Investment Manager at International Rescue Committee

Job Overview/Summary:

We are seeking an Investment Manager to join our team in Nairobi, Kenya. This is a unique opportunity to help shape a newly launched, pioneering impact investment vehicle within one of the world’s most respected humanitarian organizations.

The Investment Manager will play a central role in sourcing, evaluating, and managing investments in early-stage companies delivering both strong impact and financial returns.

Key Responsibilities:

• Deal Sourcing: Identify and cultivate relationships with relevant startups, accelerators/incubators, and investors across Africa.
• Due diligence: Lead due diligence processes, including market analysis, financial modeling, impact assessment, risk evaluation etc. Develop Investment Memos (IMs) to present to IC.
• Portfolio Management: Support portfolio companies post-investment through strategic guidance, fundraising support, impact assessments, and to build traction/use cases in humanitarian markets in  coordination with IRC’s Country Programs/technical teams.
• Strategy: Contribute to deepened sector mapping and refining investment theses across Airbel Ventures’ focus sector, sub sectors and verticals.
• Partnerships & Ecosystem Engagement: Represent Airbel Ventures in regional investor networks/events/conferences, strengthening our visibility and partnerships in the African venture ecosystem.
• Other Support: Support  the CEO on  fundraising, overall portfolio strategy, and internal stakeholder engagement within the IRC.

The Investment Manager is expected to leverage AI tools strategically to enhance work effectiveness and efficiency in research and analysis, ensuring all AI-generated content is reviewed for accuracy, quality, and alignment with the IRC’s mission and values.

Job Requirements:

• 6–10 years of experience in venture capital, impact investing, development finance, or management consulting (with exposure to early-stage investing).
• Strong financial analysis skills, including financial modeling skills.
• Strong analytical skills, with extensive experience of managing due diligence processes from sourcing to closing. 
• Demonstrated interest in impact investing and innovation for underserved or frontier markets.
• Experience within the African startup ecosystems and comfort working across diverse sectors and geographies. Strong networks across the African startup ecosystem.
• Excellent communication and relationship management skills.
• Entrepreneurial mindset, high independence, and ability to thrive in an early-stage team environment. At the same time, ability to drive execution, navigating multiple internal stakeholder segments within a large global NGO.
• Master’s degree in finance, business, economics, or related field preferred.