Investment Manager

The Investment Manager is responsible for leading key investment activities of the fund including screening, analyzing, executing, and monitoring investment opportunities. The position offers a deal-oriented, high-responsibility role exposed to the full array of private market blended capital transactions, including senior debt, mezzanine/subordinated debt, equity and credit enhancement. The Investment Manager will be responsible for managing financial and commercial diligence, deal structuring and working with financial models that create value for multiple stakeholders. The candidate must demonstrate a deep commitment to Proofing Station’s mission, and an understanding of the unique challenges faced by undercapitalized markets, small businesses, rural entrepreneurs, and low-income populations.

This role will be based in Chicago with occasional travel throughout the Upper Midwest for deal related activities. This role has flexibility to operate partially remote and partially in person.

Responsibilities

• Partner with the Executive Director to implement Proofing Station’s mission-aligned investing strategy, including the ongoing refinement of key policies, investment theses, processes, indicators, and more.
• Proactively evaluate new investment opportunities, including screening for mission alignment, analyzing the competitive landscape, conducting impact and financial due diligence, and determining the value and optimal structure under various finance and operating scenarios.
• Perform rigorous analysis such as financial modeling, analyzing budgets, testing assumptions, and evaluating deal specific sensitivity models.
• Lead all aspects of due diligence. Perform thorough financial and operational risk assessment and identify potential risks/mitigants. Anticipate potential deal issues and pass concerns through to team members in real time.
• Assimilate information to perform insightful analyses. Present opportunities and deals, including writing high-quality screening and investment memos and supporting materials, for Investment Committee consideration and approval.
• Partner with team members and external counsel on structuring and negotiating the financial and legal terms of new investments.
• Analyze and track the performance, financial and impact reporting from portfolio companies, including synthesizing reported data into financial models, impact dashboards, and presentations.
• Ensure all activities are in compliance with applicable rules, regulations, policies and procedures.
• Engage effectively with diverse stakeholders, including community members, lenders, funders, investors, policymakers, regulatory bodies, and Board members.
• Prepare and present material to the Investment Committee

• Bachelor’s Degree required; MBA or relevant graduate degree preferred
• 5 years of lending or investment experience in commercial banking, CDFI lending or investment banking with preference for small business transaction experience. Deep, advanced understanding of accounting and finance. Experience with lead sourcing, due diligence, underwriting, negotiating and closing/deal execution
• Ability to fuse quantitative and qualitative information to drive decision making and risk assessment. Proficiency in preparing clear, well-organized investment memoranda that synthesize and communicate the story behind the data.
• Familiarity with the food and agriculture sector. Proofing Station is focused on enterprises that are growing and producing food for people and communities, versus other agricultural crops or products.
• Desired, but not required: Prior transactional experience with philanthropic and public finance institutions and programs critical to community development finance or agricultural finance. Track record of structuring intricate, multi-lender deals that align with investee needs while promoting measurable impact criteria.
• Flexibility and comfort in navigating ambiguity and changing situations. A highly motivated, self-starter with the ability to work independently, self-manage workstream timelines, and leverage expertise in the context of a small, high caliber team. Thrives in an environment that values integrity, candor, collaboration, accountability, and results orientation.
• Detail oriented with attention to deadlines and strong project management skills.
• Excellent mathematical, writing, verbal and presentation skills. Strong proficiency in Google Suite & Microsoft Office applications is essential.

Torana Group is a novel investment firm that invests capital to stabilize society. Where others see expendable resources, we find essential value. We invest in mature and growth stage businesses where essential resources - like soil, water, frontline labor - must be managed in drastically different ways, at a time when markets must work for all or risk collapse. We invest debt and equity into businesses where human and natural resources are strategic drivers of enterprise value.

We currently manage the impact-first investment fund of Proofing Station, a charitable investment fund focused on financing gaps in the Midwest regional food system. Proofing Station’s fund invests through debt, equity and credit enhancement structures along 4 core focus areas: Sustainable Cultivation, Regional Infrastructure, Excluded Market Players, Land and Real Assets.