Careers

Portfolio Associate – East Africa

Engineers Without Borders Canada (EWB) is a Canadian NGO that brings people and ideas together to tackle the most crucial causes of poverty and inequality.  Bolstered by its network of 40 chapters and 1,300 members, EWB provides seed funding, talent and mentorship to social enterprises throughout sub-Saharan Africa. For more info, explore ewb.ca.

EWB Ventures is a seed-stage investment vehicle backed by Engineers Without Borders Canada. We are dedicated to supporting early-stage, highly scalable, innovative, for-profit, social enterprises in parts of East and West Africa. We make tailored, long-term investments of up to $100,000 in ventures with high potential to drive systemic change for the benefit of the underserved in new, untested ways. Specifically, we focus on the early-stage of the “pioneer gap,” offering a unique blend of support to entrepreneurs who are often starved of the capital, talent and patient partnership that is required to succeed in the earliest days building a scalable social enterprise.

As part of its expansion, EWB Ventures is looking to recruit a Portfolio Associate to its team, based in Kampala, Uganda.

About the role

The associate will work with the Investment team and contribute to the whole deal cycle of impact investing financing, which includes but is not limited to deal sourcing, analysis, due diligence, transaction closing/process management, and providing support to our portfolio of ventures. The role is highly entrepreneurial with a focus on early-stage businesses that have the potential to achieve systemic change for the benefit of the underserved in new, untested ways.

Main responsibilities include:

  • Conducting primary research on targeted sectors and markets, building and maintaining a network of contacts, and generating a solid pipeline of investment opportunities that fall within assigned markets/sectors
  • Screening incoming deal opportunities for fit, business/idea viability, team strength/commitment, firm/market level impact and providing the investment director with preliminary analysis
  • Providing extensive investment analysis, including but not limited to, building financial models, scenario analysis and evaluation risk/reward profiles of proposed investments
  • Contributing to the internal decision-making process by drafting detailed and compelling investment memoranda and proposals
  • Supporting negotiations of the terms and conditions for transactions, and helping structure and execute on investments
  • Collaborating with portfolio companies’ management to implement systems for performance measurement, monitoring impact and ensuring implementation of strategic plans
  • Ensuring compliance with internal and third-party reporting requirements
  • Executing on a gender inclusion strategy that adds significant value to investee companies
  • Assessing portfolio company needs, designing and implementing post-investment management interventions in partnership with Fellowships and M&E teams
  • Collaborate effectively with EWB’s Fundraising and Communication teams
  • Other duties as developed by the team

This position requires regional travel.

Skills and Qualifications

Required

  • Passion for entrepreneurship and commitment to alleviating poverty
  • Bachelor or Masters degree in finance, accounting, banking or commercial law
  • Familiarity with Excel in addition to detailed accounting or legal experience as it relates to structuring or negotiating financial transactions
  • Ability to communicate effectively both orally and in writing
  • Ability to work well with people from different countries and cultures and amenability to working with different time zones in an efficient manner
  • An enthusiastic team player who thrives in a collaborative environment
  • Intellectual curiosity and a strong desire to learn
  • A good sense of humour, willingness to challenge entrenched views, and an ability to thrive and be resilient in a rapidly changing environment
  • A strong commitment to the social and economic impact we can achieve through a strategy that effectively leverages innovative finance, talent deployment and investor connections
  • Other qualities that are important to us include: independence, maturity, organization, a strong work ethic, intellectual curiosity and humility

Preferred

  • At least 5 years of experience in impact investing, finance, accounting, banking or commercial law fields
  • Experience preparing and delivering presentations to management and peers
  • Experience conducting market and company research
  • Emerging market professional experience
  • Sector expertise in Financial Services, Agriculture or Technology
  • Experience working on gender inclusion initiatives

Compensation

Compensation will be based upon experience and skills. EWB offers competitive benefits, a unique work culture and the opportunity to work with a fun, passionate and talented team.

Additionally, EWB offers a range of benefits including insurance, professional development opportunities, and more.

Start Date

May 1, 2018

Application Deadline

Please submit your application by March 31, 2018.

EWB embraces diverse cultures, heritages, experiences and opinions in our efforts to enrich our staff team and foster inclusive decision making. We are committed to providing inclusive, barrier-free employment that are free from discrimination, and to hiring diverse candidates. Please let us know if you require any accommodation throughout the application process, and we will do our best to accommodate.

**We are experiencing technical issues with our application form below. Please send your resume and cover letter to recruitment@ewb.ca

 

 

 

 

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