Plan International is an independent development and humanitarian non-profit organisation that advances children’s rights and equality for girls. We support children’s rights from birth until they reach adulthood, and enable children to prepare for – and respond to – crises and adversity. We believe in the power and potential of every child, but know this is often suppressed by poverty, violence, exclusion and discrimination.

We are recruiting to fill the position of:

Job Title: Interim Investment Associate

Location: Flexible
Functional Area: Strategy & Social Finance
Reports to: Social Finance Lead
Grade: GH3
Contract: 12 months fixed term contract

Overview

• As a leader in the global movement for girls’ rights, our ambition is to take collective action so that 100 million girls learn, lead, decide and thrive.
• These ambitions require that we work in new ways and unleash our full creative potential. To this end, Plan International has established an Impact Lab to develop and grow the organisation’s approach to social finance and gender lens investing.

The Impact Lab’s work is comprised of three core workstreams:

• Gender Lens Ventures: Sourcing of and technical assistance provision for internally developed social enterprise models and/or existing businesses in line with gender lens principles, and provision of gender lens impact measurement.
• Social Finance Advisory: Advisory support for all Plan International entities to implement social finance strategies.
• Investment Fund: Return-based internal investment mechanism to seed strategic innovative financing initiatives across all Plan International entities.

Role Purpose

• The Interim Investment Associate is responsible for the successful delivery of the Investment Fund (a returns-based internal investment mechanism).
• The Interim Investment Associate will support with the successful delivery of the Investment Fund’s core processes for a period of 12 months. The Interim Investment Associate will also provide analytical support to other projects managed by the Impact Lab team.

Key Accountabilities or Main Responsibilities
Investment Fund:

Performance management of active investees:

• Work with investees to develop quarterly performance reviews to be presented at quarterly Investment Review Group (IRG) meetings.
• Monitor performance of active projects through quarterly reviews.
• Analyse performance of active projects ahead of quarterly IRG meetings.
• Manage internal relationships with active investees.
• Work with Finance to ensure the timely disbursement of funds to approved investees

Management of new applications to the Investment Fund:

• Receive and review new project applications.
• Work with potential applicants to guide them through the application process.
• Work to bring quality applications to the IRG for review.
• Analyse new applications ahead of quarterly Investment Review Group meetings.
• Work with the Legal and Finance teams to develop the Memorandum of Understanding following the approval of projects at the IRG

Management of the Investment Review Group (IRG):

• Develop materials to be used in the IRG quarterly meetings, including pre-reads and presentation materials.
• Manage communications with the IRG before and after quarterly meetings, including setting agendas and providing meeting minutes.
• Development of marketing materials to promote the Investment Fund across the organisation.
• Create case studies on current and past projects and showcase these on Workplace and Planet.
• Identify additional marketing opportunities to attract projects across the Investment Fund’s investment areas.
• Develop quarterly knowledge sharing webinars with investees to share project highlights and learnings with wider Plan organisation

Wider Impact Lab:

Project support:

• Work with the wider team to provide analytical support, such as market analysis and business plan development support, for global projects which the Impact Lab is working on.
• Project support may include global strategic projects, social finance projects and additional support on the Impact Lab’s gender lens investing pilot in Kenya.

Communications:

• Keep up to date with external events, webinars and conferences and advertise these with relevant stakeholders across the organisation.
• Oversee knowledge management for all internal social finance activities, and manage the Impact Lab’s internal communications channels.
• Act as the knowledge management hub for all internal social finance activities, keeping abreast with social finance activity across Plan International.
• Develop and maintain knowledge management tools and platforms for social finance projects

Skills:

• Exceptional analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Strong understanding of due diligence processes and experience conducting due diligence of projects or companies.
• Experience working with debt.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills and experience working with senior stakeholders.
• Attention to detail.
• Excellent organisational abilities, able to prioritise tasks and deliver to tight deadlines.
• Experience in finance is a plus

Behaviours:

• Pro-active team player with a flexible and dynamic approach.
• Self-starter and ability to work independently in a fast-paced, often ambiguous environment.
• Ability to build collaborative working relationships with internal and external partners.
• Logical and structured in approach.
• Holds a high-quality standard and helps others meet standards.
• Passion for equality, including gender equality, inclusion and girls’ and women’s economic empowerment.
• Ability to create climates of trust inside and outside the organisation by being open, honest and transparent, holding his/herself and others to account for decisions and impact on others

Level of Contact with Children:

• Low contact: No contact or very low frequency of interaction

Salary

• We will be happy to disclose the salary and applicable benefits to applicants as part of this process, however, please kindly note that the salary and employment benefits will be set according to your location and therefore it is not possible to include full details here.
• As an indication, if this role was based in the UK the salary would be circa £35,000

Application Closing Date
3rd May, 2022.