COO, Specialty Finance

Neuberger Berman•Redwood, CA

About The Position

Neuberger Specialty Finance is a rapidly growing group within Neuberger Alternatives with approximately $4.5 billion in AUM. The Neuberger Specialty Finance platform is focused on asset-based finance (“ABF”) opportunities that are backed by cashflow-producing financial or hard assets. The Specialty Finance team is seeking a senior, non-investment professional to serve as Chief Operating Officer (“COO”) for the Specialty Finance business. This role will report to the Head of Specialty Finance and the Private Markets COO and work closely with investment professionals, marketing, investor relations, legal & compliance, finance, operations, and technology. This individual will be responsible for driving execution across key business initiatives, ensuring data integrity, strengthening processes, and managing a broad range of complex, cross-functional projects.

Requirements

10–15+ years of relevant professional experience in private markets, Specialty Finance/Asset-Based Finance, investment management, management consulting, or a closely related field.
Demonstrated experience in a COO, business management, strategy, or senior project management role supporting alternatives, private markets, investment banking, or credit platform.
Strong familiarity with a wide variety of Specialty Finance/Asset-Based Finance
Proven track record of leading complex, cross-functional initiatives involving multiple stakeholders (investment, legal, finance, operations, technology, marketing).
Experience overseeing or partnering closely with marketing and investor relations functions; ability to help shape strategic messaging and upgrade processes and standards.
Strong people leadership skills, including the ability to manage and influence senior professionals and to provide structure, feedback, and accountability without formal authority where necessary.
Exceptional organizational and project management capabilities, with the ability to manage multiple workstreams, set priorities, and meet tight deadlines in a dynamic environment.
Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, including comfort working with data, reporting, and operational metrics to drive decisions.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills; able to summarize complex issues, frame decisions, and communicate effectively with senior stakeholders and external partners.
High degree of judgment, discretion, and maturity; comfortable operating in a fast-paced environment with evolving priorities.
Applicants must be authorized and have the right to work in the country where the role is located without the need for current or future sponsorship.

Responsibilities

Serve as the primary Specialty Finance interface with the Private Markets COO, technology, data and relevant support teams to ensure the integrity, accuracy and usability of data across funds, portfolios and investors.
Drive implementation and ongoing alignment of the Specialty Finance business to the strategic target operating model
Oversee and help evolve the Specialty Finance marketing function into a proactive and coordinated capability that effectively supports business priorities and timelines.
Lead the creation, quality control and timely delivery of key client content and communications for prospective and existing investors and interact directly with prospects and investors as needed to support diligence, ongoing communications and delivery of information.
Support coordination of fund financing and liquidity management activities across the Specialty Finance platform, including leverage facilities and cash management needs for evergreen vehicles with ongoing subscriptions, investment activity and potential inter-fund sell downs, partnering with finance and the investment team to ensure appropriate coverage, controls and execution.
Act as a senior on-the-ground presence observing talent, processes and workflows to identify strengths, weaknesses and gaps, and recommending practical improvements.
Lead and/or manage a variety of complex and evolving cross-functional projects, including: Coordinating initiatives related to new and existing evergreen funds, incorporating lessons learned from prior vehicles, adjusting marketing messaging and ensuring required data is available for effective management and reporting.
Evaluating and recommending changes to external service providers.
Assessing and helping structure potential investor options across funds.
Driving cost minimization efforts for older funds in partnership with finance, and ensuring resulting benefits are appropriately communicated to investors.
Maintain a strong understanding of the Specialty Finance investment process and provide practical insights on how related processes, information flows and handoffs could be improved.
Provide leadership and oversight for selected investment professionals as appropriate, helping to ensure effective management, coordination and accountability across levels, in partnership with existing senior team members.
Manage key timelines and deliverables across the Specialty Finance business—such as investor reporting, internal and external reviews, and compensation-related processes—ensuring that dependencies are coordinated, and deadlines are met.