Associate Manager - Sustainable Finance

Company Description: Systemiq is a system-change company committed to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement by transforming markets and business models across five key systems: nature and food, materials and circularity, energy, urban areas, and sustainable finance. As a certified B Corp, we combine strategic advisory with high-impact, on-the-ground work, partnering with business, finance, policymakers and civil society to deliver system change. With offices across Africa, Asia, Europe and the Americas, we are dedicated exclusively to sustainability-focused work. Role title: Associate Manager, Sustainable Finance Location: Kenya, Nairobi preferred Team: Sustainable Finance Reporting to: Sustainable Finance leadership About the role Systemiq is looking for a Associate Manager to join our Sustainable Finance practice in Kenya, focused on public and development finance. This is a project leadership role for someone who can manage complex advisory engagements, lead small teams, and work confidently with senior stakeholders across governments, IFIs/DFIs, bilateral donors and the private sector. The role sits between Associate and Director level: you will be expected to own significant parts of delivery, shape the answer, manage team members and build trusted client relationships, without yet carrying full responsibility for platform strategy, major business development or senior client account ownership. You will lead work on sovereign financing strategies and capital mobilisation for climate, nature and development priorities. This will involve combining strategic problem-solving, macroeconomic and financial analysis, stakeholder engagement, and high-quality communication in fast-moving, multi-stakeholder environments. What you’ll do • Lead complex workstreams and, where appropriate, day-to-day delivery of advisory projects. • Manage small project teams, including Associates, Analysts and external experts. • Structure ambiguous problems and translate them into clear workplans, analysis and client-ready outputs. • Own the development of high-quality strategy decks, technical notes, briefing papers and senior stakeholder materials. • Lead work on sovereign financing strategies, including macroeconomic context, sovereign risk, debt sustainability and credit dynamics. • Design and assess financing approaches and instruments, including concessional finance, blended finance, sustainability-linked bonds or loans, debt-for-climate or nature swaps, and risk-sharing structures. • Manage stakeholder engagement with ministries, debt management offices, central banks, IFIs/DFIs, donors and private sector partners. • Facilitate workshops, consultations and convenings with senior stakeholders. • Support proposal development, thought leadership and knowledge building within the Sustainable Finance team. • Contribute to team development through coaching, feedback and quality control. Mindset, skills and experience Essential • Degree or Master’s in economics, finance, international development, public policy or a related field. • Around 4-6+ years of relevant experience, likely including strategy consulting, development finance, sovereign finance, IFIs/DFIs, finance ministries, central banks, debt management offices, credit rating agencies, or sovereign research. • Experience managing workstreams or projects, ideally in advisory, consulting or multi-stakeholder environments. • Strong understanding of sovereign financing, concessional finance, blended finance and climate or nature finance instruments. • Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to structure complex issues and drive teams toward clear answers. • Excellent written and verbal communication in English, including sen