The department

Oikocredit’s Innovation Hub drives & facilitates development of new & profitable products, services, alternative revenue streams and/or business ventures (collectively ‘innovations’) for Oikocredit’s outflow business. The Innovation Hub works in close collaboration with colleagues across the organisation, as well as our (prospective) clients and other business partners.

The Innovation Hub is part of the Specialised Finance & Community Building (SFCB) department within the wider Investments department. The SFCB department consists of 4 units: Innovation Hub, Renewable Energy, Agribusiness, Capacity Building.
The Innovation Hub team consists of 4 senior roles: 2 Innovation Specialists, 1 Blended Finance Specialist and the Innovation Hub Manager.

The job

At Oikocredit, we primarily invest capital from our own balance sheet, funded by pre-dominantly retail investors, into impactful but high risk sectors and geographies. While we have access to several de-risking solutions like 3rd party guarantees, we have a need for more innovative finance solutions that can provide further derisking as well as blending of our investment funds with other capital sources in various ways. In particular to support growth in innovative & impactful investment themes relatively new or emerging to the business, for example Climate Finance.

As a Blended Finance Specialist, you will identify, develop and implement various kinds of blended finance solutions aligned to Oikocredit’s community-focused strategy, to ensure we make impact at scale whilst using our investment capital efficiently. You will build partnerships with suitable capital providers to attract funding from. In addition, you are the strategic relationship manager for 3rd party guarantee providers and a limited number of other global partnerships related to our community-focused strategy.

Result areas of the job – you will

• Develop & implement new blended finance solutions to support Oikocredit’s growth in high impact areas, in close collaboration with colleagues both in- & outside the Innovation Hub to jointly develop appropriate structures. You will also contribute to efforts already underway to develop such structures. You will effectively work together with your colleagues, where sometimes responsibility areas may overlap, so you will ensure that your efforts are complementary to those of others and utilize a strong project management approach. You will ensure the solutions you are responsible for are implemented effectively into the organization. Key themes where we see a strong need for blended finance solutions include Climate, Agriculture, Renewable Energy, Education Finance, and WASH.

• Build partnerships and fundraise for these blended finance solutions, tapping into the universe of a.o. (private) foundations and institutional funding sources. For this you will also collaborate with colleagues on the institutional inflow side of Oikocredit’s business, ensuring your efforts are complementary to other fundraising activities in the organization, and that solutions created are in harmony with Oikocredit’s current offering to investors.

• Manage the relationships with Oikocredit’s existing 3rd party guarantee providers and develop & implement other risk enhancement opportunities. Your role as relationship manager with the existing 3rd party guarantee providers will primarily be strategic, but requires regular interaction with the operational side of our business that are responsible for the day-to-day (Investments colleagues, Operations, Risk, others).

• Manage the relationships with our global partners under specific themes of our community-focused strategy. Currently, we have two such global partnerships where we develop solutions to drive increased impact in the themes of Education Finance and WASH, by combining investments by Oikocredit into financial services providers with TA & de-risking support from these partners, with scope to innovate our joint offering further. Your role will primarily be strategic, developing & monitoring progress on strategic plans with these partners, but requires regular interaction with the operational side of our business responsible for the day-to-day (Investments colleagues and back office functions).

Education, skills and experience

• Advanced University degree in the field of finance and banking, business, economics, international development or related field.
• Ten years of relevant work experience in (blended) finance related to relevant impact investing themes in emerging markets. At minimum 5 years of experience as the lead in such transactions. You have gained this experience at a financial services provider (preferably an impact investing firm), a leading consultancy in this field, and/or other relevant organization focused on creating positive impact in emerging markets.
• Track record of successfully fundraising for blended finance structures.
• You bring a relevant network of potential funders that you can tap into.
• You are analytical and have strong skills in finance & project management.
• You have a can-do mentality, are open & direct and navigate problems always with the end-goal in mind, coming up with creative solutions along the way. 
• You are not deterred by having to chart a course through organizational complexities and see challenges as opportunities rather than roadblocks.
• You are a strong team player and entrepreneurial, and focused on delivering results whilst bringing a lot of positive energy to the team. 
• You thrive when collaborating with others and solving complex problems together. 
• You are comfortable in working in an environment with a certain degree of ambiguity, which is often the nature whilst developing innovations.
• You are a good listener with strong stakeholder management skills and are a strong communicator who is fluent in English. Spanish and/or French are a plus. 
• You feel comfortable representing the Innovation Hub and Oikocredit both internally and externally.

Competencies

Initiative, Cooperation, Innovative, Passion, Building and maintaining networks and relations, Result orientation, Market orientation.

Benefits 

• You will be working in an inclusive, international and diverse environment.
• You will benefit from a flexible work environment with a good work-life balance.
• You will have access to training and learning opportunities.
• A salary of €75,000 - €80,000 per year, depending on experience.
• A pension plan with the premium paid by Oikocredit. 

Additional remarks

Willingness to travel within country/internationally.

How to apply

Please send your cover letter and resume in English via the apply button.

Oikocredit is an equal opportunity employer. We value diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive work environment that embraces individuals from various backgrounds.