Investment Associate

Location US: Houston - Westlake Campus

Travel required

Up to 25% travel should be expected with this role

Job category

Strategic Planning

Relocation available

This role is not eligible for relocation

Job type

Professionals

Job code

RQ090047

Experience level

Intermediate

Job summary

Entity:

Strategy, Sustainability & Ventures Job Family Group:

Strategic Planning & Business Development Group Job Description:

Venturing is integral to enriching bp’s innovation landscape by taking advantage of ground-breaking/radical changes to the value chains bp is, or might be, active in. As bp’s corporate venture capital unit, bp Ventures (bpV) plays a key role in helping bp transition to an integrated energy company, in line with bp’s new purpose: reimagining energy for people and planet.

bpV exists to provide insight and the commercial innovation capacity which allows bp to expand its current business while also building new businesses. bpV collaborates actively to share insight across Strategy, Sustainability & Ventures (SS&V) and the wider bp to ensure bp realizes the full strategic value of the corporate venture capital activity.

bpV invests in a portfolio of high growth businesses with significant impact on bp’s current or future strategy. bpV has a track record of investing in exciting innovation, crafting value for bp across dynamic markets. Since 2006, bpV has invested over $1bn into over 70 companies, co-investing with more than 250 corporate and institutional venture capital groups. Currently, bpV manages an active portfolio of around 30 companies

bpV is looking to appoint an Investment Associate supporting the US regional team, reporting to the Regional Managing Director Americas and be located in US/ Houston. The Investment Associate will support the team of Principals/Associates across the investment sectors by leading competitive market analysis, due diligence efforts, supporting and sometimes leading deal structuring / negotiation / peer reviews, taking on governance responsibilities to include board observer and shareholder rep roles and managing various portfolio management efforts.

Note this position has no line management responsibility. The bpV Investment Associate will be allocated to one of the three sectors according to competence & capability, market activity level and internal bp priorities. While this allocation is expected to remain reasonably stable, there may be adjustments made to individual sector participation as the external market and internal priorities evolve.

By partnering with early- and growth-stage start-ups and the corporate and venture capital community, the bpV team accelerates the development of accretive and exciting technologies for bp. The Ventures team operates in highly dynamic internal and external markets, building and shaping options to create enhanced strategic and financial value for bp.

bpV’s investment strategy is primarily focused on the 3 sectors of Low carbon technologies and fuels, Oil & gas value chains, and Energy usage and trading:

Low carbon technologies and fuels - delivering value through growing bp’s gas and low carbon portfolios with an investment focus on all “non-blue” hydrogen, solar & wind and geothermal. In addition to the interaction with the “Gas and Low Carbon Energy” bp business, this sector will also handle all biofuel new investment activity in the biofuels segment and will interact with the internal bioenergy collaborators in the “Customer & Products” and “Trading and Shipping” bp businesses.Oil & gas value chains – enabling bp to deliver on its strive to get to net zero and care for our planet with a focus on hydrocarbon investments that decarbonize extraction & refining, Carbon Capture Utilization & Storage (CCUS) and blue hydrogen. Blue hydrogen is included in this sector due to the strong link between CCUS, gas extraction and blue hydrogen. This sector is expected to primarily focus on the oil and gas business activities within “Production & Operations” and can be expected to consider venture capital investments that have the potential to enable bp to access new technologies that improve bp’s operational and environmental efficiency.Energy usage and trading – growing bp’s customer business by delivering excellent products and services with investment focus areas of electric mobility, shipping, trading, convenience and Castrol. This sector is anticipated to be the sector of the greatest market breadth covering Trading & Shipping, Customer & Products (excl. bioenergy) including bp Pulse, Castrol, M&C. This segment is also encouraged to have a significant digital component, covering the flexibility aspects of trading and potential interaction with the energy end-user.

Target Market Analysis: Upon target company or industry selection, the Investment Associate will lead the competitive market analysis to understand market size, valuation multiples, and margins of existing companies in market segment.Commercial Modeling: Evaluate target company’s financial model and key assumptions and then supporting Finance with inputs in building a modified model that aligns with bp’s views of the overall market and assumptions.Deal Structuring, Negotiation, and Execution: Supports the deal lead Investment Principal and/or Investment Director in development of the IM (Information Memo), ATN (Authority to Negotiate), and EFMs (Implement Finance Memorandum), peer review materials and materials for investment committee for deals in which the Investment Associate is either supporting or leading on.Portfolio Management: The Investment Associate may support observer roles in order to provide personal development opportunities for future board director roles and aid bp ventures in managing its portfolio of investments.Portfolio Management: The Investment Associate will assist in the analysis of all follow-on investments into Venture portfolio companies and make recommendations to Regional Managing Directors and Investment Directors on level of investment and commercial terms.Scanning and Deal origination: The Investment Associate will be expected to attend conferences and network with the venture capital community to identify deal flow strategic to bp and investment partners. The Investment Associate will assist deal Investment Directors and Investment Principals in competitor benchmarking for prospective deal opportunities and preparation of other presentation materials during growth sector deal flow meetings.Deployment: The Investment Associate will support in the delivery of strategic value to bp by engaging in business development activities within bp network to deploy portfolio company technologies in bp, as guided by the Ventures’ Strategic Value team.Exit Management: Will support and help deliver financial value to bp by engaging with the Regional Managing Director in liquidation events such as an M&A and IPO.Drives Agile and Continuous Improvement Practices, benchmarking, and longer-term planning. Leads the lessons learned process at the conclusion of each investment.Drive and embed HSSE culture and behavior in region and more broadly across the team.Ensure all activities conducted in accordance with bp’s Code of Conduct. Role Requirements:

Preferred candidate is MBA or equivalent technical and/or commercial experience.Preferred: Strong financial skills, including financial modelling. With preference to expertise in modelling specific to venture capital or M&A.Preferred: Previous negotiation experience specific to sophisticated deals and or venture capital.

Proven experience with deal term sheets and structures.

Ideal candidate has a mixture of commercial, financial, and technical skills.

An entrepreneurial flair and a track record of working outside of traditional boundaries and norms.

Ability to work to tight deadlines and respond to changing requirements.

Ability to work in an uncertain and ambiguous business environment with few precedents.

Manages several activity streams with conflicting priorities.

Good presentation skills and ability to communicate complex data effectively.

Willingness to challenge and question the status quo.

At bp, we support our people to learn and grow in a diverse and exciting environment. We believe that our team is strengthened by diversity. bp is committed to encouraging an inclusive environment in which everyone is respected and treated fairly. There are many aspects of our employees’ lives that are meaningful, so we offer benefits to enable your work to fit with your life. These benefits can include flexible working options, a generous paid parental leave policy, excellent retirement benefits, and more!

Travel Requirement

Up to 25% travel should be expected with this role Relocation Assistance:

This role is not eligible for relocation Remote Type:

This position is a hybrid of office/remote working Skills:

Legal Disclaimer:

We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, sex, gender, gender expression, sexual orientation, age, marital status, socioeconomic status, neurodiversity/neurocognitive functioning, veteran status or disability status. Individuals with an accessibility need may request an adjustment/accommodation related to bp’s recruiting process (e.g., accessing the job application, completing required assessments, participating in telephone screenings or interviews, etc.). If you would like to request an adjustment/accommodation related to the recruitment process, please contact us.

If you are selected for a position and depending upon your role, your employment may be contingent upon adherence to local policy. This may include pre-placement drug screening, medical review of physical fitness for the role, and background checks.