Investment Associate, Humanitarian Innovation

Position: Investment Associate, Humanitarian Innovation

Site: Hybrid: MaRS Discovery Tower (Toronto) + Work from Home

Department: Grand Challenges Canada
Reports to: Investment Manager, Humanitarian Innovation

Status: Full-time, temporary

Salary: $70,200/year + benefits

Grand Challenges Canada (GCC) is dedicated to supporting Bold Ideas with Big Impact®. Funded by the Government of Canada and other partners, GCC funds innovators in low- and middle-income countries and Canada. The bold ideas we support integrate science and technology, social and business innovation – we call this Integrated Innovation®. We have a determined focus on results, and on saving and improving lives. GCC works closely with a global network of partners to bring successful innovation to scale, catalyzing sustainability and impact.

As one of the largest impact-first funders in Canada, GCC has funded over 1,400 innovations championed by innovators in more than 102 countries. These innovations have already improved 10 million lives and are expected to save up to 1.78 million lives and improve up to 64 million lives by 2030.

Creating Hope in Conflict: A Humanitarian Grand Challenge (HGC) is a partnership of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the UK’s Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO), the Government of the Netherland’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (NMFA), Global Affairs Canada (GAC) and Grand Challenges Canada. Together, we seek life-saving or life-improving innovations to help the most vulnerable and hardest-to-reach people impacted by humanitarian crises caused by conflict across the following focus areas:

• Safe water and sanitation: Innovations that improve the supply and quality of water, sanitation and waste management in conflict settings.
• Alternative Energy: Innovations that create affordable, clean and reliable sources of electricity, including supporting local energy equipment vendors and better mapping energy demand and usage.
• Life-saving information: Innovations that improve access to life-saving information, which may include addressing ICT infrastructure challenges, increasing digital literacy or improving two-way communication between humanitarian actors and the affected communities.
• Health supplies and services: A wide range of innovations including, but not limited to, improving local manufacturing of health and nutrition supplies, improving medical product logistics or improving emergency outbreak response.

The ASSOCIATE ensures the implementation of efficient, high-quality investment management processes across the complete investment life cycle, working closely with GCC innovators and cross-functional teams.

Key Responsibilities

• Support the Investment Manager to fund innovative deals aligned with portfolio strategy, by:

Transition to Scale

• Conduct in-depth pipeline research, sourcing high-potential innovations, planning application intake,orchestrating review processes for new potential investments, and maintaining relationships with external partners
• Conduct key aspects of programmatic and financial due diligence and risk analysis to evaluate new investment opportunities, support the preparation of investment memorandum, and support the presentation of potential investments to GCC’s Investment Committee

SEED

• Lead the coordination of application intake, review and results communication process for new Requests for Proposals; provide support for RFP development and launch (including an outreach strategy to maximize reach)
• Contribute to decision-making on innovations to pursue for transition to scale funding

ALL

• Lead negotiation processes for new funding agreements, ensuring appropriate project and institutional due diligence (e.g., financial, legal, Intellectual Property, and risk mitigation) is complete
• Support the management of Humanitarian Innovation investments that achieve impact:
  • Act as primary and/or secondary deal lead on allocated deals
  • Review innovator progress against programmatic milestones, approve innovator progress, results and financial reports, recommend appropriate venture advisory support
  • Evaluate innovator requests for grant amendments and make recommendations
  • Monitor and close-out existing grants and contracts
  • Mitigate concerns, flag risk events, and raise issues with the Portfolio Manager and/or Management, as necessary
• Contribute to adjustments in portfolio strategy:
  • Support knowledge management and translation of portfolio data by managing project data, conducting analysis of portfolio-level progress, results and lessons learned, coordinating the update of key information in the grants management system
  • Contributing to the internal portfolio review presentations, portfolio funder reports, and the portfolio strategy
• Contribute collaborative leadership to advance a high-performing, resilient team:
  • Support onboarding and training of junior staff to contribute to project and portfolio progress
  • Recommend tasks for delegation to Program Analyst(s) on the portfolio
  • Provide feedback and support to Program Analyst(s) on the portfolio
• Support and/or lead process improvement projects within Humanitarian Innovation and cross-departmentally
• Support the Investment Manager to represent GCC and the portfolio with external audiences:
  • Engage with key internal and external stakeholders, overseeing grantees and other external stakeholders’ participation, to promote learning opportunities and contribute to GCC’s strategic interests
  • Support the communications team in promoting the innovations and portfolio to an external audience
• Provide other relevant programmatic and organizational support, as needed

Qualifications

• A minimum of 2-4 years related grant administration and/or program management experience
• Demonstrated interest in and knowledge of relevant domains (e.g., humanitarian assistance, international development, social finance/impact investing – please indicate in your application areas of expertise)
• Demonstrated analytical, organizational and prioritization skills
• Excellent verbal and written communications skills
• At least an undergraduate degree in a relevant discipline (e.g. health sciences, global health, international development, humanitarian aid, social sciences etc.) – or commensurate work experience. Candidates with post-graduate degree would be given preference.
• Experience working and/or living in low resource contexts will be a significant asset
• Working knowledge of French will be a significant asset

People from historically excluded communities with lived experiences in relevant thematic areas

are encouraged to apply. People with lived experience and/or work experience in the

communities or countries we are supporting are especially encouraged to apply.

Don’t meet every requirement? Studies have shown that women, people of color, people from LGBTQ2S+ and disabilities communities are less likely to apply to jobs when they do not meet every qualification. At Grand Challenges Canada, we are dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive, authentic, and accountable workplace, so if you are excited about this role but your experience does not align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply, as you may be the ideal candidate we are looking for.

Location and Work Requirements:

• We are currently working in a hybrid model with time in office and working from home. With rare, approved exceptions, GCC staff are to live in or near the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and available to travel to, and work from the Toronto main office, as business operational needs require. Any expenses related to travel and or relocating to Toronto are the sole responsibility of the employee and will not be reimbursed by GCC.
• Some international travel may be required.
• Applicants must be eligible to work in Canada.

Temporary Full-Time Benefits

• A percentage (%) in lieu of benefits
• 20 days of vacation (10.5 days covered by 4% in lieu of vacation and 9.5 topped up by GCC to equalize with permanent full-time staff)
• Four (4) day work week (with Friday as a flex/off day), excluding weeks with statutory holiday (program reviewed annually)

Term

• Start date: Immediate

Status: Full-time, temporary