About 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.

About the job

As an Innovation Specialist, you take the lead in identifying, developing and implementing new financial products, services and investment facilities that will generate new revenue (streams) for Oikocredit, in particular around Climate Finance. Such initiatives will be embedded into the business as soon as feasible, freeing you up to develop other new initiatives. Where appropriate (based on nature of such initiatives), a limited number remains under your management for a prolonged period.

Main responsibilities

• Lead the development & implementation of new & replicable financial products, services, facilities, structures and/or (pilot) transactions with a significant scaling opportunity. You will do this primarily in relation to a portfolio of climate smart & community resilience themed investments and broader in relation to Climate Finance across the Oikocredit investments portfolio.
• Contribute to teams (if not already led by you) developing initiatives that call for an innovation specialist.
• Take a disciplined and pro-active approach to managing the initiatives under your wings from idea to implementation, i.e. monitoring and presenting progress along the development lifecycle of such initiatives (incl. stopping those initiatives not feasible to be further pursued) and taking colleagues along.
• Work closely with colleagues in the Innovation Hub, Specialized Finance and wider in Investments, as well as other departments such as Finance, Legal, Risk, Strategy & Social Impact, etc. In addition, you can expect to be working closely with existing and prospective clients of Oikocredit, as well as strategic business partners such as for example incubators, accelerators and other investors and NGO’s.
• You are expected to build and maintain networks, and develop new strategic partnerships over time that contribute to the acceleration of our innovations.

Education, skills and experience

• 5+ years’ experience in cross-section of development finance & innovation.
• Master’s degree (MA, MSc or MBA) or equivalent in the field of Business Administration, Finance, or other relevant field.
• Experience in climate finance solutions, in relation to one or more of Oikocredit’s key investments sectors (financial inclusion, renewable energy and/or agriculture). Preferably, also in relation to one or more sub-themes like WASH, housing, education, health, clean energy access, carbon removal and other (tech-enabled) services & solutions for communities of low-income people, MSMEs, and/or smallholder farmers in our geographic markets.
• Skilled in financial modelling, in particular around blended finance solutions.
• Experience with innovation tools: you have successfully applied relevant tools & methods to develop & implement innovations, for example Lean Startup, Business Model Canvas, Design Thinking, etc.
• Strong project management skills and experienced in using project management software like MS Project.
• Can-do mentality: you are open & direct and navigate problems with the end-goal in mind, coming up with creative solutions along the way. You are comfortable with ambiguity and not deterred by having to chart a course through organizational complexities. You see challenges as opportunities rather than roadblocks, and get projects across the finish line.
• You bring a lot of positive energy to the team, and complement the skills & experience of the other team members. You are a quick learned & self-starter.
• Good listener with strong stakeholder management skills and a strong communicator who is fluent in English. Spanish and/or French are a plus. You feel comfortable representing the Innovation Hub internally & externally.

Competencies

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

Additional remarks

The role is open for 90% or 36 hours a week.

Candidates should be available for an in-person interview and should have a valid work permit for the Netherlands.

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 where you can work from home 50% of the time.
• Access to training and learning opportunities.
• Salary, depending on experience, between  € 75.000 - € 85.000 per year, based on a fulltime contract. (€ 67.500 -  € 76.500 for 90%).
• An attractive pension scheme.

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.