Investment Manager Life Sciences

From values to value

Ackermans & van Haaren’s (AvH) mission is “to be your partner for sustainable growth”. For almost 150 years, we have invested alongside partners with whom we share the same long-term vision and values, creating sustainable growth. That’s what sets us apart. We believe that putting sustainability front and center in business creates economic, social and environmental value.

We wish to expand our team with an investment manager who fosters our mission and complements our team with expertise in Life Sciences. Our new colleague is not only energized by networking and dealmaking but also by supporting management teams and creating value through long-term partnerships.

We foster diversity. The candidate with the right skills and who enhances the  skill diversity of our team , will be our preferential new colleague.

Your role

You bring a profound knowledge in Life Sciences and will have the opportunity to further expand your current (BeNeLux) network, deepen your sector knowledge, be a life-long learner who keeps up with innovative life science research and actively identifies investment opportunities.

You analyse investment opportunities which come through the AvH- or your own network and lead the interactions with the management teams of the target companies. 

You coordinate market research and due diligence efforts. Together with the deal team, you prepare, present and defend the investment memo to our Investment Committee, after which you structure and execute the transaction. 

You have a profound understanding of the science developed by the target company and have the skill to translate the investment opportunity in a didactical way to the Investment Committee.

For the deal sourcing and transaction structuring and negotiation you collaborate with a multidisciplinary team including financial and legal professionals and external experts. 

You manage to align all stakeholders, monitoring timelines and coordinating the broad investment process. You have mentoring skills and can help investment analysts and associates to develop their full potential.

Each AvH portfolio company is preferentially managed by two investment managers. In principle, you will be actively involved in 4 to 5 portfolio companies.

Your focus will be life sciences, especially in medical biotechnology (therapeutics) and agri-biotechnology. Still, your scientific insights will also be appreciated to support investments in pharma services, foodtech, healthcare and cleantech.

At the Investment Committee you not only present new opportunities but you also update the AvH -team about important developments of your portfolio companies (e.g. strategy, acquisitions, divestments, decisions regarding key people).

As an investment manager you will develop towards non-executive board mandates and / or a role in advisory committees (e.g. audit or renumeration committee) in a number of portfolio companies.

You act as sparring partner for management in strategic and important operational topics. 

You enable building great management teams.
You add value by following up relevant sector trends and keeping a close eye on financial and regulatory developments. You develop knowledge about the competitive landscape of your portfolio companies to offer insightful benchmarking.

At AvH we have a long-term vision and as an investment manager you will be a true partner to the management in helping them grow and flourish their companies in the long run.

What background do you need to qualify?

You combine two tracks in your expertise;

 You have an academic background in life sciences (master in biology, biochemistry, biotechnology, bio-engineering, biomedicine or medicine) and have preferably obtained a PhD in one of these disciplines;

 A sound economical background is essential. You might have developed this through an MBA, an experience in corporate finance, a business development role or an operational role in a life science company, a corporate venturing department at a large company or as an investment team member at a venture capital or private equity company;
You are very proficient in English, proficient in Dutch and/or French, with a willingness to develop;

You are prepared to work in Belgium (Antwerp). We combine proximity with remote work to get the best of both worlds.

What will catch our attention?

At ease in networking and being energized by leveraging the network;

At ease in analyzing and following-up on (di)investment opportunities;

Comfortable with M&A, corporate finance and general accounting principles;

Long term strategic thinking and a focus on creating shareholder value;

Able to support in designing the strategy of a company, in identifying risks and in translating this into a business plan;

An experience in an innovative and international life science company;

Ability to build trust and to sincerely connect with management;

Ability to challenge management in a respectful manner;

Passion about Life Sciences as this will be your playing field! 

You fit well in our culture when you

Are entrepreneurial, eager to learn, an initiator, have a can do mentality, pragmatic, diplomatic, open to dissenting opinions, respectful;

Combine IQ, EQ and AQ;

Ask for feedback and take it from there;

Put the team first and inspire;

Are dedicated and result-oriented.

If you possess not all of  the above qualifications but you believe that you would be a good fit for this role, we encourage you to submit your application. 

Thank you once again for your interest in joining Ackermans & van Haaren. We appreciate your understanding and wish you the best of luck in your job search.