Senior Private Credit Associate — Distressed & Opportunistic

Selby Jennings; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Selby Jennings is seeking a Private Credit Senior Associate to join its Chicago investment team. The role covers sourcing, evaluation, and portfolio management across distressed debt, special situations, and opportunistic credit with exposure to traditional buyout investments.

Ideal candidates bring strong modeling, restructuring knowledge, and a passion for complex transactions. The position offers high visibility and direct interaction with senior decision-makers.

Qualifications

• 3-6 years of experience in private credit, distressed investing, special situations, restructuring advisory, leveraged finance, investment banking, or private equity.
• Strong understanding of capital structures, credit documentation, debt instruments, and restructuring processes.
• Advanced financial modeling, valuation, underwriting, and analytical skillset.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills with lenders, management teams, advisors, and investment professionals.
• Experience working on restructuring transactions, workouts, liability management exercises, distressed M&A situations, or complex credit investments is a plus.
• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple workstreams with exceptional attention to detail.

Responsibilities

• Source, screen, and evaluate new investment opportunities across distressed debt, special situations, restructuring, and opportunistic credit transactions as a Private Credit Senior Associate.
• Analyze capital structures, credit agreements, intercreditor arrangements, collateral positions, and recovery scenarios to identify attractive risk-adjusted opportunities.
• Build detailed financial models, valuation analyses, and recovery/waterfall models to support investment decisions and transaction execution.
• Conduct business, industry, and financial diligence on prospective investments while partnering closely with senior investment professionals.
• Develop relationships with lenders, advisors, restructuring professionals, intermediaries, and industry participants to enhance sourcing activities.
• Participate in transaction negotiations and help manage deal execution across credit and equity-oriented investment opportunities.
• Prepare investment committee materials and present findings to senior members of the investment team.
• Support portfolio company monitoring efforts through KPI tracking, operational analysis, and board-level reporting.
• Collaborate across both credit and private equity investment activities, gaining exposure to a broad range of transaction structures and investment situations.

Skills

Financial modeling

Credit analysis

Due diligence

Interpersonal communication

Portfolio monitoring

Deal execution

Job description

Selby Jennings is seeking a Private Credit Senior Associate to join its Chicago investment team. The role covers sourcing, evaluation, and portfolio management across distressed debt, special situations, and opportunistic credit with exposure to traditional buyout investments.

Ideal candidates bring strong modeling, restructuring knowledge, and a passion for complex transactions. The position offers high visibility and direct interaction with senior decision-makers.