Head of Valuations - Ventures

Octopus; City Of London; Hybrid; GBP 150,000 - 200,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading investment firm in London is seeking a Head of Valuations to oversee its valuation strategy across investment vehicles. The role involves managing a team, ensuring compliance with valuation standards, and providing insights to stakeholders. Ideal candidates will have significant valuation experience, strong knowledge of venture capital structures, and superior Excel skills. A competitive salary and a hybrid working model are offered.

Benefits

Competitive salary

Bonus and pension plan

Hybrid working

Private medical insurance

Electric vehicle leasing

Untracked holiday

Qualifications

• Experience in consulting firm or in house on portfolio valuations.
• Strong understanding of relevant accounting standards.
• Critical thinking under pressure.

Responsibilities

• Lead valuation processes in line with accounting standards.
• Present valuation insights to stakeholders.
• Manage and develop the Ventures Valuation team.

Skills

Valuation experience

Understanding of Valuation Guidelines

Venture capital knowledge

Professional Judgment

Project Management

Excel skills

Performance management

Education

ACA / ACCA qualified or CFA charter holder

Tools

Microsoft Excel

Job description

Overview

Company Description

At Octopus, we’re entrepreneurs and we’re investors, on a mission to back the people, ideas and industries that will change the world.

We think working here is great, but we’re understandably biased. Click here to explore Life at Octopus.

What’s in it for you?

As the Head of Valuations for Octopus Ventures you’ll lead Ventures’ valuation strategy across all investment vehicles, both listed and unlisted funds. You'll be responsible for the ongoing development and implementation of those valuation policies, shaping the valuation process, reporting and analysis, managing a high-performing team, and ensuring robust, transparent, and compliant valuation practices that support the firm’s growth and investment objectives. Leading a team of four, you’ll be responsible for the preparation of portfolio valuations across all our funds – comprising VCTs, EIS and LP/GP funds - and be a key contributor to investment track record analysis.

The team: Octopus Ventures, part of Octopus Group, is one of the largest VCs in Europe. We back founders who are changing the world for the better. We invest where we can make the greatest positive impact, getting behind businesses that put people, community and the environment first. Our teams are sector experts focusing on seven exciting and meaningful areas: B2B Software, Bio, Climate, Consumer, Deep Tech, Fintech and Health. We build long-lasting relationships with founders, investing as early as an idea on a page and supporting at every stage of growth – with funding, but also with humility and hands-on support for founders and their teams.

Understanding, monitoring and reporting on the performance of our portfolio post-investment is an important function of our business. The valuations team is an independent function within Octopus Ventures and is responsible for valuing all the portfolio companies we are invested in and reporting on the performance of the Ventures’ funds.

We work closely with the Investment Managers to understand valuation drivers within our portfolio companies, the investment thesis, and company performance. We also work hand-in-hand with finance and operations teams to produce internal reporting, both Retail and LP investor reporting and Annual Reports, and other material key for Ventures’ stakeholder management. In addition, we also prepare fund performance analysis to help inform portfolio management decisions.

What will you be doing?

Valuation Leadership

• Lead the periodic valuation processes across OV’s portfolio in line with International Private Equity and Venture Capital Valuation Guidelines, and ensure compliance with relevant accounting standards (e.g. IFRS, UK GAAP), regulatory requirements, and industry best practices.
• Present valuation insights and trends to key internal and external stakeholders.
• Preparation and presentation of materials required to support the valuation approval process for relevant governance committees and Fund Boards.
• Liaise with Board representatives, Auditors and Fund Finance to resolve any queries and ensure timely approval of both public and private fund NAVs.
• Implement and oversee controls and audit trails to ensure transparency and defensibility of valuations.
• Develop, document, and maintain the Ventures valuation policies, ensuring consistency, accuracy, and regulatory compliance.
• Lead in providing in-house expertise on venture capital deal terms, preference stacks, and equity structures in relation to valuations. Guide the Ventures Valuation Team to build and maintain detailed waterfall models to accurately reflect liquidation preferences, option pools, convertibles, and other structural features.
• Stay abreast of evolving market conditions, regulatory, tax, and accounting frameworks impacting valuations.
• Understand and contribute to various aspects of fund management as needed, and collaborate closely with OV Operations and OV Fund Finance to ensure seamless integration of valuation outputs into wider fund reporting, governance, and investor communications.
• Represent OV Valuations both internally and externally.
• Build, lead, and develop the Ventures Valuations team, fostering a culture of high performance, accountability, and continuous learning.

Fund Performance and Data

• Provide clear, data-driven analysis of portfolio performance and valuation drivers and movements, and in turn suitably support preparation of investor reports with this context.
• Be a core contributor to the portfolio data function within OV.
• Partner with the newly formed Portfolio Optimisation team to support achieving optimal portfolio outcomes, including in scenario modelling, exit forecasting, and fund performance analysis.
• Supporting the Partners with preparation of presentations (alongside Marketing) to be used for fundraising, Annual General Meetings and Board meetings.

Qualifications

✅Valuation experience, in a consulting firm or in house (in a senior role), working on portfolio valuations for private equity, venture capital or alternative investment space

✅Strong understanding of International Private Equity and Venture Capital Valuation Guidelines, and valuation techniques for venture capital, private equity, and public markets. Track record of leading valuation processes and engaging with Auditors, Boards, and/or Regulators.

✅Venture capital knowledge: Deep technical expertise in venture capital deal structures, cap tables, preference waterfalls, and fund economics. Familiarity with fund structures, NAV calculations, and investor reporting.

✅Professional Judgment and analytical rigor: Sound commercial judgment and high ethical standards, critical thinking, and ability to assess uncertainty and value in early-stage, high-growth companies, and under pressure.

✅Project Management: Highly organized, able to manage competing priorities and large-scale valuation workflows across a wide portfolio of portfolio companies and OV funds/products.

✅Superior Excel skills. Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Excel, including financial modelling, scenario analysis, and working with large data sets. Experience building and reviewing valuation models is essential.

✅Performance manager: Proven experience as a people manager, with responsibility for performance management, coaching, and team development.

Essential Qualifications

• ACA / ACCA qualified or CFA charter holder with valuation experience is essential

Additional Information

• A competitive salary, bonus, pension and share incentive plan
• Untracked holiday
• Hybrid working – our people spend 3 days a week in the office
• Anchor (our wellness hub) which includes Headspace, one to one coaching through Wellness Cloud, Digital GP, Shout & more
• Up to 6 months paid parental leave regardless of gender
• Life insurance, critical illness cover and income protection
• Private medical insurance for you and your family
• Electric vehicle leasing

Our Values

At our core, we believe that how a company behaves is just as important as what it does. That’s why we chose to become an accredited B Corp (the equivalent of a Fairtrade coffee stamp but for companies) and to change our Articles of Association so that the interests all our stakeholders – employees, customers, communities, environment and shareholders – are considered in every decision we make.

We are committed to building a workplace where diversity is valued, and inclusion is a priority. By providing equal opportunities for growth and development, we embrace and celebrate all races, genders, religions, sexual orientations, ages, disabilities, and socio-economic backgrounds. We believe teams achieve their best when every member feels safe, respected and empowered to be their authentic selves.

We\'re proud to be disability confident and are committed to supporting candidates with a disability, including neurodiversity and mental health conditions, throughout the recruitment process. Applicants are welcome to opt-in to the disability confident scheme as part of our application process. If you require any adjustments to the interview process, we’ll be happy to accommodate where possible.