Portfolio Manager (m/f/d) Livestock Start-up

The GIZ programme SAIS – Scaling Digital Agriculture Innovations through Start-ups supports start-ups in Africa and Sri Lanka in the agri-food sector to scale commercially viable innovations that improve the living conditions of end-users regarding income, nutrition, food waste or adaption to climate change. One component of SAIS, funded by the Gates Foundation, focusses on supporting livestock start-ups in Africa, through: Investment readiness support, access to working capital, as well as the creation of new livestock ventures through partnerships with venture studios. You co-lead the delivery of the SAIS livestock component with a clear mandate: expand the pipeline of livestock start-ups through sourcing and investment readiness, scale trusted portfolio companies, strengthen and deploy the revolving debt approach, expand the cooperation with venture studios and lead the proven approach into the future in close collaboration with strategic partners, including the Gates Foundation. 

• Venture development (investment readiness & pipeline building), including co-lead the Investment Readiness Program Livestock (IRP-L), which encompasses cohort design, venture diagnostics, milestone plans, tailored expert support, and investor matchmaking, as well as sourcing and assessing 2-4 new start-ups per year aligned with the overall SAIS mission (income increase, food security, climate mitigation in livestock systems)
• Creating financing pathways for portfolio start-ups, utilizing the partnership with Melanin Kapital, Unconventional Capital and other investors, as well as grant setup and management, to provide working capital to portfolio start-ups, including vehicle design and steering, Investment Committee participations, performance monitoring and follow-ups, as well as supporting start-ups in becoming finance-ready for follow-on capital (commercial debt, equity, blended finance)
• Conduct data collection and analytics on start-up performance as well as overall project objectives, providing data for internal monitoring, evaluation and reporting to different donors as well as investors (incl. KPI frameworks, performance narratives, budget tracking logic, variance explanations), using SmartSheets to Gates Foundation plus yearly progress finance and narrative reporting to Gates Foundation and Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), as well as using impact information from 60db and managing contributions to the Net Economic Benefit Model (NEB) of SEBI Livestock Consulting
• Networking for project and start-up success, such as actively participating in the IRP to facilitate exchange, gather insights, and promote collaborative opportunities among stakeholders, enable cross-portfolio collaboration, as well as managing relationships with founders, investors, corporates, subgrantees, ecosystem builders, and public stakeholders
• Fundraising and strategic partnerships, by co-leading fundraising workstreams, incl. design the co-creation of concept notes, decks, investment cases, diligence-ready annexes, and stakeholder engagement plans, creating a structured pipeline of funding opportunities, clear next steps, and disciplined follow-through, and actively exploring follow-on support with strategic partners

Required criteria:

• Master's degree required in Economics, Innovation, and/or (Agricultural) Company Development, demonstrating a strong foundation in financial analysis, and practical applications within the agricultural sector
• Several years of relevant private sector experience required, e.g., start-up, scale-up, venture capital, private equity, high-performance finance/strategy roles including participation in investment committees or venture studios
• Several years of work experience required in working with start-ups, regarding scaling business models and accompanying exits
• Several years of work experience required in agricultural economics, livestock and food systems, as well as documented strong problem-solving abilities related to current agricultural challenges, knowledge of sustainable practices and innovations in the agricultural sector and food industry
• Strong investor exposure and fundraising experience required with a proven track record: you have successfully raised three third-party funding tickets in the last seven years (donors, DFIs, institutional investors, or private investors)
• Excellent judgment required on what drives start-up scaling in agriculture and livestock, including unit economics, PMF, G2M, operational bottlenecks, team execution, as well as financial management, modelling and valuation
• Excellent stakeholder management, writing skills (investment cases, donor reporting, concept notes), presentation skills and analytical storytelling required
• Frequent travel to the African continent with a focus on Nigeria, Ethiopia, and Kenya and possibly USA required
• Professional fluency in English

Desirable criteria:

• Knowledge of German is an advantage
• Several years of work experience desired in gender-transformative project development and activities, with the ability to identify and support gender-relevant enterprises in the agri-food sector

This position is allocated to salary band 4 and will be filled in 80% part time.

The willingness for frequent business trips is required.

To ensure and further strengthen GIZ's ability to deliver, the willingness to operate in changing conditions in Germany as well as abroad is of high corporate interest.

Please understand, that we can only accept and process applications via our E-recruiting system. Following the confirmation of your successful application, kindly check your spam / junk mail folder on a regular basis, since some provider classify emails from our recruiting system as spam.

Your professional and personal development is important to us. At GIZ, you will be offered global work opportunities and an atmosphere that is characterised by diversity, respect and genuine equal opportunities. Gender equality promotion is a matter of course for us. Our benefits are also impressive in terms of work-life balance and family friendliness. Flexible working hours that fit your life situation, comprehensive onboarding and internal health management are an integral part of our corporate culture, along with the opportunity to use childcare facilities and parent/child offices.

GIZ is a signatory of the Diversity Charter. Recognition, appreciation and inclusion of diversity in the company are important to us. All employees shall be valued - regardless of gender and gender identity, nationality, ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, social background, age or sexual orientation.

We support equal opportunities and welcome applications from people with disabilities. Severely disabled people and their equals are given preference in the interview process if they are equally qualified.