FirstCape is one of New Zealand’s largest and best resourced wealth advisory and asset management business, creating an enhanced and broadened product offering to help our clients achieve their goals at whatever stage of their investment life cycle. Here at FirstCape, we believe that our people are our greatest asset. Our success is dependent on the collective talent, expertise, and dedication of each and every one of our team members. We are committed to creating an environment where everyone can thrive, grow, and contribute to their fullest potential.
Job Description
About Harbour Asset Management | Mo Harbour Asset Management
Harbour’s vision is to be the Most Trusted Investment Manager, which means we continually strive to exceed our clients’ expectations through service, communication and transparency. As a growing and highly successful team with a strong family culture, everyone at Harbour is focused on delivering the best possible outcomes for our clients and continuously improving.
About the opportunity | Mo te whai waahi
This is a very unique new role to support the growth and execution of Harbour’s private credit strategy through origination, assessment, structuring, and monitoring of private credit opportunities with an emphasis on downside protection and ensuring returns adequately compensate for the risks taken. This includes developing lending networks, sourcing high-quality transactions, working collaboratively with the private credit portfolio manager on underwriting and pricing, and contributing to investor communications.
The role requires strong relationship-building capabilities, analytical rigour, and the ability to execute in a specialised, high-touch part of the market. It sits within the fixed interest team but focuses exclusively on private credit.
Key Responsibilities | Ngā Kawenga Mahi
Sourcing and originating private credit opportunities through direct relationships with borrowers, advisers, brokers, private equity sponsors, banks, and other market participants. Performance in the role will be assessed on a combined basis, reflecting both the quality and sustainability of originated transactions and their subsequent performance, rather than volume of deal flow alone.
Conducting financial, credit, structural, and ESG analysis of prospective private credit transactions, including diligence, modelling, underwriting recommendations, and credit memos.
Supporting negotiation and structuring of terms, including covenants, pricing, documentation, and security packages, in collaboration with the portfolio manager and legal advisers.
Monitoring existing private credit holdings, including covenant compliance, financial updates, site visits, risk assessments, and early identification of performance issues.
Contributing to pricing model enhancements and internal frameworks for evaluating risk-adjusted returns.
Presenting private credit exposures, strategy updates, and transaction rationales to clients, prospects, and consultants as required.
Supporting the integration of private credit insights with the broader fixed interest team where appropriate, including sharing sectoral views and thematic credit commentary.
Maintaining strong relationships with external private credit managers used within the strategy, where relevant.
Sourcing private credit opportunities where expected returns are commensurate with underlying credit risk, with a focus on capital preservation, downside protection, and consistent performance through the cycle rather than maximising headline yield.
Ensuring that originated transactions perform in line with underwriting expectations over time, including active monitoring of credit performance, early identification of risk, and contribution to remediation strategies where required.
Upholding Harbour’s client-centric values and commitment to high-quality research and governance.
Ensuring that all origination, diligence, and decision-making processes meet internal standards and regulatory requirements.
Collaborating closely with the private credit portfolio manager to ensure smooth execution and high-quality investment outcomes.
While our preference is for a Wellington-based candidate, highly experienced applicants located in Auckland will also be considered.
Desired Skills and Experience
What you will bring to the role | He aha ka kawea e koe ki te mahi
Essential:
At least 3-5 years experience in private credit, leveraged finance, commercial lending, corporate banking, structured finance, or related fields.
Demonstrated ability to source, originate, or execute private credit transactions or bespoke lending opportunities.
Strong analytical skills, including financial modelling, structuring, credit assessment, and underwriting.
Ability to build and maintain deep borrower and intermediary relationships.
Strong written and verbal communication skills for both investment and client contexts.
High level of professionalism, integrity, and sound judgement.
Preferred:
Relevant tertiary qualification such as a postgraduate degree in finance, accounting, economics, or business, or a CFA designation.
Experience presenting to clients, prospects, or consultants.
Ability to draft transaction documentation from scratch (e.g., term sheets, covenant packages, or initial drafting for bilateral loans), or experience working closely with legal counsel on first-draft documents.
Ability to collaborate effectively within a portfolio management environment.
Why work at FirstCape? | He aha mahi i te FirstCape?
We offer a competitive compensation package commensurate with experience. Additional benefits include wellbeing support, volunteer days and a great company culture. We pride ourselves on offering our employees outstanding development and learning opportunities to support career growth, and the opportunity to work alongside the best talent in the market.
We are an inclusive employer and want our workforce to reflect a rich and diverse way of thinking and working. We know people are more than a single identity and the qualities that make each one of us unique need to be valued and embraced. So regardless of your gender, age, background or how you choose to identify, there's room for you to realise your potential here. And importantly, there's room to be yourself.
We’re also committed to providing equal opportunities to all candidates. Let us know if you have any accessibility requirements so we can work with you to make adjustments where possible to support your application. Alternatively, if you don’t meet all the requirements of the role but think you would be a great candidate, please apply explaining why you want the role, how you think your skills or background are transferable, and how you plan to upskill where needed (we will support you with this, but want to know you have thought about this too).
To be eligible to apply, you must have the right to work in New Zealand. Please note candidate screening and interviews may be conducted prior to the closing date of the job advert.
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