India BDM - Acumen Fund

Acumen Funds - INDIA BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER

About Acumnen Funds:

- Acumen Fund India seeks an exceptional Business Development Manager to lead its fundraising, community building functions in India.

Passion, entrepreneurial spirit, and commitment to tackling the issue of global poverty are just a few of the things that the staff at Acumen Fund have in common. This is a unique position. What Acumen aims to accomplish with work is n - easy task, and we need a dedicated, high-caliber person to help us reach our goals.

- Acumen Fund uses the tools of investment and business to build companies that seek to bring affordable basic goods and services to the poor and invests in “patient capital”, taking significant risks on early stage innovations and expect reasonable but below market financial returns after a timeline of 7 to 15 years. Acumen measures its success not only in terms of financial sustainability, but most importantly, with its portfoli - companies transformation of sectors like health, water, energy, agriculture, education and housing and in the process creating scaled solutions to major issues of poverty. Today, Acumen Fund’s global portfoli - of $75 million has reached 86 million individuals, created and supported 57,000 jobs, and has leveraged over $200 million in third-party follow-on capital.

- Acumen Fund’s commitment to India began in 2002 when we deployed capital to Aravind Eye Care Systems and then consequently set up our India office in 2006. Today, India represents our largest portfoli - with $30M approved and invested in over 24 portfoli - companies across healthcare, energy, water & sanitation, agricultural and education. Portfoli - companies like Ziqitza Healthcare, WaterHealth International and Husk Power systems that are revolutionizing their sectors and pioneering new development paradigms. Their team of 9 professionals – from diverse backgrounds including investment banking, venture capital, management consulting, social enterprise, law, and accounting – are als - actively involved in supporting portfoli - companies through multiple stages of development.

Position Description:

The India Business Development Manager will be responsible for raising funds for Acumen Fund India and significantly strengthening its strategic presence in the country. This responsibility includes-

- refining Acumen India’s fundraising and communications strategies;

- expanding our advisory and partner community to leverage their expertise for the development of local governance structures for Acumen Fund in India, and where possible utilize these relationships to assist in the in talent sourcing and development of the team as top leaders for the sector.

- Over time, the Manager will develop these strategic relationships to strengthen Acumen Fund’s position as a leader in the Indian philanthropy and social impact investing sector; while providing a pool of talent and resources that support the development of our team and investee companies. The Manager will work closely with and report directly to the India Director. They will als - work closely with other members of Acumen Fund’s local and global teams and manage the India Business
- Associate to maximize our impact within the community.

Specific responsibilities include:

- Drive fundraising in and for India by identifying, cultivating and executing a pipeline of potential funding opportunities to fund our work in India

- Work with the Director and global Business Development team to refine Acumen India’s fundraising strategy that sets us up to attain a sustainable funding model form sources in and for India.

- Build an exhaustive network of relationships (including individual and institutional) to identify and close potential funding opportunities for Acumen Fund; and our investees

- Execute the fundraising process from start to end, maintaining Acumen’s fundraising and partner engagement standards; including management of Salesforce based software to track pipeline and fundraising metrics.

- Manage the Business Associate to successfully meet and exceed their complimentary goals of building community and developing relationships with strategic policy making bodies.

- Build a bench of talent and resources that deliver strategic value to our team and investees

- Cultivate relationships with partners and advisors to drive creation of best in class local governance structures - such as local investment committee and board - that effectively decentralizes key investment and organizational decisions over time

- Develop partner engagement strategy in addition to managing individual partner relations (in conjunction with the Director and team as needed). Organize regular topical partner engagement and prospect development events.

- As part of a broader partner engagement strategy, develop long-term relationships with funders, advisors, thought leaders, sector and functional experts to provide business development and strategic post-investment management across the India Portfolio.

- Work closely with the Country Director and relevant team members to effectively handle the recruitment and on boarding for all new hires – including summer associate program - that ensures successful integration within the organization

- Partner with the Country Director and Global Director of Talent to recommend professional development, leveraging existing relationships, to ensure the leadership development of our team.

- Develop a communications and media engagement strategy that leverages Acumen Fund’s global brand and strengthens our local presence as impact first social investors

- Strategically engage media to increase awareness of Acumen Fund, our portfoli - companies, patient capital and social entrepreneurship in India.

- Ensure Acumen’s representation at relevant conference/workshops in India

- Leverage strategic partnerships (with relevant universities, policy/industry forums, media) and use social media tools to enhance awareness in relevant constituencies to expand Acumen’s influence.

Position Requirements:

- Candidates for the India Business Development Manager should have a passionate commitment to Acumen Fund’s mission and business model, and embody the organization’s core values: generosity, accountability, humility, audacity, listening, leadership, and respect.

- You will also have the entrepreneurial drive to take an idea and turn it into a high-quality finished product through assertive risk-taking.

- As an exceptional candidate, you will have a deep understanding of doing business in India including relationship management, key operational concepts, and organizational cultures; and will bring a significant set of existing relationships to Acumen Fund.

- As a key face and voice of Acumen Fund in India, the India Business Development Manager must demonstrate a strong personal alignment with Acumen Fund’s values, mission and approach.

- She or he must also bring a suite of skills to the table, including but not limited to: complete facility with financial concepts / private investing and a deep understanding of how the Acumen Fund model works; direct professional experience in the developing world; equal comfort in building individual and institutional relationships, including a demonstrated ability to work successfully with institutional donors and DFIs; experience building effective teams, exceptional internal communications skills along with a pre-existing network of contacts and a deep desire to build successful relationships to further Acumen Fund’s work in India and globally.

Other characteristics:

- A blend of private sector and non-profit experience, and particular strengths in building and maintaining strategic relationships.

- Dedication to social impact in emerging markets, and in particular entrepreneurial solutions to development challenges. Understanding of India development context a plus.

- 6-8 years of work experience including evidence of successful sales and client management skills and independently operating in complex, autonomous situations.

Experience in strategic management consulting or other client focused industry a plus

- Proven experience in recruitment, management of high performing individuals and team building

- Fluency in English a must, Hindi and other Indian languages a big plus

- And of course you:

- Have excellent interpersonal skills including the ability simultaneously to cultivate and manage relationships in multiple geographies

- Are a world-class storyteller who consistently communicates (oral, written) in a compelling manner

- Are comfortable with complexity, with working independently and with integrating with a global team

- Set and hit deadlines every time

- Deliver

Compensation

- Acumen Fund offers an attractive compensation package for the nonprofit sector, commensurate with experience.

Location

- The position will be based in Mumbai. Frequent travel within India will be required.

To Apply

Please submit A cover letter explaining your interest and understanding of fit and 2) a resume via Acumen's applicant tracking system @

https://acumenfund.tms.hrdepartment.com/jobs/76/India-Business-Development-ManagerMumbai-India

Please note that the deadline to apply for this opportunity will be June 10th