Private Equity Operations Associate

Five Elms Capital is seeking a Private Equity Operations Associate in Kansas City, MO, requiring 2-3 years of financial or software operational experience. The role involves supporting portfolio companies post-investment, advising on strategic initiatives, and collaborating with the Investment Team. The candidate should be motivated, detail-oriented, and possess strong communication skills. This position is on-site, not remote.
Private Equity Operations Associate

Location: Kansas City (on-site)

Experience: 2-3 years of financial and/or software operational experience

About Five Elms
• Five Elms is a leading growth equity firm investing in world-class B2B software companies.
• We are investing out of our $1.09 billion sixth fund and have $2.9 billion in assets under management; we typically invest $15 - 150+ million in each company. Post investment, we actively support management teams in accelerating revenue growth, building out the senior leadership team and further cementing their position as industry leaders.
• Founded in 2007, we’ve grown to 70+ employees and invest globally out of our Kansas City headquarters and Lisbon, Portugal office. Portfolio company investments range from Paris to Sydney, Arkansas to Toronto, and Los Angeles to New York.
• Our highest performing investments continue to be those with strong company cultures and products that customers love.

We offer a unique opportunity in private equity

Five Elms is scaling its Value Creation Team to increase the depth of professionals serving as trusted partners to its 35+ software companies globally. The Value Creation Team:
• Supports the Five Elms Investment Team during due diligence by evaluating prospective portfolio company's operational capabilities, processes, and risks.
• Onboards each company post-investment by outlining Five Elms expectations, reviewing value creation opportunities identified during diligence, and implementing project plans to execute and capitalize on these opportunities.
• Advises our portfolio companies on strategic initiatives to enhance efficiency, improve processes, and enable growth across various functional areas including sales, marketing, customer success, and finance.
• Works with senior portfolio company leaders to drive proactive decision-making by building operating models & supporting analyses to support financial planning, budgeting, forecasting, and resource allocation processes.
• Collaborates closely with the Five Elms Investment Team to evaluate and monitor portfolio company strategic plans & results relative to the deal thesis.
• Analyzes portfolio company benchmarks of relevant KPIs, identifies opportunities for improvement, and drives change within the portfolio.
• Documents industry and portfolio best practices across functional areas for portfolio companies to utilize in the execution of key value creation levers.
• Orchestrates portfolio touchpoints including in-person summits, functional roundtables, and best practice webinars to foster cross-portfolio connections.

Is Five Elms right for you?

You have the right experience and interest. You are a top performer with 2-3 years of financial and / or operational experience. You have tangible experience taking projects from ideation through implementation. Strong interest in utilizing those skills in the growth equity, and/or private equity industry. Operational experience working within a software company is preferred, but not required.

You are highly motivated. Outstanding academic credentials, relevant work experiences, high attention to detail, emotional intelligence, and interesting experiences are table stakes. You will be a part of a competitive environment, so you can learn and evolve your thinking.

You are a great communicator. You are articulate with strong writing, interpersonal, and phone skills. You generate activity, facilitate effective meetings, and communicate findings and recommendations in a succinct and actionable format. Strong business writing is fundamental.

You thrive in an entrepreneurial environment:
• You are highly curious and a natural problem solver; new experiences drive you.
• You thrive in unstructured situations where there is no clear flight plan to reach the destination.
• You maintain a growth mindset and a bias toward action that will be the cornerstone of your success.

You like to win as a team, lack entitlement, and have fun:
• You have a superior work ethic and are committed to your work and the team we are building.
• You like to win while operating with the highest levels of integrity, ethics, and trust.
• You will quickly appreciate that it is the people that make Five Elms a special place to work.

Please contact erin.green@fiveelms.com for additional information.