Private Equity Investment Team - Associate

Mission

To support and advance the firm’s growth strategy through balanced leadership in both capital formation and investment execution. The Associate plays a dual role, dedicating approximately equal focus to fundraising and investor relations, as well as to sourcing, underwriting, and executing investment opportunities. The role involves leading end-to-end deal evaluation and due diligence processes, supporting disciplined capital raises, strengthening investor relationships, and delivering high-quality analytical and strategic contributions to senior leadership.

Expected Results:

• Lead the operational execution of fundraising processes, including diligence coordination, data room management, Q&A workflows, timelines, and deliverables, ensuring efficient, accurate, and investor-ready execution across all capital raise initiatives.
• Support proactive relationship management with LP, including meeting preparation, follow-ups, portfolio inquiries, and ongoing communication, contributing to strong investor engagement, trust, and long-term partnerships.
• Develop, refine, and maintain high-quality fundraising and investor materials, including pitchbooks, teasers, DDQs/RFPs, case studies, track record analyses, and thematic research content, ensuring consistent institutional-grade standards.
• Build and maintain financial and analytical models to assess fund and portfolio performance, value creation initiatives, and return profiles, delivering actionable insights to support fundraising, investment, and strategic decisions.
• Monitor the alternative investment and fundraising landscape, including peer fundraises, allocator sentiment, and competitive positioning, translating market intelligence into strategic recommendations for capital formation activities.
• Proactively originate and evaluate investment opportunities through structured sector mapping, relationship development, and opportunity screening. Lead underwriting processes, including business, market, financial, and strategic assessments, delivering well-supported investment recommendations.
• Lead and coordinate end-to-end due diligence processes (financial, operational, commercial, legal, and management), working closely with advisors and internal teams to assess risks, validate value creation theses, and support transaction structuring and closing.
• Collaborate with sourcing, finance, legal, operations, and portfolio teams to align reporting, diligence, and investor communications, while continuously improving CRM workflows, fundraising processes, and internal standards.
• Coordinate and leverage Analyst support, delegating execution tasks when appropriate, reviewing deliverables, and ensuring accuracy, consistency, and investor-ready quality across all outputs.

Characteristics of the successful professional for this role:

• Investment Analysis & Financial Modeling: Advanced ability to analyze business models and investment opportunities, build and maintain financial models, and evaluate returns, downside risks, and value creation potential at both deal and fund levels.
• Investment Underwriting & Deal Structuring: Strong capability to lead investment underwriting processes, including integrated business, market, financial, and strategic analysis, valuation, scenario modeling, and transaction structuring.
• Due Diligence Management: Proven ability to coordinate multi-stream due diligence processes, manage external advisors, synthesize findings, identify key risks, and translate diligence outcomes into actionable investment decisions.
• Deal Sourcing & Market Mapping: Proven capability to identify, map, and prioritize investment opportunities within target sectors, maintain a robust deal pipeline, and support origination efforts through structured screening and market engagement.
• Portfolio Analysis & Value Creation Support: Strong experience in monitoring portfolio company performance through financial and operational analysis, tracking value creation initiatives, and contributing insights to portfolio reviews and strategic discussions.
• Capital Formation & Fundraising Execution: Strong knowledge of private equity fundraising mechanics, LP diligence processes, data room management, and capital raise workflows.
• Investor Materials & Institutional Communication: Expertise in producing investor-ready presentations, DDQs/RFPs, reports, and strategic content with high visual and analytical standards.
• Structured Thinking & Problem Solving: Ability to break down complex investment, market, and investor-related questions into clear, structured analyses, supporting sound judgment and data-driven decision-making.
• Relationship Building & Professional Presence: Builds trust-based relationships with internal stakeholders, founders, advisors, and investors through professional judgment, discretion, and effective communication.
• Learning Agility & Intellectual Curiosity: Quickly absorbs new industries, investment themes, and processes, consistently seeking feedback and applying learnings to improve analysis, execution, and strategic contribution.
• Ownership & Accountability: Demonstrates full ownership of deliverables and projects, ensuring accuracy, consistency, and timely execution with minimal supervision.

Previous Experience

5+ years of experience in Private Equity, Investment Banking, Corporate Development, Strategy Consulting, or Capital Formation, with direct exposure to fundraising, LP diligence, investment underwriting, transaction execution, and due diligence processes.

Background

Strong academic background in Business, Economics, Engineering, Finance or related quantitative fields from a top-tier institution.

Solid foundation in finance, accounting, valuation, and capital markets.

Track Record

Proven ability to deliver high-quality analytical and presentation materials under tight deadlines.

Experience supporting deal sourcing, screening, or execution, and/or capital formation or investor relations initiatives.

Strong professional judgment and discretion when handling confidential information and interacting with senior stakeholders.

Demonstrated experience leading or materially contributing to investment underwriting, financial modeling, and multi-stream due diligence processes

Aqua Capital is one of the largest and most experienced investment managers in the Ag & Food sector globally, with a focus on innovation and sustainability. The company identifies opportunities across the entire sector value chain, including high-value agricultural inputs, multichannel agri-food retail, ag tech and services, as well as emerging consumer trends.

The agri-food sector has a significant impact on the climate, accounting for a large share of global greenhouse gas emissions. Latin America stands out as one of the world's leading food-exporting regions, and Aqua Capital has been widely recognized for its sustainable approach, earning awards as one of the top Private Equity managers in the region.

With multiple investment funds, Aqua Capital maintains a strong market presence, consolidating investments across various platforms and leveraging a team of specialized professionals throughout the Americas. Its commitment to sustainability and innovation is reinforced by certifications and awards from renowned institutions such as GIIN, PRI Awards, ESG AAA, and Ecovadis.