Senior Managing Director, Impact

The Global Innovation Fund (GIF) is a non-profit, social-first investment vehicle established to find, fund, and scale up cost-effective, evidence-based innovations that have the potential to measurably improve the lives of millions of people living on $5 PPP a day or less. GIF was founded to invest in innovations in the public or private sector that will inspire fresh thinking and create better solutions in developing countries.

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GIF's unique hybrid model, as both a UK-registered charity/US 501(c)3 and an investor, reflects our dual mission: to invest in innovations that improve the lives of the poor, and to demonstrate how bringing evidence and the power of the private sector to bear can create new solutions to persistent development problems.

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GIF offers grants, loans and equity-type investments ranging from $230,000 to $15 million to support a range of innovations with strong potential for social impact at a large scale, whether these are new technologies, business models, policy practices, technologies or behavioural insights. Evidence is central to GIF's mission to improve lives and opportunities of millions of people in the developing world. It underpins GIF's ability to act like a venture capitalist for the public good, empowering us to take informed risks in pursuit of large pay-offs, and better outcomes for the world's poor.

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POSITION SUMMARY

The Senior Managing Director, Impact (SMD Impact) will be responsible for ensuring that GIF's investment activity is informed by timely, high-quality analytics on social impact, for monitoring and promoting attention to GIF's results framework, and for leading GIF's work on drawing and sharing lessons from its work in development and impact assessment. The SMD Impact will also be responsible for overseeing the work of the Grants team. The role will report to the Chief Executive Officer.

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KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Strategic Leadership

• Lead and supervise the Analytics and Grants teams, contributing to the design and execution of workstreams that propel GIF's mission forward.

• Cultivate a collaborative culture that drives partnerships across all departments and with external networks, ensuring cohesion and success for GIF's objectives.

• Ensure the relevance of GIF's work in grantmaking and impact measurement by implementing innovative approaches and processes.

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Oversight of Grants and Analytics Teams

• Oversee the strategic direction and execution of grantmaking activities, ensuring alignment with impact investment objectives and maximizing social returns.

• Implement and oversee quality control procedures for accurate and reliable impact forecasts and assessments.

• Ensure timely and accurate Analytics contributions for quarterly risk reviews.

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Knowledge Synthesis and Dissemination

• Drive an institutional focus on synthesizing learnings from across the portfolio to distil insights and best practices into succinct and accessible knowledge products, including completion reports.

• Lead the engagement of partners and innovators to facilitate the sharing of knowledge externally to drive sector-wide impact.

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Performance Management

• Ensure efficient task delivery through task allocation and coordination with other GIF teams. This includes tasks such as diligence of pipeline proposals, investment memos, Practical Impact forecasts, KPI definition, and portfolio monitoring for both Grants and Risk Capital investments.

• Maintain a professional, proactive, and results-oriented culture within the Grants and Analytics teams, with clearly defined performance metrics and accountability.

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Communication and Relationship Management

• Serve as a crucial link between the Analytics and Grants teams, the CEO, and the Investment Committee.

• Help communicate strategic insights, impact stories, and the progress of key GIF initiatives to different audiences.

• Act as GIF's external representative on matters related to GIF's impact, managing key relationships with various stakeholders including Donors.

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EXPERIENCE SOUGHT

• Master's degree in development economics, environmental sciences, international development, public administration, or related field, with a significant record of leadership in comparable senior roles.

• 12+ years of relevant experience in international development or impact investing, with a minimum of three years of experience working in low and middle-income countries;

• Experience in leading monitoring & evaluation, impact, learning or results management teams within the international development or impact investing sectors, as well as strategic planning and portfolio management expertise.

• Familiarity with designing, implementing or evaluating climate change adaptation and resilience strategies.

• Proven success in leading cross-functional teams and consensus-building among diverse stakeholder groups.

• Excellent communication skills, capable of effectively articulating GIF's vision, impact strategy, and investment priorities to various audiences.

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Preferred/Desired Skills/Experience

• Authorship/co-authorship of peer-reviewed papers on evaluation, climate change, economics, or international development.

• Quantitative analysis skills and the ability to synthesize empirical research for practical application.

• Fluency in French language

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GIF is a dynamic organization and you will be expected to adapt quickly to the needs of the organisation, andwork on fluid team tasks. The SMD Impact could have a range of other duties assigned as necessary.

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The applicants should submit their application and cover letter to Alex Westacott at alex.westacott@acre.com.