Manager, Government Partnerships

Acumen•New York, NY

15d•Hybrid

About The Position

Acumen is looking for a Manager with account management, fundraising, proposal development, research, and analytic skills to support the work of our Development & Partnerships team, specifically on the institutional partnerships team with government partners. This role will be based in New York or London where our teams have a hybrid work arrangement. Acumen’s mission is to solve problems of poverty and build a world based on dignity. We invest patient capital in businesses whose products and services help vulnerable and low-income people transform their own lives. To date, Acumen has positively impacted 585+ million lives by investing $185M in 201 innovative, early-stage companies in Africa, Latin America, South Asia, and the United States. But investment isn't just about capital; we've been investing in leadership for years, supporting emerging leaders in their own countries and engaging them in extended collective dialogue, moral inquiry, and skill building. About Development & Partnerships Acumen partners with a number of institutional partners which includes foundations, corporations and leading bilateral, development finance institutions, and multilateral government institutions to advance our mission to change the way the world tackles poverty. The Development & Partnerships team leads this effort, working with a range of bilateral, multi-lateral and DFI government partners and others to help support social enterprises and address global challenges of climate and poverty. About the Role The Manager will contribute to the Development & Partnerships (D&P) team by supporting the engagement of Acumen’s current government partnerships, and support development of new partnerships to further Acumen’s strategy and goals on climate and poverty. Each of our partnerships involve a range of engagement activities that include project management, communications, event planning, and reporting. We work cross-functionally, engaging closely with Acumen’s programs, communications function, legal and finance to develop and deliver effective funding partnerships. Specifically, the Manager will be accountable for:

Requirements

Minimum of 8-10 years of relevant experience in fundraising, account, or project management, ideally working with bilateral or multilateral donors. Grant writing and budgeting experience is essential and will be a core part of the role.
Highly organized and detail oriented, able to prioritize and deliver on time.
Operational skills such as problem solving and project management, including the ability to work and deliver projects independently, proactively, and within deadlines. Proficiency in managing and understanding project level budgets and forecasts.
Strong written and oral communicator.
Highly collaborative and able to effectively work cross-functionally.
Motivated, self-starter with the ability to proactively anticipate needs before they arise and take action without being asked - notices opportunities to create new systems and procedures when necessary.
Seeks and provides constructive feedback. Effective at communicating barriers up the line and recommending solutions.
Exceptional relationship and interpersonal skills, both with internal and external stakeholders: courtesy, tact, patience, and strong teamwork.
Self reflective and aligned with Acumen values.
Authorized to work in the US or UK.

Nice To Haves

Sector level expertise in climate, private sector development and entrepreneurship is desirable, including sectors like agriculture and energy access.

Responsibilities

Work with the government partnerships team, including the Director, on managing existing government partnerships and developing new ones. This may include supporting fundraising including proposal development and grant writing, contracting, reporting, relationship and account management, participation and representation of Acumen at key events and meetings, and organising high-level donor and ministerial visits, events or requests in coordination with in-country and events teams across Acumen.
Leading initiative-level partner engagement with 3-5 government partners, including relationship management, partner calls, oversight of reporting, etc.
Managing the proposal development process from start to finish, including writing, work planning, budget development and responding to due diligence, and contract negotiations for new business development opportunities with government funders. Support team in evaluating requests for proposals.
Support tracking the effectiveness of key government partnerships across Acumen. This will include working across the D&P team, including with grant managers, to ensure consistent approaches and identifying areas for deeper and more strategic engagement.
Collaborating effectively cross-functionally with grant managers, finance, legal, communications and regional teams to provide inputs on delivery of grants funded by government partners, including on donor reporting, compliance, grant-based deliverables and dissemination of outputs.
Coordinating with the Office of the CEO on engagement with government partners (bilateral, DFI, and multilateral) at meetings and events ensuring relevant Relationship Managers are engaged and tracking follow up actions.
Developing and maintaining stakeholder maps for existing government partners where we have multiple engagements and relationships – the engagement is often across multiple geographies, at various levels and on multiple Acumen programmes – mapping the organisation and our engagement in collaboration with D&P Operations team.
Conducting an annual assessment of government partnerships and preparing an analysis deck to share partnerships’ strengths and areas of opportunity. Document best practices and provide recommendations for engagement with partners and internal synergies for effective engagement.
Conducting research on events, conferences, and other potential opportunities for Acumen to share key areas of work with government audiences, which may include supporting the creation of sessions at conferences and representing Acumen at external events, conferences and workshops as needed.
Updating current fundraising and comms collateral as needed to incorporate new messaging for government partner audiences.
Be an active member of the Institutional Partnerships cohort and the broader D&P team, joining cohort meetings and supporting knowledge sharing.
Demonstrate Acumen Values