Deputy Head of Investor Relations

Pay: Competitive

Wood is looking for a forward thinking and engaging investor relations professional to become the Deputy Head of Investor Relations (IR) to work alongside the President of Investor Relations, where they will have a material input into key decision making within the Group and will have opportunities to develop their IR career and take on greater responsibilities over time. Therefore, the individual needs to have a high level of ambition, credibility, both internally and externally, and with gravitas to make a positive impact for Wood on the global financial capital markets. The individual will play a key role in managing the Group’s investor relations activities, which consists of the flow of financial and other information between the company, its shareholders, and the financial community within an appropriate reporting framework. Key focus areas will include:

• The development and growth of their relationships with sellside analysts, through effective communication of Wood’s strategy and financials, managing consensus and improving the clarity of Wood’s reporting
• Lead the consensus gathering and publication process
• Help build and implement a proactive IR strategy, ensuring that the company’s business strategy, progress and market opportunity are understood by analysts and investors
• Work in conjunction with the wider finance function and IR team, playing a leading role in the delivery of all results materials
• Lead and drive the Annual Report process – working with multiple teams and stakeholders across Wood, managing the overall delivery and owning the Strategic Report
• Play an active role in in the investor relations programme, accompanying senior management on roadshows and leading IR-only roadshows and conference attendance
• Provide market feedback to the company
• Develop strong collaborative relationships with the wider Finance team to ensure the delivery of all reporting, valuation etc materials
• Be the number two to the President of Investor Relations and deputise for them in their absence

This is a unique role which requires the individual to build trusted relationships at the highest level of the organisation directly with the CEO and CFO. The individual must be able to communicate with authority on all aspects of the Group’s strategic direction, risk appetite and financial performance directly with our largest shareholders. Ultimately, they will help in ensuring that Wood is fairly valued by the stock market.

Responsibilities
IR strategy:

• Working alongside the President of IR to develop and execute a comprehensive global IR strategy, including:
• Reporting cycle: number and timing of financial releases in a calendar year, and relevant KPIs to report
• Guidance: consider what annual or medium-term financial guidance to give, considering market and sector best practice
• Enhance the current investor education efforts

Investor community:

• Help to build strong relationships with existing shareholders and potential new shareholders
• Be a key contact for new and potential shareholders
• Respond quickly and accurately to requests for information, using judgment as to what information to share
• Develop deep and insightful knowledge into both our client and the broader sector
• Roadshows and investor targeting: based on your own experience and external advice, helping the President of IR and IR coordinator to build a programme of roadshows, conferences, and other events

Sell side:

• Build and maintain productive, professional relationships with all sell-side research analysts in the UK and Europe
• Help build additional sell-side coverage in other markets (Australia, USA)
• Lead and own the consensus gathering and publication process
• Provide regular and proactive feedback to analysts on the factual accuracy of their research, including financial forecasts, in the context of publicly available information and guidance
• Engage a variety of investment banks as well as house brokers in organising investor events, conferences, and roadshows to help sustain a broad range of strong sell-side relationships

ESG:

• Ownership of the ESG narrative to the financial capital markets; working alongside the sustainability team to maximise the output and reputation of Wood’s ESG credentials

Management information:

• Take a lead role in simplifying the external communication of Wood’s financials
• Take a lead role in financial analysis to help drive value for the business, including peer comparison, trend analysis and deep dives into valuation
• Input into the IR Board reports summarising key issues and updates, including IR activity, changes in the share register, analyst research coverage and recommendations, sector and news-flow, and broader macro and market influences;
• Help to draft papers as required to support key strategic decisions, bringing a shareholder perspective to Board decision-making;
• Summarise competitor results and related market commentary

Production and maintenance of key investor materials:

• Lead the Annual Report process
• Helping to plan and draft all materials for full year and interim results, trading updates, and other announcements, including press releases, presentations, presenter scripts and key Q&A
• Seek input from external advisers and internal colleagues exercise judgment to collate and edit accordingly
• Maintain and update the IR website, with help from the IR Coordinator 
• Keep abreast of best practice in technology and IR to explore and trial new forms of communication as appropriate.

Adviser and colleague relations:

• Helping the President of IR to be the main point of contact for house brokers, making best use of their skills and knowledge. Build and maintain a broader network of City contacts
• Working with the legal function and house brokers to ensure the company remains compliant with all relevant regulation and is aware of regulatory changes that may affect IR best practice
• Build a strong internal network across all functions; educate colleagues on investor perceptions
• Build awareness of IR internally, including presenting to teams across Wood and building a strong internal network.

Qualifications

• Degree qualified
• Financial / accountancy qualification

Knowledge, skills, and experience

• Extensive experience in financial/business analysis, with experience in senior business-focused finance roles within a complex organisation
• Experience built up in UK, European or US markets within listed companies
• Ability to strategically analyse relevant financial, operating and industry data for presentation to the financial community. 
• Knowledge of the investment community, disclosure requirements, and investment analysis and the buy and sell sides. 
• Project management experience
• Demonstrated knowledge of Group performance and how it can deliver and add value to its customers 
• Detailed awareness of external factors, competitors and their impact on the Group’s strategy and success 
• Changing regulatory environment, current and future industry trends
• Ability to influence
• Commercial acumen and credibility
• Ability to influence and challenge current thinking through clear, informed, and logical argument and discussion
• Knowledge of how the business delivers and can add value to its customers 
• Awareness of external factors, competitors and their impact on the Group strategy and success 
• Established and achieved challenging performance targets, annual and long-term budgets, and forecasting 
• Demonstrated a commitment to continuous learning and development, technical excellence 
• Demonstrated innovative strategies and implemented long term solutions 

Personal attributes

• Drive and ambition to be a Head of Investors relations in time
• High level of personal skills is required to deal effectively with a wide range of stakeholder groups
• Effectively connect and establish effective, cross-cultural working relationships with all levels of the organisation and externally 
• Create an environment that encourages open discussion and feedback 
• Balance humility and self confidence 
• Anticipates the environment, is forward thinking and able to see the big picture 
• Supports Group decisions and ensures the desired culture is embedded 
• Customer focused and goal driven 
• Generate trust and credibility with audiences through continuous, open, and consistent communication 
• Champion and drive forward innovation and change initiatives, focused on improving quality and effectiveness 
• Work effectively across different culture, driving a global mind-set 

About Us
Wood is a global leader in consulting and engineering, helping to unlock solutions to critical challenges in energy and materials markets. We provide consulting, projects and operations solutions in 60 countries, employing around 35,000 people. www.woodplc.com
 
Diversity Statement 
We are an equal opportunity employer that recognises the value of a diverse workforce. All suitably qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment on the basis of objective criteria and without regard to the following (which is a non-exhaustive list): race, colour, age, religion, gender, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, protected veteran status, or other characteristics in accordance with the relevant governing laws.

Date posted: 21 October, 2024