Associate, Legal & Compliance

The Sterling Group is an operationally focused middle market private equity firm focused on the industrial sector. Founded in 1982, Sterling is one of the oldest private equity firms in North America. Over 70% of realized returns have been driven by organic EBITDA growth as opposed to financial engineering, a result of Sterling’s operational investing style. In 2020, Sterling raised $2.0 billion for its fifth flagship private equity fund, bringing the firm’s total AUM to over $5 billion. In 2021, Sterling launched a new fund targeting lower middle market industrial buyouts. Sterling intends to raise $500 million in commitments from existing investors to focus on smaller transaction sizes. Sterling believes it can generate outsized returns by applying its operational capabilities on companies slightly smaller than its current target set.

The Sterling Group, L.P., an SEC-registered Houston-based private equity firm, is seeking an experienced legal and compliance professional to work with the General Counsel & Chief Compliance Officer in the role of Associate, Legal & Compliance to (a) administer Sterling’s compliance program and (b) support the General Counsel & Chief Compliance Officer in the execution of all legal and other responsibilities of the General Counsel’s office

Compliance Responsibilities:

Manage and execute on all of Sterling’s internal day-to-day compliance activities, including the following:

Maintaining the compliance calendar, including the timely execution of all applicable tasks

Manage completion of quarterly compliance checklist

Facilitate preparation and filing of regulatory filings

Manage preparation and recordkeeping of memos to file and other back-up support for firm and CCO actions re compliance

Facilitate annual review process in coordination with selected third-party consultant conducting annual review, including all document and data production, organization and preparation

Facilitate administration of firm’s insider trading policy, including (a) tracking expert network calls involving public company experts and related back-up documentation with Commercial Diligence & Strategy team and (b) managing firm’s restricted trading list and related firm and compliance administrator communication and documentation

Maintain an up to date “Exam Readiness” file, including an up-to-date first day deck

Facilitate TSG employees’ compliance with various code of ethics and other day-to-day policies and procedures

Prepare minutes for committee meetings

Manage Sterling’s third-party compliance administrator with respect to all recordkeeping and ongoing program maintenance and testing

Manage Cayman AML Officer, including facilitating training, policy review and internal assessment

Manage compliance program onboarding / offboarding for new employees

Manage vendor due diligence and oversight

Lead various special projects

Focus on automation and continuous improvement of all compliance processes

Legal Execution Responsibilities:

Maintain Sterling’s standard documents library and related processes and playbooks.

Manage organization of all fund and upper-tier documents, confidentiality agreements and various other legal documents

Facilitate insurance renewal processes, including all document and data production

Manage execution for Sterling’s agreements with various SaaS and other service providers

Assist in onboarding outside counsel to Sterling’s standard processes

Assist in managing workflow between Sterling’s General Counsel and portfolio company management teams

Assist in implementation of Legal Functional Standard and related documents for portfolio companies

Assist with special portfolio company projects and initiatives, including the administration of compliance training required by Sterling’s ESG Standard

Assist with preparation and execution of various ESG deliverables and workstreams

Focus on automation and continuous improvement of all legal execution processes

Qualifications and Requirements:

At least 5 years of experience in a paralegal and/or regulatory compliance-related role within a large financial institution and/or law firm, with private equity or hedge fund experience preferred

Bachelor’s degree

Energy and enthusiasm about expanding/building knowledge of the private equity business and operations and related compliance and legal issues

Exceptional attention to detail and organizational skills

Excellent follow-through with ability to prioritize and focus on critical tasks

Self-motivated, diligent and conscientious

Ability to work independently, but also a team player with ability to collaborate with others across the firm, particularly with members of the Finance & Accounting, Administrative and Investor Relations teams

Unquestioned integrity and professionalism

Proactive approach to taking on responsibilities in support of the General Counsel/Chief Compliance Officer

Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications

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