Company Overview:

Palladium is a global leader in the design, development, and delivery of Positive Impact – the intentional creation of enduring social and economic value.  We work with foundations, investors, governments, corporations, communities, and civil society to formulate strategies and implement solutions that generate lasting social, environmental, and financial benefits. For the past 50 years, we have been making Positive Impact possible. With a team of more than 2,500 employees operating in 90 plus countries and a global network of more than 35,000 technical experts, Palladium has improved – and is committed to continuing to improve – economies, societies and most importantly, people's lives. Palladium is a child-safe organization, and screens applicants for suitability to work with children.  We also provide equal employment to all participants and employees without regard to race, color, religion, gender, age, disability, sexual orientation, veteran, or marital status.

Project Background

CATALYZE is a $250 million 5 to 8-year program designed to mobilize $2 billion in private capital, especially to underfinanced social sectors, such as education, and higher risk countries around the globe, particularly low-income and post-conflict countries. The program is complemented by a cross-cutting inclusion of gender-lens investing and will provide services to many missions and bureaus that “buy in” to tap the CATALYZE investment and pay-for-results project management expertise. Our aim is for investors to explore and find commercially viable opportunities and approaches to creating jobs, developing sustainable social services, tightening and rationalizing supply chains, and advancing inclusive growth.

USAID CATALYZE Ethiopia: MS4G is designed to benefit the Ethiopian people, build community resilience, and strengthen rural-urban linkages in the areas of food security and WASH. MS4G invests in developing strong relationships with private sector players, co-investing in inclusive business models, advisory services, digital solutions, and market-based initiatives that increase the resilience and sustainability of Ethiopian enterprises and employment for women and youth.

MS4G uses a market systems approach to address key food security and WASH sub-systems and the impact of economic shocks, including COVID-19 and political instability, by stimulating adoption, adaptation, broad expansion, responsive institutionalization, and scaling of approaches and business models to transform the lives of Ethiopians.

Primary Duties and Responsibilities:

The MS4G Senior Investment Advisor will report to MS4G Country Director and work closely with MS4G Technical Leads across the enterprise support, capital mobilization, skills building and job placement, and digital economy components. The Senior Investment Adviser will lead MS4G’s specialized capital mobilization activities such as WASH and agribusiness (including input financing) activities as it expands its support to businesses and organizations in the WASH and Agriculture/Food Security sectors.

Key responsibilities include:

• Design and oversee implementation of a cost-effective, results-based approach to mobilize private capital for Ethiopian WASH and Agribusiness/Food Security businesses.
• Design and oversee implementation of a cost-effective, results-based approach to enhance the ability of Ethiopian business advisory services providers to improve access to and quality of services to catalyze WASH and Agribusiness/Food Security business growth.
• Design and oversee implementation of a cost-effective, results-based approach to enhance the ability of the Ethiopian business community to access high-quality business advisory services and private capital in support of growth, as measured by sales and revenue.
• Design and oversee interventions that improve the risk-return profiles of WASH and agribusiness/food security SMEs to enhance their ability to access investment.
• Develop and execute a pipeline of investor-grade deals in WASH and Agribusiness/Food Security sectors
• Design and oversee implementation of various investment financing to leverage over $20 million USAID funding to leverage concessional grant and subcontract funding to drive the growth of a robust business advisory service provider ecosystem, unlock financing for underserved market and segments, and connect business with qualified job seekers; and
• Ensure MS4G meets capital mobilization and business growth targets.

Required Qualifications:

• Extensive experience in private sector engagement in relation to banking and investment sectors in in Ethiopia.
• Understanding of the financial and regulatory constraints facing private sector companies in Ethiopia.
• Ability to research and consult on technical and policy issues related to WASH services and analyse the challenges to private sector engagement in Ethiopia.
• Proven knowledge of Ethiopian finance, private enterprise, investment, and workforce development-related issues.
• Solid experience on market-based sanitation (MBS) and working with formal and informal financial sectors.
• Ability to develop financial models for small/medium businesses.
• Evidence of strong communication skills, both interpersonal and written with professional fluency in English required.
• Demonstrated organizational skills and a strong track record in meeting deliverable and donor deadlines.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Minimum of a Master’s degree in Business Administration, Economics, Finance, Law  or other related field of study.
• Five or more years of professional experience in banking, investment, finance or related fields. Experience in international development field as an expert for USAID or donor funded projects related to investment, finance, and private sector development is a plus.
• Previous experience/knowledge of USAID and private sector engagement projects, approaches, and policy.
• Knowledge on previous WASH-related or similar projects in international development, particularly in Ethiopia.