
The role brings together Property Fund Finance, Portfolio Analysis and Operations into a unified operating model, creating high-performing teams that partner effectively with Product and Investment teams and continually evolve their services in response to changing client and investor needs. It combines strategic leadership, operational oversight and external-facing expertise to strengthen controls, improve scalability and deliver an end-to-end, value-adding client and investor experience.
This is an exciting opportunity to join a highly successful Real Estate business in a newly established leadership role, shaping the future operating model for Real Estate Operations and playing a key role in the next phase of the platform's growth and evolution.
Main Responsibilities:
Lead the global Fund Finance, Operations and Portfolio Analysis teams, creating a clear vision, common objectives and a high-performing culture.
Bring global teams into a capacity-led structure, establishing effective global liaison arrangements, clear ownership, accountability and visible leadership across regions.
Shape, evolve and implement operating models across the Real Estate Operations function, integrating Property Fund Finance, Portfolio Analysis and Operations into a unified, high-performing platform that partners with Product and Investment teams and continually adapts to changing client needs, investor expectations and business priorities.
Partner with the Investments and Product teams to further commercialise the capabilities of Fund Finance, Operations and Portfolio Analysis, ensuring services evolve to support changing investor requirements, new investment strategies and business growth.
Represent Real Estate Operations with clients, investors and prospective investors, articulating operational capabilities, governance arrangements and service enhancements to support client retention, fundraising and business growth.
Responsible for operational P&L performance, delivering revenue growth and cost efficiency
Translate strategic objectives into operational plans, priorities and resource decisions that support fund performance, client outcomes and sustainable growth.
Chair the Operations Committee, setting priorities, driving decisions and ensuring clear ownership and follow-through of actions. Clearly present escalations to the Real Estate ExCom and provide thoughtful mitigations and solutions for any issues raised.
Serve as a member of relevant Audit Committees and contribute finance, operational, governance and control expertise to committee oversight and decision-making.
Hold and discharge responsibilities associated with relevant directorships, ensuring appropriate governance standards and fiduciary obligations are met.
Chair the M&G Real Estate Valuation Technical Working Group, maintaining robust technical standards and ensuring a suitably qualified alternate is in place within the team.
Maintain and enhance the control environment, ensuring robust governance, risk management, regulatory compliance, issue resolution and operational oversight.
Act as a facilitator of change, applying awareness of industry best practice to challenge established ways of working and support successful adoption of new approaches.
Embed a culture of continuous improvement, constructively challenging teams to simplify processes, build efficiencies for scale and reconsider existing practices.
Provide leadership to evolve the Portfolio Analysis function, leveraging automation and technology to enhance efficiency while developing analytical capabilities that deliver deeper investment insight, support client outcomes and enable future business growth.
Along with the Director of Operations, Real Estate, lead strategic relationships with key third-party providers, ensuring services remain commercially competitive, operationally resilient, scalable and aligned to the evolving needs of investors, funds and new investment strategies.
Build organisational capability across Fund Finance, Operations and Portfolio Analysis, developing future leaders, strengthening technical expertise and ensuring the function is positioned to meet future business and client requirements.
Build strong partnerships across Operations, Real Estate, Risk, Technology and Tax, and lead relationships with external service providers, auditors and other stakeholders.
Monitor operational risks, issues and dependencies, taking timely action to maintain resilience, strengthen controls and reduce operational risk.
Foster a collaborative and inclusive culture that encourages accountability, professional development, continuous improvement and consistently high-quality delivery.
Key Knowledge, Skills and Experience:
Significant leadership experience across real estate fund finance and operations within a regulated environment, with strong knowledge of governance, controls and operational risk management.
Demonstrable experience of developing client operations propositions and investor-facing service offerings, with a clear understanding of how operational capabilities contribute to client value.
Proven ability to design and implement operating models across global, matrixed teams, including capacity-led structures, clear accountabilities and effective cross-regional liaison.
Comfortable operating in a fast-paced, evolving and complex environment
Experience chairing senior governance forums and contributing effectively as an Audit Committee member and Board director, or the credibility and judgement to undertake such responsibilities.
Strong technical understanding of real estate valuation governance, with the ability to lead a technical working group and develop appropriate capability and succession within the team.
Proven track record of professionalising operational teams, building high-performing functions and developing leaders and subject-matter expertise.
Ability to influence strategic direction and translate strategy into practical delivery plans, resource priorities and measurable outcomes.
Strong commercial and client orientation, balancing service quality, risk, control, cost and scalability.
Demonstrable change leadership, including the ability to facilitate change, apply industry best practice and challenge established practices constructively.
Proven capability in continuous improvement, process redesign and efficiency delivery, with a focus on creating scalable and resilient operations.
Excellent stakeholder management and communication skills, with the ability to explain complex matters clearly and influence senior internal and external stakeholders.
Strong analytical, problem-solving and decision-making skills, combined with sound judgement and the confidence to act in complex or ambiguous situations.
Qualifications:
Professional qualification in Accounting, Finance, Investment Management or Real Estate, or equivalent relevant professional accreditation is required
Degree-level education in a relevant discipline or equivalent professional experience is required
Work Level: Integration Leader
Location: London
What we offer:
We’re dedicated to supporting your wellbeing and helping you thrive, both at work and beyond. Our benefits are designed to help you balance your professional and personal life, and financially plan for the future. Our UK benefits include:
- A valuable pension scheme of up to 18% (13% made up of employer contributions and 5% employee contributions).
- Access to our Share Save and Share Incentive Plan, alongside financial wellbeing and support services to help give you real confidence to put your money to work.
- Enjoy 38 days annual leave (including bank holidays), with the opportunity to purchase up to five extra days. Our Time Off When You Need It policy gives you the flexibility - to balance work and personal commitments.
- Our market-leading Inspiring Families policy includes comprehensive support and paid parental leave covering maternity, adoption, surrogacy, and paternity leave - because supporting families is an important part of our inclusive culture.
- Health & Protection cover includes Private Healthcare, Critical Illness cover and Life Assurance for you, with additional family options - for peace of mind.
To explore more about life at M&G and our full benefits offering, visit Life at M&G
At M&G we strive to have a diverse workforce and an inclusive culture, underpinned by our policies and employee-led networks that offer networking, support and development opportunities for the diverse communities our colleagues represent. We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds – across gender, ethnicity, age, disability, sexual orientation and more – including neurodivergent individuals, career returners and those with military service experience.
M&G is proud to be Level 3: Disability Confident Leader under the UK Government Disability Confident employer scheme, and we welcome applications from candidates with disabilities and long-term health conditions. If you would like to participate in the initiative, you will have the opportunity to indicate this on your application.
We are committed to providing an inclusive recruitment process. All candidates have the opportunity to request reasonable adjustments when applying. If you need any additional support at any stage, please contact us at: careers@mandg.com