Chief Operating Officer

A newly established private credit fund focused on asset-backed lending, led by a founding team with deep and demonstrable pedigree in the space. The strategy is defined, the infrastructure is being built, and the right operational leader is the missing piece.

This is a ground-floor opportunity at a fund with institutional-quality ambitions. The investment thesis is clear, the market opportunity is significant, and the people behind it have done this before. What is needed now is someone who can build and run the operational engine that allows the investment team to focus entirely on deploying capital and generating returns.

The Role

The COO will be the operational architect of the fund — responsible for building the infrastructure, processes, and team that underpin everything the fund does outside of investment decision-making. You will work directly alongside the founding partners and carry genuine authority across all non-investment functions from day one.

This is not a role for someone who wants to optimise an existing machine. The machine is being built. You will make foundational decisions about technology, counterparty relationships, reporting frameworks, and organisational structure that will define how this fund operates for years.

What You'll Own

• Fund operations end-to-end: trade settlement, loan administration, cash management, and the operational lifecycle of asset-backed lending transactions
• Counterparty and vendor relationships — prime brokers, fund administrators, custodians, legal counsel, and technology providers — negotiating and managing these with the rigour they demand
• Regulatory and compliance infrastructure: ensuring the fund operates within applicable frameworks and is positioned correctly as it scales
• Investor reporting and relations from an operational standpoint — capital calls, distributions, NAV reporting, and LP communications
• Technology and data infrastructure: selecting, implementing, and owning the systems that give the fund accurate, timely information across positions, liquidity, and performance
• Building and leading the operations team as AUM grows, with an eye on what the org needs at each stage rather than just the current one
• Working capital and treasury management, including facility management relevant to ABL structures

Who We're Looking For

You have meaningful experience inside private credit, asset-backed lending, or a closely adjacent structured finance environment. You understand how ABL transactions are structured, what the operational complexity looks like across the asset lifecycle, and what it takes to build infrastructure that can scale.

The right candidate will have operated at a senior level — COO, Deputy COO, Head of Operations — at a credit fund, bank, or structured finance platform. You are comfortable making decisions with incomplete information, building from scratch rather than inheriting, and operating with the discretion that a newly established fund demands.

Experience across fund administration, regulatory compliance, and investor reporting is assumed. What separates the right candidate is the combination of genuine operational depth in credit markets and the judgment to build something that lasts.

Why This One

Founding-team access, carry participation, and the rare opportunity to shape how an institutional-quality fund is built from the ground up. The right COO here is not a hire — they are a foundational part of what this fund becomes.

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This search is being managed exclusively by Blackbook Associates. The company's identity will be shared with shortlisted candidates only. To apply, submit your CV and a brief covering note.