Senior Associate / Investment Manager - Middle Market Private Equity, Hamburg

About the Role and Firm

We are collaborating with a leading global alternative investment company to recruit a Senior Associate or Investment Manager fluent in German for its private equity team focused on the middle market in the DACH region, based in Hamburg. This rare chance offers involvement from the inception of a newly raised fund, featuring a substantial capital pool targeted for deployment across German-speaking countries.

This position revolves around a recently closed, oversubscribed €1+ billion European lower-middle-market fund, a highly sought-after 2026 vintage vehicle. The candidate will experience intense deal activity and the unique opportunity to influence the fund’s portfolio formation from its outset, rather than acquiring an established book of investments.

The company manages approximately $75 billion, focusing on middle-market investments with a proven 30+ year record, supporting over 400 companies whose combined sales exceed $50 billion. Its European division includes over 150 investment professionals, maintaining a 19-year track record and recently securing a €1.6 billion lower-middle-market fund.

The firm enhances its platform with additional capital strategies such as a newly initiated small-cap buyout and a $5.9 billion middle-market direct lending fund, providing flexible capital and cross-strategy deal opportunities. Their approach emphasizes hands-on operational value creation, specializing in buyouts, carve-outs, recapitalizations, growth, and complex transactions.

Responsibilities

• Take a central role in deal sourcing and execution within German-speaking markets, collaborating directly with senior dealmakers on a capital-rich fund.
• Lead financial modeling activities, including leveraged buyout (LBO) analyses and valuations for prospective investments.
• Manage due diligence processes in coordination with advisors and company management teams.
• Prepare materials for investment committee reviews and support full transaction lifecycles.
• Evaluate corporate carve-outs, buy-and-build scenarios, and complex transaction structures.
• Partner with portfolio company management to drive value enhancement and operational strategies following acquisitions.

Candidate Profile

• Fluency in German and English is mandatory, with an emphasis on fluent German.
• Strong background from premier strategy consulting firms (preferably McKinsey, Bain, or BCG) or top-tier investment banks/private equity firms, reflecting the current team’s experience.
• Possess 4 to 7 years of relevant experience across private equity, investment banking, or strategy consulting, with role level adjusted to experience.
• Demonstrate exceptional analytical capabilities, financial modeling expertise, and keen commercial insight with meticulous attention to detail.
• Exhibit an entrepreneurial mindset with strong ownership qualities and resilience to manage sophisticated transactions.

Why Join

• Enter a fund at its inception, actively deploying significant capital into platform investments instead of managing an existing portfolio.
• Engage directly with intricate, high-impact middle-market deals from the start.
• Work within a streamlined, high-performing DACH team supported by a global platform offering private equity, growth, and direct lending resources.
• Experience meaningful responsibility and opportunities for rapid advancement within one of the most vigorous mid-cap investment entities.