Managing Director

Job Description

Position Summary

The founding Managing Director (MD) will lead the team in design and execution of an investment strategy based on a first-of-its-kind ecosystem approach, combining investments in product companies, software enablers, financing vehicles as well as creating partnerships with governments and not-for-profits to provide essential services and support in order to bring electricity to off-grid consumers. The Fund will invest directly in scalable businesses within the off-grid value chain, including solar lanterns, solar home systems and mini/micro grids. As the Fund proves the viability of off-grid (starting in Rwanda whose national goals are to reach 22% of its population with off-grid technology by 2018), the MD also will look to influence other governments and expand this and subsequent Funds’ activities to other countries and regions.

Responsibilities:

Investing in the Off-Grid Energy Ecosystem

• Lead the team that will find, structure, develop, support and monitor portfolio investments
• Co-ordinate and chair Investment Committee meetings to review and structure prospective investments, to report on investment progress and to discuss portfolio strategy
• Develop and manage the Fund Advisory Council
• Work closely with team members to coach them in diligence, deal structuring and post-investment management.
• Develop and deliver a coherent set of post-investment management resources including local technical specialists, governance resources and peer-to-peer networks, that will help companies execute on their business models and grow
• Ensure adequate financial and social impact monitoring of portfolio companies as well as compliance with appropriate local regulations
• Fundraise: While the first close at $40M will be done by the end of the year, the MD will lead the team raising the next $60M and beyond
• Serve as a spokesperson for the power and potential of off-grid

Strategic Management of the Fund

• Help to translate the vision into design and strategy of the fund
• Develop a strategy to identify new sources of capital, and play an active role with investors on both fundraising and around the social impact and financial performance of our investments
• Help raise follow-on capital for portfolio companies where appropriate
• Develop and manage partnerships with debt and grant providers for consumer education, solar policy advocacy, and institutional purchases
• Build and maintain a positive team culture; lead, guide and motivate team members
• Build a sense of community where customers, team members, partners and investors feel strongly connected to the mission and value of open innovation.

We are seeking a Managing Director who brings:

• Best-in-class transactional experience in private equity or venture capital funds. 15+ years of a demonstrated track record with, at least 7 years of that in private equity or venture capital, preferably in emerging markets, including successful exits. Experience in renewable energy investing is strongly preferred. Minimum of three years executive experience as a Chief Investment Officer or Managing Director (or equivalent).

• A deep commitment to our mission. A leader who sees investment as a means to create energy access, not as an end in itself. This is a role for someone who is committed to having impact on the poor as the objectives of the fund are to reach 15M people, at least half of them earning less than $4 per day and proving that this approach can bring energy to the poor faster and more cost effectively than the traditional grid. These types of social impact metrics will be included as triggers for the incentive carry payments.

• Exceptional people leadership and collaboration skills. The MD will lead a top-tier team, manage multiple stakeholders, gain buy-in and ensure support within the organization and externally.

Other Characteristics:

• Willingness to roll up one’s sleeves, non-hierarchical, unpretentious, ambitious, and energetic
• Possesses a global outlook, capable of working comfortably in a cross-cultural team-oriented environment
• A strong impact orientation, prioritizing the path to maximum impact in our work
• Impeccable integrity and credibility; an individual others can trust without reservation

Location

The position will be based in East Africa.

For Consideration

Please submit your resume and cover letter (required) to Tory Clarke at our search firm, Bridge Partners: Tory.Clarke@bridgepartnersllc.com

Applications will be considered on a rolling basis, so candidates are encouraged to apply as soon as possible.

About the Organization

Acumen Capital Partners, is hiring a Managing Director, to manage a $100M off-grid energy fund, focused in East Africa, with a mission to bring solar power to more than 15 million people who today live without electricity.

Acumen is raising $40M for a first close by the end of 2015, and will then complete raising the fund in the following 12-18 months. The fund has already secured nearly $20M in commitments from some of the world’s most prominent energy investors who believe in proving the potential of off-grid solar energy as a destination, not a bridge to the electric grid. This group will provide significant insights and networks to amplify the fund’s visibility and impact.

Electricity is critical to allow an escape from poverty as it creates access to technologies and tools that improve health and empower productivity for the poor. Today, 1.3 billion people live without access to energy and another 2.6 billion have unreliable supplies of electricity and must resort to charcoal, diesel or kerosene as a primary source of fuel. This is why every developing country has made electrification one of its core development strategies. But if the developing world adopts the Western strategy and delivers electricity through traditional grids powered by fossil fuels, there will be catastrophic consequences for the climate, and the poor will remain in the dark for the rest of the 21st century, because of the cost and time required to build out the grids.

The world can avoid this. Thanks to dramatic drops in the cost of solar and batteries, the near-universal use of mobile phones and a payments revolution in the developing world, solar and renewable power will become a compelling solution to both energy poverty and climate change.

“The Fund” has a vision for massive acceleration of off-grid solar deployment in the developing world, one that will bring tens of millions into the modern economy while demonstrating a path to a high-productivity, low-carbon future that will ultimately impact billions of lives. This is the scope of the opportunity. This Fund will focus on Rwanda and Kenya and will invest to scale up off-grid companies that have the potential to reach millions. The Fund aims to demonstrate that there is an economically viable, climate-friendly and pro-poor investment strategy that can help the world leapfrog the traditional grid.