Investment Manager, Hardest-to-Reach Initiative – Development Facility

Acumen’s Hardest to Reach Initiative, Development Facility - is looking for an Investment Manager to lead sourcing, evaluating, underwriting, and managing private investments for off -grid solar enterprises to expand and grow in identified “Hardest to Reach” countries. This role will report to the Head of the Development Facility and be based in either Nairobi (Kenya) or Lagos (Nigeria). 

About Acumen 
Acumen is changing the way the world tackles poverty by investing in companies, leaders and ideas. We invest patient capital in businesses whose products and services are enabling the poor to transform their lives. To date, Acumen has positively impacted 309 million lives by investing $137 million in 139 innovative, early-stage companies in Africa, Latin America, South Asia, and the United States. But investment isn’t only about capital, we’ve been investing in innovators for years, connecting with emerging leaders around the world and engaging them in collective dialogue, moral inquiry, and skill building. Acumen was founded by Jacqueline Novogratz on the radical idea that business, when cultivated with moral imagination, can break the cycle of poverty.

About Hardest to Reach (“H2R”) 

Acumen Hardest-to-Reach (H2R) is a $250 million initiative designed to help bring solar electricity to 72 million people and avoid 5 million tons of carbon emissions in 16 of Africa’s underserved geographies. We aim to achieve this by investing through two investment vehicles: the Development Facility and the Debt Fund.

About the role

This Investment Manager role is for the H2R Development Facility, which uses a range of financial instruments and grants to invest in off-grid solar companies working to provide energy access for unelectrified households. This role will be directly involved in sourcing, evaluating, underwriting and managing private investments for off-grid solar enterprises to expand and grow in identified H2R countries.

The salary for this role is competitive; and commensurate with experience. 

Reporting: This role will report to the Head of the Development Facility

Responsibilities

• Lead multiple transactions in parallel throughout the entire deal lifecycle, from origination to closing with a focus on financial and impact due diligence.
• Conduct financial analysis and create financial models (for both debt and equity).
• Write Investment Memoranda and present investment opportunities to the Investment Committee.
• Monitor investment performance, including impact and financial targets (e.g. covenant compliance).

Profile

• Experience with leading on investments throughout the entire deal lifecycle.
• Investment structuring experience, ideally using different financial instruments to maximise impact.
• Strong analytical skills and ability to build financial models for corporate finance transactions.
• Around 5 years of work experience and at least 3 years of experience in finance, ideally in an investment capacity leading or supporting on debt and/or equity transactions.
• Great communication skills and ability to develop relationships with internal and external stakeholders.
• Experience investing or working in Sub-Saharan Africa
• Experience in energy access is desired. 
• Candidates applying from Nigeria or Kenya must be eligible to work in that country. 

Deadline

Candidates are encouraged to apply as early as possible as applications will be screened and interviews scheduled on a rolling basis. 

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