Head of Risk for Real Estate at Macdonald & Company

Our client is a large, multinational financial institution with a reputation for risk management which balances opportunity with threats in such a way as to ensure not just a large but also a healthy book of loans. Servicing property developers and funds, they work with a wide range of private and public companies who have ongoing facilities or once-off deals to create office, industrial, mixed-use, all manner of accommodation, hospitality, healthcare and retail spaces around South Africa.

Consisting of Valuations, Project Management and Credit, their risk team is involved in both upfront assessment of deals as well as ongoing monitoring and forecasting of their multi-billion Rand loans into commercial property. To head up this wide-spread and professional team, they are looking for a property expert who has significant investment banking experience, who will utilise their industry expertise and ongoing research to provide sound advice to the operational team. With overall accountability for the performance of all corporate real estate loans, this role will challenge the assumptions and spot the macro & micro trends which can turn a good loan into a bad one and vice versa.
It would suit an individual who is professionally accredited in either Quantity Surveying, Valuations or Credit with has a minimum of 15 years' experience. Coupled with this one would need to be a versatile leader who is happy to travel regularly, present findings to public and internal forums, and have a traceable success record in market insights which have resulted in sound loan performance. 
As an executive in the property finance space you can expect to be surrounded by expert deal makers and industry leaders whom you must be able to assist and influence. Thus someone with both the technical expertise and the gravitas to be persuasive and add value is sought.