Location: Nairobi, Kenya
BFA Global is an impact innovation firm combining research, advisory, venture building and investment expertise to build a more inclusive, equitable and resilient future for underserved people and the planet. Jobtech Alliance, run in collaboration with Prosper Global (formerly Mercy Corps), is an ecosystem-building initiative advancing the jobtech sector in Africa, working with technology platforms, entrepreneurs, investors and ecosystem partners to create more and better work opportunities, particularly for women and young people.
The Head of Venture Building oversees venture-building engagements within the Jobtech Alliance, ensuring they meet high quality standards, align with strategic goals and achieve job-creation targets. The role supports venture leads, manages engagement quality control, strengthens portfolio health tracking and builds the systems needed for effective venture support.
Key responsibilities:
- Portfolio Strategy and Growth (20%): with the sourcing lead, identify and assess promising jobtech companies; understand their business models, growth potential and job-creation opportunities; assign venture leads and specialists; build relationships with founders; connect companies with investors and partners; coordinate with the project manager and PMU on contracting.
- Platform Engagement Design & Quality Assurance (60%): review Sprint 0 notes and quality-assure engagement designs, workplans, technical assistance scopes and milestones; challenge assumptions about constraints facing disadvantaged youth; set realistic transition-to-work targets; allocate BFA team members, specialists and consultants; ensure interventions address commercial barriers and embed gender and inclusion; run structured and mid-sprint check-ins; lead post-engagement reviews; monitor technical assistance outcomes; build a specialist network; and improve portfolio health management.
- Learning & Adaptive Management (20%): with the research lead, identify patterns across engagements and turn them into insights; assess which models and interventions generate the strongest work and income outcomes; document what works for young women and marginalized youth; support case studies, learning products and donor reporting.
Requirements:
- 8–12 years of experience in venture building, digital platforms, startup support, management consulting, portfolio management, venture capital, impact investing or related fields, ideally in Africa or other emerging markets.
- Experience working directly with startups, digital platforms and founders, and overseeing a portfolio of companies or concurrent engagements.
- Strong commercial judgment, analytical skills and ability to work with company, employment and impact data.
- Experience designing or managing technical assistance, venture-building programs or accelerators.
- Strong written, verbal, facilitation and stakeholder-management skills.
- Bachelor's degree in Business, Economics, Finance, Entrepreneurship, International Development, Innovation, Technology or a related field; a master's/MBA is advantageous.
Fixed-term contract from January 2027 to December 2028, based in Kenya. Candidates must hold local work permits.
HOW TO APPLY:
Apply via the BFA Global BambooHR careers page: https://bfaglobal.bamboohr.com/careers/119. Candidates must have local work permits in Kenya. BFA will not sponsor work permits or pay relocation expenses. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.