Investor Engagement Manager

The Good Food Institute

3h•Remote

About The Position

The Good Food Institute (GFI) is a nonprofit think tank working to make the global food system better for the planet, people, and animals. Alongside scientists, businesses, and policymakers, GFI’s teams focus on making plant-based, fermentation-enabled, and cultivated meat delicious, affordable, and accessible. Powered by philanthropy, GFI is an international network of organizations advancing alternative proteins as an essential solution needed to meet the world’s climate, global health, food security, and biodiversity goals. In this position, you will lead and grow GFI’s efforts to champion the inclusion of alternative proteins (APs) in investment portfolios, identifying opportunities and solutions to mobilize capital for alternative protein scale-up and commercialization. While GFI’s work does not deploy capital directly to companies, this position will focus on shaping investment ecosystems, informing capital allocation decisions, engaging with investors, and accelerating capital flows through analysis, education, and strategic engagement.

Requirements

A minimum of 5 years of relevant work experience in investment, finance, or investor engagement, including experience in nonprofit, public interest, or mission-driven contexts.
A bachelor’s degree in finance, economics, business administration, or accounting from an accredited college or university is preferred (MBA or equivalent experience is a plus). Degrees in related fields with significant coursework in economics, finance, quantitative analysis, or business strategy will also be considered.
Demonstrated experience managing and developing employees or project teams.
A demonstrated strong work ethic, a high degree of self-motivation, and intellectual curiosity.
Strong analytical, writing, and presentation skills.
Persuasive and engaging interpersonal skills; the ability to build effective working relationships with senior executives and investors.
A thorough understanding of the investment industry, including venture capital, capital formation, and fundraising dynamics for startups.
Ability to work independently and use sound judgment in decision-making, including setting and managing priorities and meeting competing deadlines.

Nice To Haves

Experience working as an investment analyst, investment associate, venture associate, or similar position within the broader investment industry.
Familiarity with the alternative protein industry (plant-based meat, eggs, and dairy; cultivated meat; and fermentation).
Experience successfully managing large cross-functional projects.
A commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion and to building an inclusive workplace where everyone feels like they belong.
Comfort working remotely and in a rapidly growing and evolving organization.
Strong support for GFI’s philosophy and mission; demonstrated interest in plant-based & other alt proteins, public health, environmentalism, climate change, animal protection, or hunger relief.
A commitment to GFI’s values: believe change is possible, do the most good we can, share knowledge freely, act on evidence, and invite everyone to the table.

Responsibilities

Building and managing relationships with investors, corporate venture arms, and financial institutions, and growing GFI’s network of investor contacts.
Crafting and executing an annual strategy to position alternative protein solutions for capital mobilization to achieve scale-up, by informing stakeholders about financial and economic factors relevant to industry growth and opportunities.
Developing pathways for derisking investment in alternative proteins, including securing partnerships to explore novel capital solutions to support scale-up and commercialization and convening capital providers around specific bottlenecks.
Regularly securing and giving presentations to educate audiences on investment trends and capital mobilization challenges and opportunities in the alternative protein industry.
Collaborating across GFI and with external partners to analyze and expand the public investment landscape for alternative proteins.
Developing, disseminating, and presenting educational materials on R&D, commercialization, and infrastructure funding needs and opportunities for alternative proteins.
Shaping the narrative around investment trends in APs through analyzing and sharing market and investment data.
Making the case for alternative protein inclusion in thematic investment strategies, including AI themes, ESG strategies and sustainability goals, and other timely or long-term topics.
Contributing to sharing information and building open-access resources regarding public investment opportunities in alternative proteins, production capacity, infrastructure opportunities and challenges, and alternative protein scale-up needs (e.g., techno-economic assessments, risk and opportunity assessments, and infrastructure analyses).
Expanding and maintaining GFI’s publicly available library of investment-related educational resources and databases.
Representing GFI at industry events and in the media to educate potential investors and the public about alternative proteins and the investment landscape in the sector.
Supervising the Startup Innovation Lead, providing strategic direction, performance management, and professional development support, and overseeing GFI’s initiatives for engaging with startups, including developing a strategy for engaging with distressed companies.
Identifying opportunities and barriers to alternative protein investment that could be addressed through education and advocacy efforts, and developing and executing on related initiatives.
Securing an understanding of innovation ecosystem health, trends, and needs around financing APs, and sharing insights to and from startups and investors on the AP financing landscape.
Providing strategic insights to internal teams to inform corporate engagement, policy, and communications priorities related to investor engagement and capital mobilization.
Coordinating with affiliates to identify global financing opportunities and challenges and lead or support cross-regional initiatives.
Partnering with other NGOs or stakeholders to collaborate on joint initiatives on AP financing, investment, and capital mobilization.
Performing other duties as assigned.