Senior Associate, Funding to Build

Acumen Academy is seeking a detail-oriented, relationship-driven Senior Associate to support Funding to Build, a structured funding program that provides catalytic funding to early-stage, climate-focused enterprises across Africa. This role reports to the Manager, Funding to Build. Acumen operates under a hybrid work agreement; we are in the office three days a week.

About Acumen

Acumen is a global force of entrepreneurs, investors, philanthropists, and social innovators working together to build a world based on dignity. We were founded by Jacqueline Novogratz on the radical idea that business, when cultivated with moral imagination, can break the cycle of poverty. We invest in transformational companies, build sustainable markets, and prepare leaders with the tools they need to create a more just and inclusive future. Since 2001, we have scaled companies and shaped markets in some of the hardest-to-reach communities on the planet, impacting over half-a-billion lives. To learn more visit acumen.org.

About Acumen Academy

Acumen Academy is the world’s school for social change. Our mission is to unleash a new generation of social innovators and leaders with the determination and grit to build a more just, inclusive, and sustainable world. Blending the best of online and offline learning, we offer anyone with access to the internet the tools, practices, resources, and supportive community they need to achieve positive social change. With more than 800 Fellows and 500,000 course takers in 192 countries, the Acumen Academy community represents a new generation of social innovators and leaders committed to doing what’s right in a world that loves easy.

About Funding to Build

Funding to Build is a project funding pathway within the BUILD pillar of Green RISE Africa. Selected early-stage Fellows and Foundry members receive up to US$50,000 in project funding, along with coaching and community support, to validate promising business models and grow green enterprises on a path to scale creating dignified work opportunities for young women and youth across Africa.

About the Role

Acumen Academy is hiring a Senior Associate to support the Funding to Build program. This role will provide hands-on, 1:1 support to funded enterprises on the fundamentals of their organisations from business models to unit economics while owning relationship management and portfolio management across the Funding to Build cohorts. The Senior Associate plays a central role in funding cycles, supporting due diligence, assisting the Manager in pipeline building, and helping enterprises translate their funding into credible, evidence-based Youth-in-Work outcomes.

The role reports to the Manager, Funding to Build, and works closely with the Associate, Funding to Build, and cross-functional teams across Acumen (including Legal, Compliance, Finance, and Impact) to ensure enterprises receive consistent, high-quality support throughout the funding lifecycle.

The ideal candidate is analytical, relationship-oriented, and comfortable managing a growing portfolio of early-stage entrepreneurs with care and rigor.

Key Responsibilities

Enterprise Support & Relationship Management

• Act as a key relationship point of contact for Funding to Build enterprises, co-facilitating office hours on project support and company needs, and providing tailored 1:1 support on financials such as unit economics, revenue models, pricing strategy, and project budget planning.
• Support enterprises in developing realistic projects with evidence-based projections for green job creation (Youth-in-Work outcomes), helping close common gaps between beneficiary reach and actual jobs created.
• Help enterprises translate their disbursement into a clear implementation plan, ensuring funds are matched to the activities needed to deliver impact in each tranche.
• Coordinate with enterprises on outstanding documentation, contract queries, and disbursement conditions.

Due Diligence & Selection Support

• Contribute due diligence findings and recommendations during the selection and shortlisting process.
• Support due diligence coordination, legal, compliance, and ESG reviews, working closely with Legal and Compliance to keep enterprise folders current and contract-ready.

Portfolio Management & Pipeline

• Assist the Manager in building and strengthening the enterprise pipeline for future funding cycles.
• Support portfolio management across the Funding to Build cohort, tracking financial, operational, and impact KPIs and flagging enterprises that need additional support or intervention.

Reporting & Continuous Improvement

• Analyze enterprise reporting (financial and narrative) at each tranche milestone, and synthesize findings into portfolio-level insights.
• Collaborate with the Associate and Manager to continuously refine tools, templates, and processes based on what's working each cycle.

Qualifications & Skills

• Bachelor’s degree required. 
• Minimum of 5 years of experience in enterprise support, SME finance, portfolio management, or impact investing, ideally within the social enterprise or development sector.
• Strong analytical skills, with experience in financial analysis and unit economics, and the ability to translate financial data into practical recommendations for enterprises.
• Experience conducting or supporting due diligence (financial, legal, compliance, or ESG) processes.
• Demonstrated ability to manage a portfolio of enterprise relationships independently, with strong relationship-management and communication skills.
• Comfortable working with trackers, dashboards, and reporting tools (e.g., Excel/Google Sheets) to monitor KPIs across a portfolio.
• Detail-oriented, proactive, and able to work independently and collaboratively.
• Self reflective and aligned with Acumen values. 
• Permanently authorized to work in Lagos, Nigeria.

Location

Lagos, Nigeria

Deadline

Applications will be accepted and reviewed manually on a rolling basis through Friday, 13 November 2026. Given the high volume of applications we receive, we kindly request that you refrain from submitting duplicative applications.