Intern

Howden M&A is recruiting a personable and ambitious individual to assist in growing our French business; this is a 6-month Internship with the potential to go permanent dependent on performance at the end of your contract. Interested in learning more? PARIS (FRANCE) – OUR CURRENT POSITION In 2017, we started the formation of a dedicated team focused on executing and growing Howden M&A’s French business. On 1 January 2020, we successfully opened our Paris office 34 avenue George V to situate us right where our clients are; Our French team, which includes 10 experts, is looking for an Intern to assist in growing Howden M&A’s French business and lay the groundwork for the French team. Applications are open for offers in Paris: Two 6-month internships starting January, 2024 BACKGROUND TO THE ROLE We are seeking a personable and ambitious individual to assist in growing our French business as an Intern; The role will require an entrepreneurial approach and willingness to use initiative but also a strong legal grounding, with solid understanding of warranties, indemnities and limitations in transaction documents (or the ability to acquire such knowledge relatively quickly); Insurance knowledge is not required and will be provided by Howden. The Howden Mergers & Acquisitions team is a market leading provider of specialist insurance solutions for M&A risks. What you'll be doing With access to, and support from Howden M&A’s extensive skill set, the successful candidate will: Learn about the M&A insurance market and the risks assumed by the insurance market Understand and learn the unique Howden M&A approach to broking which has underpinned our growth across Europe Prepare the documentation to approach the insurance market, track and manage the important flow of emails and documents Engage with clients and insurers from an insurance perspective Engage and work together with our specialist tax, environmental, title and litigation teams when placing tax, environmental, title and litigation policies Given the bespoke nature of the policies (essentially they are extensions of share purchase agreements) and the complex risks covered, the role requires intellectual rigour and technical expertise. Each deal is unique and an ability to think ‘outside of the box’ is key! Required Skills and Qualities Curiosity and ability to adapt: you will be confronted with something new every day and will have to learn on the spot. Autonomy: we need someone who can take on a mission and own it, from start to finish. Sociability: we’re a small and young team in an intense and fast paced environment; our friendliness and affability is what holds it all together and makes the workplace an enjoyable one. More specifically: A determination and willingness to learn the Howden M&A way of placing M&A insurance; The ideal candidate would be bilingual French-English. In any event absolute written and oral proficiency in both languages is a must; Required experience: graduate with majors in law or finance/economics/accounting (ideally, both) Articulate, personable and willing to meet clients/prospective clients and their advisors to explain our offering; The ability to understand and analyse legal documents (SPAs, APAs etc.) and identify the information that will be most key to a prospective insurer; and The ability to understand and analyse due diligence reports, including matters that you may not have come across before on previous transactions. What we offer Unique opportunity to join the fastest growing segment of the M&A market, with the fastest growing team 6 months internship A potential permanent position at the end of the internship OUR TEAM'S HISTORY The 150+ professionals that make up our team have backgrounds in corporate law, litigation, tax, investment banking and environmental consultancy. We seek to hire sector experts from leading advisory firms and utilise their knowledge to advise on complex insurance placements, rather than act as a “typical” insurance broker. This advisory approach has seen us grow into the market leader we are today in as little as 9 years, despite competing against larger companies with greater financial resource; With various offices across London, Frankfurt, Munich, Paris, Amsterdam, Madrid, Stockholm, Warsaw, Copenhagen, Lisbon, Tel Aviv, Hong Kong and Singapore, we focus on the private equity and real estate sectors, working with the largest and most active fund managers across Europe, Asia and North America; Our expertise covers the design and implementation of a range of bespoke policies - warranty & indemnity, tax liability, contingent risk, environmental liability and title insurances. Our experienced claims team, led by a 10+ year qualified insurance litigator has a track record in obtaining M&A insurance claims pay-outs for our clients; In 2021, our team placed >1200 polices across 789 deals with an aggregate enterprise value of >€62bn. What do we offer in return? A career that you define. Yes, we offer all the usual rewards and benefits - including great healthcare provision, a wide variety of wellbeing offers, competitive salary, generous pensions and more - but we know you expect all that. What you might not expect is a job where everyone has a voice, where volunteering in the community is part of the day job, and where everyone is encouraged to play a part towards our sustainability goals. We want people who want to make a difference – not just in the workplace, but in the industry and in the wider community. Our Culture: People First We’ve travelled far since opening our first office in 1994. Back then we were local experts – based in London, with direct access to the world’s biggest insurance market. We’re still locals, and we still deliver the right advice and the right insurance to our clients. But now, we’re local all over the world. With 15,000 global colleagues and a partner network spanning more than 100 territories, we are the largest independent insurance broker in the world. But our values haven’t changed since day one, when we set out to create a company grounded in: An employee-ownership model Aligned external investors The trust and integrity born of friendship Expertise Independence Our focus on being a people-first business has always been at the very heart of Howden. Our vision was to create an independent business with a unique culture; one that would survive and thrive as a business controlled by the people working for it. Our employee ownership model sets us apart in the market. It’s created a culture of collaboration and innovation, where we’re driven to think bigger and empowered to challenge convention. Our flat structure and entrepreneurial spirit help us attract the best people and empower them to be the best version of themselves. And when we bring in and nurture great talent, more follows. That makes us better – and that’s better for everyone. Diversity and Inclusion At Howden we consider our people our chief competitive advantage and as such we treat colleagues, candidates, clients, and business partners with equality, fairness and respect, regardless of their age, disability, race, religion or belief, gender, sexual orientation, marital status or family circumstances.