Associate – Private Equity (Generalist)
Albert Cliff Limited | Amsterdam Area, Netherlands (On-site)
The Firm
Our client is a European private equity platform with over €1bn in committed capital, deploying flexible equity into high-potential companies across the Netherlands, Benelux, and Western Europe. The strategy combines rigorous financial discipline with a partnership-driven approach to scaling founder- and family-owned businesses, professionalising governance structures, and driving both organic and acquisitive growth. The firm is known for its entrepreneurial culture, lean operating model, and ability to transact with speed and conviction in competitive situations.
The Opportunity
The incoming Associate will join a close-knit investment team operating at the centre of the Benelux mid-market, with responsibility across the full investment cycle. This includes sourcing opportunities, executing complex transactions, and working shoulder-to-shoulder with portfolio management teams on value creation. With a generalist remit spanning industrials, business services, consumer, and select technology verticals, the role requires an intellectually agile investor capable of evaluating diverse business models, managing multiple workstreams under tight timelines, and contributing original ideas to investment committee discussions.
Key Responsibilities
- Lead detailed financial modelling and valuation analysis, stress-testing assumptions under varying capital structures and macro scenarios
- Take ownership of due diligence processes, coordinating commercial, financial, legal, and operational advisors to build a cohesive investment case
- Develop proprietary investment theses through thematic research and direct outreach to founders and management teams across the Dutch and Benelux markets
- Draft clear and incisive investment papers for internal committees and external stakeholders, articulating both quantitative and qualitative aspects of each opportunity
- Partner with portfolio company leadership to drive operational improvements, strategic initiatives, and bolt-on acquisitions, while ensuring best-in-class reporting and governance practices
- Continuously refine sector perspectives, monitor competitive dynamics, and identify white-space opportunities within the Benelux lower mid-market
- Contribute to long-term portfolio strategy, including KPI monitoring, board materials, scenario planning, and exit positioning
Candidate Profile
- 3–5 years’ experience in investment banking (M&A), private equity, strategy consulting, or transaction advisory, with significant execution responsibility on completed transactions
- Advanced technical capability, with proven ability to construct, sensitise, and communicate complex LBO and cash flow models under compressed timelines
- Strategic mindset with the intellectual curiosity to interrogate business models beyond the numbers and assess competitive positioning, scalability, and risk factors
- Entrepreneurial orientation, able to thrive in a lean team structure with limited hierarchy, where initiative, accountability, and judgment are expected from day one
- Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, with the maturity to interact credibly with founders, family business owners, institutional co-investors, and advisors
- Outstanding academic credentials; fluency in Dutch and English is required, with German or French seen as an additional advantage