Senior Associate, Direct Lending Come join one of America's fastest-growing insurance companies. Since 1848, National Life Group has aimed to keep our promises, providing families with stability in good times and in bad. Throughout that history, we have provided peace of mind to those families as they plan their futures. Our mission extends beyond the insurance and annuities policies that we offer. We strive to make the world a better place through our grants from our charitable foundation, paid volunteer time for our employees, environmentally sustainable and healthy workplaces, and events that promote the work of nonprofits in our own backyard. We foster a collaborative environment with opportunities for growth and encourage our associates to live our values: Do good. Be good. Make good.
About Us:
NLG Capital, the investment management company of NLG, manages approximately $40+ billion in AUM. Our purpose is simple – to allow NLG to keep its promises. How we do this – an obsessive focus on delivering investment results. We drive results through a rigorous but collaborative investment process, and we hold ourselves to the highest of standards, both as investors and teammates. While our process is based on rigor, our culture is based on our guiding principles: Meritocracy, Uncompromising Transparency, Intellectual Honesty, Performance Driven Learning, Relentless Pursuit of Excellence. These principles serve as the foundation of our team. They govern the way we conduct ourselves, how we interact with teammates and how we approach every investment decision. We act with the integrity and humility required to make the investment decision that is right for the firm, and ultimately our policyholders. Our culture has been deliberately built to foster curiosity and provide opportunities to learn and grow, both as people and investors. The flat and collaborative nature of our team promotes an atmosphere where the best ideas are continually expressed and rewarded. Our pursuit of excellence is unwavering.
Role Summary:
The Senior Associate, Direct Lending is an essential member of the Private Credit team, responsible for evaluating, executing, and managing private credit investments across sponsor-backed, non-sponsor-backed, and secondary market opportunities. This role performs in-depth credit analysis, financial modeling, due diligence, transaction execution, and portfolio monitoring while partnering with internal stakeholders and external investment partners. The ideal candidate is a self-motivated investment professional with strong analytical and technical capabilities, exceptional communication skills, and the ability to thrive in a collaborative, high-performance environment. This position currently offers an onsite work schedule, with the expectation that you will be in the office four (4) days per week during onsite core days. Our current onsite core days are Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. The work schedule type and core days are subject to change with advance notification and manager discretion.
Essential Duties and Responsibilities:
Conduct comprehensive credit analysis, including financial statement review, credit risk assessment, liquidity analysis, capital structure evaluation, and due diligence.
Develop and maintain complex financial models, including cash flow analysis, covenant compliance, and stress-testing.
Prepare investment memoranda, financial models, and supporting analyses for the Investment Transaction Committee.
Evaluate, underwrite, and execute private credit investment opportunities in collaboration with internal teams and external partners.
Build and maintain relationships with borrowers, investment partners, legal counsel, and other stakeholders.
Evaluate secondary private credit market opportunities, including portfolio acquisitions and single-name investments.
Review transaction documentation, including term sheets, credit agreements, and related legal documents in partnership with internal and external counsel.
Monitor portfolio performance, covenant compliance, financial results, and identify portfolio optimization opportunities.
Participate in strategic initiatives and special projects supporting the growth of the Private Credit platform.
Take ownership of assigned workstreams, proactively identifying opportunities, risks, and solutions.
All other duties as assigned.
Minimum Qualifications:
Bachelor's degree in Finance, Accounting, Economics, or a related field.
Minimum of two (2) years of experience in private credit, private equity, investment banking, or a similar financial services role.
Experience performing credit analysis, financial modeling, due diligence, and transaction execution.
Proficiency with Microsoft Excel, Word, and PowerPoint.
Strong understanding of credit markets, capital structures, debt instruments, and investment analysis.
Excellent written and verbal communication, organizational, and time-management skills.
Preferred Qualifications:
MBA and/or CFA designation.
Experience working with private credit funds, investment banks, or financial institutions on direct investments.
Exposure to secondary private credit market investing.
Experience reviewing legal documentation related to private credit transactions.
Experience collaborating with external investment partners and managing joint investment processes.
AI Proficiency Expectations:
At National Life Group, we view AI as an enabler of human potential. We use AI to help us work smarter, serve more clients, and keep our promises, while remaining a relationship-driven business where our people are our greatest strength.
All applicants are expected to:
Leverage approved AI tools, where appropriate, to improve the efficiency, quality, and impact of their work.
Stay curious and open to new AI-enabled ways of working.
Exercise sound judgment by reviewing and validating AI-generated content.
Maintain accountability for the accuracy, quality, fairness, and integrity of work products by adhering to National Life's AI guiding principles.
Use AI responsibly and in accordance with company policies related to confidentiality, data privacy, security, compliance, retention and intellectual property.
Benefits:
Your benefits start day one and are flexible and customizable to your and your family's specific needs. Check out the BENEFITS of a Career at National Life! Base Pay Range. The base pay range for this position is the range National Life reasonably and in good faith expects to pay for the position taking into account the wide variety of factors, including: prior experience and job-related knowledge; education, training and certificates; current business needs; and market factors. The final salary or hourly wages offered may be outside of this range based on other reasons and individual circumstances. Additional Compensation and Benefits. The total compensation package for this position may also include a full range of medical, financial, and/or other benefits (including 401(k) eligibility and various paid time off benefits, such as vacation, sick time, and parental leave), dependent on the position offered. The successful candidate may also be eligible to participate in National Life's discretionary annual incentive programs, subject to the rules governing such programs. If hired, the employee will be in an "at-will position" and National Life reserves the right to modify base salary (as well as any other discretionary payment or compensation or benefit program) at any time, including for reasons related to individual performance, company or individual department/team performance, and market factors. National Life is accepting applications for this role on an ongoing basis and the role remains open until filled. Salary Pay Range$163,125 - $239,250 USD
