Senior/Strategic Advisor
: Job Details :

This is an extraordinary moment – in the world, and for SEDF. The imperative to build on SEDF's legacy has never been greater, given the intertwined crises we face, from inequality and climate change to any number of threats to democracy and human rights. While the so-called impact investment marketplace has grown to $1 trillion, this growth has occurred at the commercial end of the spectrum, making truly mission-driven, catalytic investment capital even more exceptional, distinctive, and important for driving transformative social, economic, and political change.

Accordingly, SEDF seeks a Senior Advisor to work directly with SEDF's CEO and leadership team to strengthen overall organizational excellence. Specifically, the individual will support efforts to develop, refine and implement strategy, improve operational performance, and deepen external engagement and partnerships. The Senior Advisor will serve as a “right hand” and thought partner to the CEO, helping to drive innovative solutions to complex problems. The ideal candidate will be recognized for their problem-solving, strong judgement, excellent analytical and communication skills, and experience relevant for the scope of SEDF's work. SEDF has a preference for candidates with at least ten years of private sector experience in management consulting, investment banking and/or extensive policy work -- creative and nimble thinkers and doers. This is a New York based role, with the potential for modest travel.

Qualifications

This new role is a policy/strategy/investment hybrid role, charged with supporting SEDF's broad work on strategy and partnership development, impact investment functions, innovative finance and policy work, and overall organizational performance, reporting to the CEO.

Looking for significant experience in development economics and/or finance, private sector financial services – banking and investing, with particular experience in innovative finance and impact investing – and/or management consulting. Prefer some experience in policy or public sector institutions.

SEDF works closely with internal and external partners across the nonprofit, public and private sectors to strengthen individual investments and market ecosystems to support OSF's larger mission and vision. Specifically, SEDF seeks to:

• Draw upon the expertise, reach and resources of OSF and Soros Fund Management (SFM), facilitating a global view, efficient coordination and deployment of resources across the spectrum of Soros “impact capital” (grants, advocacy, investments, etc.)
• Pursue strategies closely aligned with OSF's nascent “opportunities” and more independent strategies to advance OSF's mission and vision
• Engage with public and private sector allies to build and shape partnerships

For over twenty-five years, SEDF has occupied a unique place in the impact investment world. Free from the requirements of external and commercial investors, SEDF can lean into areas of market and political failure and risk in exchange for impact – across regions and themes in support of democracy and open society. SEDF works to harness private sector resources for systemic change; while every SEDF investment aims for measurable direct impact (i.e. lives or incomes improved, emissions reduced), each also has a larger aspiration (i.e. to influence policy or the practices of public and private sector actors; to strengthen local market infrastructure; to de-risk a particular investment or sector to crowd in additional capital).

Over the years, SEDF has focused on different thematic priorities in different parts of the world, from SME finance in emerging economies, to agricultural and smallholder farmer finance and economic empowerment and financial inclusion for women, migrants and refugees and other marginalized groups. During the COVID-19 pandemic, SEDF made a number of investments to improve Global South access to vaccines, medicines, and diagnostics, and to strengthen local biomanufacturing capabilities. Today, SEDF has charted an initial set of new strategies, focused on climate action, particularly the intersection of climate and inclusive, equitable and sustainable development and democracy in the Global South; independent media – freedom of expression and dissent, the fight against disinformation, and the imperative to develop new business models as cornerstones of democracy; and a growing body of work in human rights, including reproductive rights, with additional areas of work in development.

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