Mercy Corps
Mercy Corps is a leading global organization powered by the belief that a better world is possible.
Mercy Corps began working in Kenya in 2008 to address the societal wounds following the 2007 post-election violence. Since that time, Mercy Corps has built a robust and diverse portfolio in Kenya that is working to address structural causes of poverty and injustice and to strengthen systems that enable men, women and children to access opportunities, participate in and contribute to peaceful democratic processes, and thrive in the face of ecological and social change.
Mercy Corps is a leading global organization powered by the belief that a better world is possible.
In disaster, in hardship, in more
than 40 countries around the world, we partner to put bold solutions into
action — helping people triumph over adversity and build stronger communities
from within. Now, and for the future.
Mercy Corps began working in Kenya in 2008 to address the societal wounds following the 2007 post-election violence. Since that time, Mercy Corps has built a robust and diverse portfolio in Kenya that is working to address structural causes of poverty and injustice and to strengthen systems that enable men, women and children to access opportunities, participate in and contribute to peaceful democratic processes, and thrive in the face of ecological and social change.
To do this, we deliver integrated
programming to strengthen market and governance systems, address the root
causes of conflict, and equip vulnerable populations- in particular youth,
women, adolescents and marginalized communities- with the skills, opportunities
and resources they need to be healthy, productive and to drive the development
of their communities.
We work closely with the private
sector, civil society and governance structures at local and national levels to
facilitate change and ensure that opportunities are inclusive of all Kenyans.
Position: Post Investment Manager
Location: Nairobi
Program /
Department Summary: Youth Impact Labs is a partnership between
Mercy Corps and Google.org launched in 2017 to catalyze the creation of new
work opportunities for young people by leveraging technology. Impact Labs
operates from Amman and Nairobi as strategic regional hubs for the Middle East
and East Africa.
Impact Labs aims to think big, take
risks, and test bold solutions by approaching underemployment and unemployment
through a business-oriented innovation lens. We seek to build a strong regional
pipeline of innovators ready to create high- impact, scalable employment
opportunities across various markets – for today’s youth and generations to
come.
We are focusing on digital
marketplaces and platforms that offer services to micro and small businesses;
agricultural supply chain management; and digital work.
General
Position Summary: The Post Investment Manager will be
responsible for providing comprehensive post investment support to the impact
labs portfolio of companies. This will include working with partners to provide
robust growth models, job creation strategies and investment strategies to
support business growth.
S/he will link partner companies to
tailored technical assistance including technology business support. In
addition, s/he will also have a key role of tracking progress of companies
against milestones developed during the contracting process.
Essential Job
Functions:
Partnership
Engagement Support
·
Work closely with the investment
analyst to evaluate partnership milestones and budget as part of the
contracting process
·
Work creatively with target partners
to design job creation strategies that are in line with the partners’ business
models
Post
Investment Support
·
Support investees in developing a
robust job creation roadmap
·
Provide innovators with ongoing
business support through some of the following activities; market analysis,
product innovation and business modelling support
·
Support partners to build strategies
ad models for job creation
·
Facilitate linkage to technical
assistance providers as needed
·
Design and share business support
tools with partners
·
Take an adaptive management approach
to develop and innovate new processes, activities or services to business
support efforts
Results
Management
·
Design systems/dashboards to track
portfolio and innovator progress toward partnership milestones and prepare
monthly progress reports
·
Work closely with the Monitoring
Evaluation and Learning team to ensure that impact data is captured
·
Participate in, and generate
insights, for thought leadership events on innovation and business solutions to
youth employment
·
Ensure that post investment support
is delivered on time, on scope and on budget
·
Identify key learnings and potential
risks/gaps for corrective action to improve the investment and job creation
processes
Other
·
Conduct himself/herself both
professionally and personally in such a manner as to bring credit to Mercy
Corps and to not jeopardize its humanitarian mission
·
Other duties as assigned.
Organizational
Learning
·
As part of our commitment to
organizational learning and in support of our understanding that learning
organizations are more effective, efficient and relevant to the communities
they serve, we expect all team members to commit 5% of their time to learning
activities that benefit Mercy Corps as well as themselves.
Accountability
To Beneficiaries
·
Mercy Corps team members are expected
to support all efforts toward accountability, specifically
to our beneficiaries and to international standards guiding international relief and development work, while actively engaging beneficiary communities as equal partners in the design, monitoring and evaluation of our field projects.
to our beneficiaries and to international standards guiding international relief and development work, while actively engaging beneficiary communities as equal partners in the design, monitoring and evaluation of our field projects.
·
Team members are expected to conduct
themselves in a professional manner and respect local laws, customs and MC’s
policies, procedures, and values at all times and in all in-country venues.
Supervisory
Responsibility: None
Accountability
Reports
Directly To: Partnerships Manager
Works Directly
With: Partnerships Manager, Investment
Analyst, Monitoring Evaluation and Learning team, Innovation partners and
technical assistance providers
Knowledge and
Experience
·
Minimum of 5 years experience working
for management /development consulting firms or business
incubators/accelerators
·
Strong business modelling and
strategy development skills
·
Previous experience providing post
investment support to early – growth stage businesses
·
Strong hands on management skills
including with tracking progress and providing feedback to clients
·
Previous entrepreneurial experience
is an added advantage;
·
Prior exposure working on a youth
employment program or designing job creation roadmaps
Success
Factors
The successful candidate should be
willing to innovate and improve processes.
S/he should possess the ability work
and engage with a diverse teams and stakeholders.
Ability to thrive and adapt quickly
to change is crucial for the position.
Position: Investment Analyst
Location: Nairobi
Program / Department Summary: Youth Impact Labs is a partnership between Mercy Corps and
Google.org launched in 2017 to catalyze the creation of new work opportunities
for young people by leveraging technology.
Impact
Labs operates from Amman and Nairobi as strategic regional hubs for the Middle
East and East Africa. Impact Labs aims to think big, take risks, and test bold
solutions by approaching underemployment and unemployment through a
business-oriented innovation lens.
We
seek to build a strong regional pipeline of innovators ready to create high-
impact, scalable employment opportunities across various markets – for today’s
youth and generations to come. We are focusing on digital marketplaces and
platforms that offer services to micro and small businesses; agricultural
supply chain management; and digital work.
General
Position Summary: The Investment
Analyst is responsible for identifying and developing a pipeline of dynamic tech
companies with robust job creation potential. The individual will engage with
tech startups and the broader tech ecosystem to support market assessments,
identify promising investees, conduct due diligence and identify investment
strategies to maximize growth and job creation potential.
S/he
will also offer support to the partner contracting process. The analyst will
work closely with a team of business support provides to provide continuous pre
and post investment support as well as promote research and learning around
potential technology support to job creation.
Essential
Job Functions:
Pipeline Development
·
Identify, develop and maintain
pipeline referral networks including connecting with the local technology
ecosystem to draw out new partnership opportunities
·
Conduct market research, analyze
market trends and contribute to knowledge management efforts on youth
employment and technology
·
Build investment pipeline by
identifying suitable businesses that are leveraging technology to create new
employment opportunities
·
Maintain close relationships with
potential partners
Due Diligence
·
Conduct company specific market
research including analysis of historical and projected financial statements
research, review to validate business model and impact potential
Engagement Execution
·
Support review and analysis of
investment proposals, engagement plans and budget
·
Work closely with Impact Labs
Partnerships Manager to structure a viable engagement in line with Impact Labs’
criteria
·
Prepare investment concept note and
technical review memo
·
As part of the contracting process,
liaise with the potential partner and internal departments during the
contracting process
Other
·
Conduct himself/herself both
professionally and personally in such a manner as to bring credit to Mercy
Corps and to not jeopardize its humanitarian mission;
·
Other duties as assigned.
Organizational Learning
·
As part of our commitment to
organizational learning and in support of our understanding that learning
organizations are more effective, efficient and relevant to the communities
they serve, we expect all team members to commit 5% of their time to learning
activities that benefit Mercy Corps as well as themselves.
Accountability to Beneficiaries
·
Mercy Corps team members are expected
to support all efforts toward accountability, specifically
to our beneficiaries and to international standards guiding international relief and development work, while actively engaging beneficiary communities as equal partners in the design, monitoring and evaluation of our field projects.
to our beneficiaries and to international standards guiding international relief and development work, while actively engaging beneficiary communities as equal partners in the design, monitoring and evaluation of our field projects.
·
Team members are expected to conduct
themselves in a professional manner and respect local laws, customs and MC’s
policies, procedures, and values at all times and in all in-country venues.
Supervisory
Responsibility: None
Accountability
Reports
Directly To: Partnerships Manager
Works
Directly With: Impact Labs Project team, Finance
department, Tech hubs, accelerators, incubators and social enterprises
Knowledge
and Experience
·
3- 5 years experience working in
impact investing landscapes including social venture funds, or NGO projects
providing financial and technical assistance to social enterprises;
·
Experience working with social
enterprises with a track record in due diligence, and investment analysis is
desired;
·
Excellent pipeline development skills
and well developed networks in the tech and social enterprise landscape
·
Excellent analytical, financial
modelling and research skills
·
Passion working on youth employment
projects
Success
Factors
The
Impact Analyst should have the ability to combine high-quality quantitative and
qualitative analysis in order to make sound judgement on partnerships.
S/he
should demonstrate flexibility and willingness to test, adapt, learn and
improve.
Position: Partner Evaluation Assistant
Location: Nairobi
Program
/ Department Summary: Youth Impact
Labs is a partnership between Mercy Corps and Google.org launched in 2017 to
catalyze the creation of new work opportunities for young people by leveraging
technology. Impact Labs operates from Amman and Nairobi as strategic regional
hubs for the Middle East and East Africa.
Impact
Labs aims to think big, take risks, and test bold solutions by approaching
underemployment and unemployment through a business-oriented innovation lens.
We seek to build a strong regional pipeline of innovators ready to create high-
impact, scalable employment opportunities across various markets – for today’s
youth and generations to come.
We
are focusing on digital marketplaces and platforms that offer services to micro
and small businesses; agricultural supply chain management; and digital work.
General
Position Summary: This is a
short term position for a duration of 3 months. The Partner Evaluation
Assistant will be responsible for conducting initial market landscape
assessments and conducting initial partner reviews in order to support the
development of a partner investment pipeline.
S/he
will initiate company and market assessments, generate market sector briefs and
prepare internal memos to support the partner selection process.
Essential
Job Functions:
Market Research
·
Conduct market research, analyze
market trends on youth employment and technology;
·
Conduct desk research to map out
early stage tech enhanced businesses that are creating new employment
opportunities
·
Prepare market briefs of priority
sectors based on market research conducted
Due Diligence
·
Conduct initial assessment of pitch
decks and company financial statements
·
Conduct initial assessment of job
creation potential
·
Prepare an investment memo of
companies reviewed for internal purposes
Engagement Execution Support
·
Conduct initial review of the due
diligence information gathered to determine accuracy and authenticity
·
Consolidate and organize due
diligence documents
Other
·
Conduct himself/herself both
professionally and personally in such a manner as to bring credit to Mercy
Corps and to not jeopardize its humanitarian mission;
·
Other duties as assigned.
Organizational Learning
·
As part of our commitment to
organizational learning and in support of our understanding that learning
organizations are more effective, efficient and relevant to the communities
they serve, we expect all team members to commit 5% of their time to learning
activities that benefit Mercy Corps as well as themselves.
Accountability to Beneficiaries
·
Mercy Corps team members are expected
to support all efforts toward accountability, specifically
to our beneficiaries and to international standards guiding international relief and development work, while actively engaging beneficiary communities as equal partners in the design, monitoring and evaluation of our field projects.
to our beneficiaries and to international standards guiding international relief and development work, while actively engaging beneficiary communities as equal partners in the design, monitoring and evaluation of our field projects.
·
Team members are expected to conduct
themselves in a professional manner and respect local laws, customs and MC’s
policies, procedures, and values at all times and in all in-country venues.
Supervisory
Responsibility: None
Accountability
Reports
Directly To: Partnerships Manager
Works
Directly With: Partnerships Manager, Investment
Analyst
Knowledge
and Experience
·
This is an entry level position but
1- 2 years’ experience working in business, financial and/or technology
analysis in the banking, technology, business support or NGO sectors is
preferred
·
Prior exposure to grant application
assessment exercises
·
Demonstrated aptitude for analytics
and quantitative problem-solving
·
Advanced skills in MS Excel,
PowerPoint and Word
·
Good writing and presentation skills
·
Passion for youth employment
programming and financial analysis
Success
Factors
The
ideal candidate should have the willingness to learn, improve and take feedback
positively.
S/he
should be organized and possess good judgement.
The
ability to work effectively with people at all levels in the project is
crucial.
How
to Apply
Interested
candidates who meet the above required qualifications and experience should
submit a Cover Letter and detailed Curriculum Vitae (CV) listing three
professional references (including a recent supervisor) to
ke-hrkenya@mercycorps.org on or before 17th August, 2018.
The
email subject line must clearly show the job title.
Applications
without an appropriate subject heading will be automatically disqualified.
Please
do not attach any certificates.
Only
shortlisted candidates will be contacted.
NB: We do not charge any fees at any stage of the recruitment
process
