Head, Impact Performance - Africa Catalytic Impact Fund (ACIF)

The investment objectives include to:

Create a large cohort of African champions (mid to larger size enterprises):

• Identify and build African champions in critical sectors, which will generate access to dignified and fulfilling work and entrepreneurship opportunities for young people, especially women.
• Invest directly in growing African champions or indirectly through fund managers and financial intermediaries to scale their growth and impact, accepting disproportionate risk or concessionary return on ACIF investments.
• Provide on-demand technical assistance to these investees, with deal structuring and investment readiness, and post-investment to help their enterprises grow in an inclusive and sustainable way (e.g., on how they maximize access to jobs, particularly for disadvantaged youth and enabling intentionality in sustainable growth.

Catalyze significant projects that will spur equitable and sustainable economic activity and create access to entrepreneurship and work opportunities in key sectors: 

• Identify high potential opportunities in key sectors where ACIF’s participation would de-risk investment and draw in other major investors. This would multiply each ACIF investment by at least 5-fold, amplifying the impact of each investment.

We are seeking a Head for Impact Performance to join our team and play a pivotal role in the build out of ACIF. The position, which will be based in one of the Foundation's Africa countries (Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, or Uganda) offers the chance to work across key sectors, multiple clients, and investment activities. As a core team member, you will be instrumental in shaping the future of ACIF, the clients and companies, and the African youth we serve. The expected start date is as soon as possible for 24-36 months.

WAYS YOU CAN CONTRIBUTE

• Overall impact management and measurement
  • Maintaining oversight on the impact of prospective investments across identification, origination, structuring, negotiating, closing, and management to ensure that opportunities are positioned to deliver on ACIF and the Foundation’s objectives.
  • Ensuring measurement of prospective impact opportunities for ACIF as guided by the organization’s principles and theory of change.
  • Applying consistent tools for impact management and measurement, providing technical assistance where appropriate.
  • Shaping processes and interactions between the investing teams and impact measurement teams to effectively monitor impact.
  • Capture learning on the overall ACIF approach to impact management and measurement approach, and impact performance.

• Driving impact performance
  • Overseeing the investees - fund managers, companies, partners - on impact performance.
  • Engaging with investees - fund managers, companies, partners – on key levers to deliver on or exceed impact performance goals
  • Help determine most effective deployment of ACIF’s technical assistance resources to help investees drive performance against impact goals
  • Identify and activate connections between ACIF-funded opportunities and the Foundation’s programming where appropriate and synergistic to impact goals, coordinating with teams across the Foundation as needed.

WHO YOU ARE

• Bachelor’s degree in economics or an associated field from a recognized an advanced degree is a plus.
• Experience in the African business sector.
• Over 10 years of experience in some combination of:
  • Impact management in an investment context.
  • Portfolio company operational improvement in private equity, ideally impact oriented.
  • Managerial and operational improvement experience in an impact enterprise.
  • Management consulting experience related to the above.
• Experience in ESG / SRI / impact investing and philanthropy is a plus.
• Understanding of impact investment fundamentals, key drivers of major African markets, and how to maximize impact and financial value for a given investment in practice.
• Excellent decision-making skills to guide selection the right investments, as well as for on-going portfolio impact management and support decisions
• Forecasting ability to make predictions about future performance.
• Demonstrated quantitative and qualitative analytical skills to interpret complex financial and non-financial performance data.
• Clear leadership skills with oral and written communication skills to conduct meetings, give presentations and write reports.
• Research skills to explore new investment opportunities.
• Familiarity with and understanding of established impact management and measurement principles, concepts, frameworks, tools and discussions; experience in applying and managing these in practice is a plus.
• Strong proficiency with Microsoft Word, Excel, and Outlook.
• Ability to lead team members across various functions to collaborate effectively.
• Flexible, adaptable, and able to execute a range of job duties and changing priorities.
• Possess excellent verbal, written, and presentation skills with the ability to articulate information to a variety of constituents across cultures.
• Possess professional maturity, sensitivity with different cultures, and impeccable integrity that exemplify the Foundation’s values.
• Demonstrate a commitment to Mastercard Foundation’s values and vision.