The Danish Refugee Council (DRC) is a humanitarian, non-governmental, non-profit organisation founded in 1956 that works in more than 30 countries throughout the world.
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Innovative Finance Coordinator
- Job TypeFull Time
- QualificationMBA/MSc/MA
- Experience5 years
- LocationNairobi
- Job FieldFinance / Accounting / Audit 
Overall purpose of the role:
The Innovative Finance Coordinator will support DRC Kenya in delivering its innovative finance and private sector development portfolio, with a key focus on operationalizing the Refugee Investment Facility (RIF), developed by DRC and Swiss impact investment firm iGravity. The RIF provides impact-linked and concessionary loans to enterprises benefiting refugees and host communities across four areas: employability, decent employment, access to services/products, and financial inclusion. It also includes a Technical Assistance Facility (TAF) offering mentoring and advisory services to help investees maximize their social impact. The Innovative Finance Coordinator will lead the RIF’s Technical Advisory Facility at DRC Uganda, working with HQ specialists. The role includes identifying and screening high-impact companies, leading impact development and due diligence from a refugee perspective, managing technical assistance to enhance refugee impact, monitoring investee outcomes, and linking investees to DRC and broader humanitarian/development programs. The Coordinator will also support implementation of various other innovative finance initiatives under the portfolio as well as working with HQ colleagues on new initiatives as they are developed.
The Innovative Finance Coordinator will also offer technical support to DRC Kenya’s programmes that focus on private sector engagement and development, offering support to implementing teams, managing relationships with strategic partners and scoping new private sector partnership and financing opportunities for refugee impact.
Duties & Responsibilities:
Refugee Investment Technical Assistance
Lead the scoping and development of technical assistance activities both prior to and during investment under the RIF, which seeks to offer patient investments of up to 5 years to local companies and start-ups that have the potential to positively impact refugees and host communities. This includes:
- Pre-Investment Technical Assistance
- Identify companies with potential refugee impact through networks and country programming and refer such to the RIF /iGravity Investment Officers for screening
- Lead on identification of potential enterprise impact within target displacement affected communities, aligning with community needs as part of screening of potential investees
- Investee Technical Assistance:
- Lead the design and defining of focus for technical assistance allocations for each investee, in line with the Technical Assistance Facility framework, and in cooperation with the DRC country teams, DRC RIF Global Lead, Regional Specialists and the RIF in-country Investment Officer
- Identify business capacity building needs, opportunities for impact and ways to further connect businesses to displacement-affected communities
- Identify key refugee impact metrics relevant for each company and define an impact framework for each investee
- Prepare and submit proposals for technical assistance grant allocations to the RIF Investment Committee
- Provide technical assistance and advice to investees on refugee impact, such as support developing impact management and monitoring systems, assistance engaging effectively with refugee communities and their needs, analysis of markets and ecosystems within refugee hosting areas to enhance business engagement, and support in development of best practice around refugee-inclusive business approaches
- Manage impact monitoring for RIF investees, through annual review of impact reports of investees, meeting with investee management teams, on-site monitoring, and on this basis make recommendations for strengthening the impact of investees
- Identify links between investees and DRC’s other economic recovery programming in country to build complementarity in approaches
- Coordination and MEAL Activities:
- Coordinate DRC RIF country activities and priorities with the Global DRC HQ RIF Lead and iGravity’s RIF Country Lead
- Support the development of learning and community impact monitoring alongside DRC’s MEAL teams, gathering data and feedback from communities on RIF impacts
- Support baseline, reporting and evaluation processes
Private Sector Partnerships and Innovative Finance Concept Development:
- Support DRC Kenya’s work with private sector partners, including identifying and exploring partnerships with companies with potential positive impact on refugees and host communities, including job creation, employability and technical training, access to relevant services and products
- Support the global innovation team on developing innovative financing approaches and investment partnerships to mobilize new types of capital for refugees and host communities in Kenya, including idea and concept development, partner and donor outreach, proposal writing and external representation
- Contribute to business development processes
Finance and Administration:
- Ensuring that technical, financial, and administrative activities, including reporting are carried out according to DRC and donor policies and procedures and that deadlines are met
- Assume responsibility for the effective management of the programme’s budget. This entails regularly monitoring spending and ensure timely utilization of funds in accordance with agreed spending plans.
- Contribute to monthly Budget Review Meeting.
- Ensure Value-for-Money in decision making.
Experience and technical competencies:
- At least five years proven and successful track record engaging with businesses in refugee contexts or other similar contexts working with marginalized populations, and identifying impact measurement, with ideally some experience in the investment sector or from the non-profit or social enterprise sector working with private sector development approaches. You should also have:
- Experience in social impact financing, implementing market systems development activities and fostering strategic private sector engagement;
- Experience in economic development, private sector development, economic recovery in humanitarian and/or emerging economy contexts, business strategy and business plan development, or similar fields with social impact focus
- Understanding of the refugee / host community context in country, including socio-economic challenges and opportunities and the role NGOs and private sector can play in addressing challenges and realizing opportunities
- Previous experience working in Kenya with a strong network of relevant companies
- Ability to communicate technical information in an easy to understand, informative and collaborative manner
- Good knowledge of the Core Humanitarian Standards or other accountability measures/standards.
Education
- Masters degree in one of the following: International Development, MBA/Finance or International Relations
Language:
- English – excellent written and verbal skills
- Swahili – excellent verbal skills
Method of Application Interested and qualified? Go to Danish Refugee Council on drc.ngo to apply
