Institutional Partnerships Director at Pula

What you will be doing: 

Pula is seeking an experienced Institutional Partnerships Director to join the partnerships team and build partnerships with philanthropic funders and development agencies. She/he must have a love for building partnerships across commercial and public sector, profits and non-profits, identifying potential partners that align strategically to the business needs, tailoring our value proposition to each partner, pitching to each and where successful, guiding follow on contracting and fundraising processes.

The Director is expected to: i) build new, and execute on existing fundraising networks and ii) contribute to shaping our narrative around risk financing and insurance iii) work with our partnerships team to close on proposals and tenders. Tasks will range from liaising with development agency partners and philanthropic clients on funding risk finance mechanisms and insurance premiums to working with the partnerships team to close on identified contracts.

The Director will report to the President/ Co-founder, and help to build Pula’s emerging climate finance strategy. They will be comfortable working on a fundraising quota and targets for a total value of 20mln over the next 2 years. If successful, you will manage one or more professionals over time.

Your network should be strong in the Development, both in the Private Foundation and Institutional Development partner space. The ideal candidate ould also have experience in the areas of Climate Finance, ie. in the areas of carbon credit, and have successfully interacted with institutions such as the Adaptation and Green Climate Fund or similar UN Agencies.

What you need to have to be successful- the hard skills: 

• You can demonstrate partnerships and awards generated from development agencies and institutional donors for a value of at least $1million over the course of your career. 
• You have experience working with Development Agencies at all levels and navigating institutional structures both in private foundations and either bilateral or multilateral agencies.
• Partnerships, Business Development or Consulting experience in the area of Climate and Disaster Risk Finance, Food Security, Financial Inclusion or related is a significant advantage.
• Networks, Experience and knowledge in the Climate Finance and Carbon Credit Industry will place you at an advantage.
• You are fully comfortable with Google Drive applications such as Google Sheets, Google Docs etc.

What you need to have to be successful- the soft skills: 

We value soft skills as much, or often even more as the above mentioned hard skills. The right profile fit for the role is therefore described below, with weights indicating relative importance.

Relationships: 30%

• Can build relationships with stakeholders rapidly and can expand into new networks quickly. Having deep rooted existing networks and relationships is a plus. Passionate about building and maintaining relationships.

Resilient & Intense: 20%  

• Can navigate deal complexity and will not give up until the deal is signed. Tenacious. A self starter. Recovers quickly from tough situations. Eager to build new partnerships, has a point to prove and looks to prove that point at Pula. Builds their profile and therefore reputation around Pula and the Pula products. They do not want to fail and therefore will do what it takes for Pula to succeed.

Coachable: 10%

• Adaptable: Is eager to learn and grow in their skills and ability. Is resourceful to close any skills and knowledge gap. Openly receives and shares feedback. A consummate learner.

Gravitas yet Street Smart 20%

• Charming. Has a confident, comfortable presence. Can sit across from the UN Secretary General, Bill Gates or the Minister of Agriculture of Kenya and hold their own and pitch without assistance. Can understand and map the stakeholders in a new partnership, identify and test champions, structure the partnership, problem solve and find another way when a proposed partnership gets stuck.

Communication: 10%

• Can confidently convert information internally and externally adjusting quickly between written and verbal communication as situations call for it. Follows through on action points from conversations and can succinctly summarize the progress required to progress a partnership.