Senior Associate, Investment Grade Origination

Connect Search, LLC; Des Moines (IA); On-site; USD 90,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

Connect Search, LLC is seeking an Investment Grade Origination professional in Des Moines to own the front end of the origination process. You will build and maintain a relationship database, proactively develop new counterparty connections, and initiate conversations to assess deal fit with the firm's strategy.

You will travel to conferences and sponsor meetings, participate in internal deal discussions, and contribute perspective beyond origination on a senior team.

Qualifications

• Experience in a relationship‑oriented, sales‑adjacent role within institutional fixed income, private credit, or insurance investment solutions.
• Strong verbal and written communication that builds rapport across bankers, sponsors, and issuers.
• Knowledge of credit and fixed income concepts to run an informed first conversation; underwriting exposure is a plus.
• Self‑starter who is organized, proactive, and autonomous.
• Salesforce or comparable CRM experience is preferred.
• Progress toward CFA and/or MBA is a plus.
• Willing and eager to travel regularly for conferences and in‑person relationship building.

Responsibilities

• Develop and nurture relationships with issuers, sponsors, and sourcing partners.
• Own Salesforce logging, pipeline records, and dashboards for coverage and pipeline health.
• Lead introductory conversations to assess fit on asset class, size, and strategic relevance; involve senior team as needed.
• Execute outreach strategy to cover gaps and surface relationships for engagement.
• Represent the team at industry conferences and sponsor meetings; contribute to deal discussions.

Skills

Relationship building

Pipeline management

Verbal and written communication

Self-starter / proactive mindset

Travel readiness

Education

CFA or MBA in progress

Tools

Salesforce CRM

Job description

An asset management and insurance holding company with a substantial book of assets under management across a diversified platform. The investment management division runs multiple strategies including diversified credit, GP solutions, real estate credit, and specialty sectors, complemented by an insurance and retirement solutions business.

The Opportunity

This is a newly created seat on the Investment Grade Origination team, built around relationship development, pipeline management, and top-of-funnel screening. The person in this role owns the front end of the origination process: building and maintaining the relationship database, proactively developing new counterparty relationships, and taking the first conversation with a prospective sponsor, sourcing partner, or borrower to assess whether there's a realistic path to a transaction that fits the firm's investment strategy.

The goal is to bring in new sourcing relationships, free up senior team bandwidth for opportunities with real momentum, and make sure nothing worth pursuing slips through. This is a full seat on a close-knit, senior team - you'll sit in on internal deal discussions and contribute perspective beyond origination. Expect meaningful travel, more than the underwriting members of the team, to build presence and network in the market.

What You'll Own

• Proactive identification and development of relationships with direct issuers, sponsors, private credit platforms, Wall Street desks, and other sourcing partners across target markets
• Primary ownership of Salesforce: logging interactions, maintaining relationship and pipeline records, and building dashboards that give the team visibility into coverage and pipeline health
• Introductory conversations with prospective counterparties to assess fit on asset class, structure, size, and strategic relevance, and determine what warrants senior team involvement
• Outreach strategy: tracking coverage gaps, surfacing relationships worth re‑engaging, and proposing where the team should focus next
• Representation at industry conferences, sponsor meetings, and networking events
• Contribution to deal and market discussions as a full member of the team

What You Bring

• A few years of experience in a relationship-oriented, sales‑adjacent role within institutional fixed income, private credit, or insurance investment solutions (exact tenure flexible for the right person)
• Strong verbal and written communication with the ability to build rapport across bankers, sponsors, and direct issuers
• Working knowledge of credit and fixed income concepts sufficient to run an informed first conversation; prior underwriting or credit analysis exposure a plus but not required
• Self‑starter who is organized, proactive, and comfortable owning a process with real autonomy
• Salesforce or comparable CRM experience strongly preferred
• Progress toward CFA and/or MBA a plus
• Willing and eager to travel regularly for conferences and in‑person relationship building

Compensation

Competitive base salary plus performance bonus. Comprehensive benefits package.