Manager- Gender & Partnerships At Africa Enterprise Challenge Fund

The Manager – Gender and Partnerships, will maintain, develop and scale AECF’s portfolio of work focusing on women’s economic empowerment (WEE) and gender-lens investing.

The role holder will also strengthen partnerships with key institutions and alliances, contribute to designing investment vehicles focusing on harnessing the potential of women-led or managed businesses in key value chains, and develop investment opportunities and proposals to de-risk and catalyze commercial financing in AECF gender-focused portfolio companies.

The incumbent will support the institution in growing into a gender-smart organization, contribute to developing AECF’s knowledge products and position the institution as a thought leader in gender lens investing in small and growing businesses in Africa.

She/He will lead the AECF Gender team, a fast-growing team operating from across sub-Saharan Africa.

Key Responsibilities:

Securing partnerships and resources to deploy high-impact gender-lens and women economic empowerment investments (60%)

• Continuously challenge and deepen AECF’s strategy, vision and mission to contribute to tackling the root causes of gender inequalities in business, investment, and power relations.
• Work with the Partnerships team to manage current high-priority partners and identify strategic future partners (including funders, implementation, and knowledge partners or consortium partners), understanding their partnership priorities and their near- and long-term goals.
• Design and deliver investment vehicles, investment proposals, or risk-mitigation instruments, contributing to growing the volumes of investment into women-empowering ventures and contributing to bridging the gender investment gap.
• Nurture and grow existing fundraising streams including grant applications.
• Conduct research and draft proposals and concept notes of innovative and cutting-edge vehicles to tackle gender inequalities in the financial sector, and empower rural women in their entrepreneurial journey.
• Stand as a key account manager for relationships with the gender lens investing ecosystem of funders, like-minded institutions, and grassroots partners.
• Prioritize and lead on new business pipelines.
• Contribute to the establishment of appropriate linkages with the relevant state/government departments, implementing partners, donors, private sector bodies, potential project partners, and civil society.

Institutional development and gender strategy implementation (40%)

• Develop and mainstream, at all internal levels, the implementation of AECF’s Gender Strategy – including working closely with teams across AECF to ensure that AECF’s gender lens investing offering is fully embedded across all systems, governance documents, and operating procedures and ensure the effective roll-out of key products developed by the team including those related to training and capacity building, tools, and manage internal/external communications.
• Management of the gender team and ensuring that the portfolio and impact teams receive the necessary support to apply a gender lens across investments and throughout the investment cycle.
• Continuously aim to improve and deepen AECF’s ability to learn from impact and understand how empowerment and that change happens for women and communities.
• Management and oversight of internal working groups and AECF’s Gender Lens Investing Community.
• Represent AECF at internal/external stakeholder engagements related to AECF’s gender lens investing work.
• Active participation across several of AECF’s flagship markets shaping gender initiatives and partnerships in the field.

Suitable candidates should:

• Hold a Graduate/Master’s qualification in Development Finance, Gender, Entrepreneurship Studies, or any other relevant field of study.
• Have a minimum of seven (7) years of experience in income generation from partnerships, secured/retention of multi-million-dollar partnerships, and leading high-profile partnership engagements.
• Have a strong commercial acumen and deep understanding of women’s economic empowerment and gender-lens investing space in sub-Saharan Africa, as well as an understanding of dynamics and key sectors operating in rural economies (particularly Agribusiness and Renewables) in sub-Saharan Africa.
• Have experience in financial engineering for inclusive investment vehicles, and experience developing proposals for bilateral donors, philanthropies, and in partnership with commercial investors in blended vehicles.
• Have excellent analytical and communication skills with the ability to prepare proposals, reports, and concept papers to a high level of proficiency.
• Have experience in leading teams and growing junior staff.
• Be fluent in English. Knowledge of French is an added advantage.