0922 Investment Officer – Real Assets - San Francisco Employees' Retirement System (143510-01155424)

Who We Are

The San Francisco Employees’ Retirement System (SFERS) is dedicated to securing, protecting, and prudently investing the pension trust assets, administering mandated benefits programs, and providing promised benefits to the active and retired members of the City and County of San Francisco.

Established in 1889 as a fund for families and orphans of firefighters and police officers, today the San Francisco Employees’ Retirement System serves more than 75,000 active, vested, and retired employees of the City and County of San Francisco and their survivors.

What We Do

The Investment Division serves as a resource to the Retirement Board in the development of investment policies and practices. In accordance with the annual investment plan, the investment team deploys capital with the objectives of enhancing the structure and diversity of the investment portfolio and sustaining long-term performance. Additionally, the Investment Division’s professional staff analyzes, develops, and recommends asset allocation mixes, manages investment portfolios, and monitors the activities and performance of external investment managers.

• Application Opening: December 13, 2024
• Application Deadline: Open Until Filled
• Salary: $129,974 to $165,958 annually
• Recruitment ID: RTF0143509-01155424

This job announcement may close at any time, but not before December 30, 2024. Interested applicants are encouraged to apply as soon as possible.

Appointment Type

This permanent exempt position is excluded by the Charter from the competitive Civil Service Examination process and shall serve at the discretion of the Appointing Officer.

What We’re Looking For

SFERS seeks an experienced investment professional for the position of Investment Officer (“IO”) for its Real Assets portfolio, which includes real estate, infrastructure, natural resources, and other specialty investments. Reporting to the Director or Associate Portfolio Manager (“APM”) of Real Assets, the Managing Director of Private Markets, and the CIO, the IO and the Real Assets team are responsible for the oversight and management of SFERS’ large and complex $5 billion Real Assets portfolio.

The IO serves as a key member of the team overseeing SFERS’ Real Assets portfolio. The IO will participate in the monitoring of existing investments, in the underwriting and execution of prospective investments, and in portfolio construction and analytics.

The IO conducts work with oversight from the Director or APM of Real Assets. The IO is responsible for the following and will keep the Director or APM informed on the relevant issues.  

Essential Duties:

• Manage the internal process for monitoring existing investments, including taking meeting notes, reviewing quarterly reports, and administering capital calls and distributions.
• Assist in the due diligence of existing and prospective investment managers, including compiling screening memos, written investment recommendations, and reports for review by and approval from senior staff.
• Assist with the review of key partnership documents and the execution of subscription agreements, amendments, consents, and other materials related to an existing or prospective investment.
• Assist in the monitoring of the Real Assets portfolio through quantitative and qualitative analysis, such as returns attribution.
• Organize and maintain investment records including subscription documents, side letters, offering memorandums, and other documents relating to existing and prospective investments.
• Coordinate with investment managers, service providers, and colleagues to ensure compliance with investment policies and accurate reporting of investments.
• Work closely with SFERS’ real assets consultants to achieve asset class goals and manage the portfolio in accordance with the Strategic Plan.
• Perform research on investment trends affecting global markets and engage in internal investment discussions.
• Receive direction from senior investment staff and complete assigned tasks accurately and timely.
• Provide administrative and operational support as necessary.
• Represent SFERS with distinction and class to external investment managers, investment consultants, and other stakeholders.

These minimum qualifications establish the education, training, experience, special skills and/or license(s) which are required for employment in the classification.  Please note, additional qualifications (i.e., special conditions) may apply to a particular position and will be stated on the exam/job announcement.

Education:

Possession of a baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university with major coursework in finance, economics, business administration, accounting, statistics, or similar field; AND

Experience:

Three (3) years of investment experience with an investment management firm, pension plan, university, endowment, foundation, corporation, family office, or consulting firm.

Substitution

• Possession of a graduate degree in Business Administration, Finance, Statistics, Investment Management, Economics or similar field, or possession of the Chartered Financial Analyst designation, may be substituted for an undergraduate degree in a different field than described above.
• Two years of investment management experience at a position equivalent to an Investment Officer or higher with an investment management firm, pension plan, university, endowment, foundation, corporation, family office, consulting firm or other investment institution with at least $1 billion in assets, or seven years of such responsibility at a firm of any size, may substituted for an undergraduate degree in a different field than described above.

How to Stand Out

Desirable Qualifications:

The stated desirable qualifications may be used to identify job finalists at the end of the selection process when candidates are referred for hiring.

• Knowledge and prior experience with alternatives, specifically real assets (real estate, infrastructure, and/or natural resources) and/or other private markets strategies.
• Experience in understanding complex investment strategies and concepts and investment market trends and developments.
• Strong organizational and analytical skills with a demonstrated proficiency in Microsoft Excel, Word, PowerPoint, and PowerBI.
• Analytical, financial modeling, and data visualization skills.
• Strong writing and presentation skills with a genuine interest in the subject matter.
• Excellent attention to detail and commitment to delivering the highest quality work.
• Ability to effectively prioritize and handle multiple, time-sensitive tasks.
• Highly self-motivated and hardworking with an ability to work and think independently as well as in a collaborative, team-oriented environment.
• High level of professionalism and an ability to build networks and positive working relationships with key internal and external contacts.
• Willingness to travel globally up to 20% of the time.
• Possession of Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) or Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA) designation.
• Sound judgment, integrity, and moral code.

Verification

Applicants may be required to submit verification of qualifying education and experience at any point during the recruitment and selection process. If education verification is required, information on how to verify education requirements, including verifying foreign education credits or degree equivalency, can be found at https://sfdhr.org/how-verify-education-requirements.

Note: Falsifying one’s education, training, or work experience or attempted deception on the application may result in disqualification for this and future job opportunities with the City and County of San Francisco.

All work experience, education, training, and other information substantiating how you meet the minimum qualifications must be included on your application by the filing deadline. Information submitted after the filing deadline will not be considered in determining whether you meet the minimum qualifications.

Resumes will not be accepted in lieu of a completed City and County of San Francisco application. 

Applications completed improperly may be cause for ineligibility, disqualification, or may lead to lower scores.

SELECTION PROCEDURES

Applications will be screened for relevant qualifying experience. Additional screening mechanisms may be implemented in order to determine candidates’ qualifications. Only those applicants who most closely meet the needs to the Agency will be invited to participate in the selection process. Applicants meeting the minimum qualifications are not guaranteed advancement in the selection process.

• Information About The Hiring Process
• Conviction History
• Employee Benefits Overview  
• Equal Employment Opportunity 
• Disaster Service Worker
• ADA Accommodation
• Seniority Credit in Promotional Exams
• Veterans Preference
• Right to Work
• Copies of Application Documents
• Diversity Statement

HOW TO APPLY

All applicants must submit a resume and completed job application (all sections, including Experience and Education, must be completed) in order to be considered. Resumes will not be taken as a substitute for completing the application. 

Applications for City and County of San Francisco jobs are only accepted through an online process.

Visit careers.sf.gov and begin the application process.

• Select the “I’m Interested” button and follow instructions on the screen

Applicants may be contacted by email about this recruitment and, therefore, it is their responsibility to ensure that their registered email address is accurate and kept up-to-date. Also, applicants must ensure that email from CCSF is not blocked on their computer by a spam filter. To prevent blocking, applicants should set up their email to accept CCSF mail from the following addresses (@sfgov.org, @sfdpw.org, @sfport.com, @flysfo.com, @sfwater.org, @sfdph.org, @asianart.org, @sfmta.com, @sfpl.org, @dcyf.org, @first5sf.org, @famsf.org, @ccsf.edu, @smartalerts.info, and @smartrecruiters.com).

Applicants will receive a confirmation email that their online application has been received in response to every announcement for which they file. Applicants should retain this confirmation email for their records. Failure to receive this email means that the online application was not submitted or received.

If you have any questions regarding this recruitment or application process, please contact the recruitment analyst, Michael Nettles, at [email protected].

All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.

The City and County of San Francisco encourages women, minorities and persons with disabilities to apply. Applicants will be considered regardless of their sex, race, age, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition (associated with cancer, a history of cancer, or genetic characteristics), HIV/AIDS status, genetic information, marital status, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, military and veteran status, or other protected category under the law.