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 mat