Portfolio Coordinator at Africa Enterprise Challenge Fund (AECF)

The Role

The Portfolio Coordinator is responsible for the day-to-day support in the consolidation and coordination of the following Portfolio Team’s activities:

• Programme Coordination and Reporting.
• Programme Travel & Procurement.
• Programme Support.

The role-holder will also support the Portfolio team across value-added services by providing efficient and responsive programme coordination and administration services. The incumbent will act as a liaison between the Portfolio department, other AECF departments and external partners as needed. The role-holder will also act as the Executive Assistant to the Director of Investments Portfolio.

Key responsibilities:

Programme Coordination and Reporting

• Provide coordination and administrative support to manage day to day running of the offices of Director of Investment Portfolio and team to achieve operational efficiency, optimal output, excellent customer relations and service, and flawless reporting.
• Attend a variety of meetings in support of the Portfolio Team as may be required, taking minutes and diarizing for follow-up actions.
• Centralize and liaise with the Finance team to assist in tracking the budget and provide regular updates.
• Centralize and liaise information sharing and updates with the Resource Mobilization & Partnerships.
• Offer administrative support to members of the Portfolio Management Committee as required.
• Liaise with the Portfolio team members in physical and electronic filing of all departmental documents for ease of retrieval.
• Facilitate interaction with external partners through effective use of written, verbal and electronic communications.

Portfolio Travel & Procurement

• Support the Director in all matters relating to his travels and procurement.
• Plan and coordinate travels and procurement needs of the Portfolio team.
• Centralize and liaise internally to facilitate provision of travel logistics for the Portfolio team i.e. in the prompt preparation of their travel authorization requests and accountabilities.
• Monitor the travel budget and follow up with the team and finance colleagues to ensure travel accountability reports are submitted and approved in a timely manner.
• Assist in the classification of events and maintain an electronic calendar of events for the Portfolio team and help prioritize meetings and activities.
• Liaise with the Procurement teams to process, expedite and track Portfolio procurement requests.

Programme Support – Strategic Projects

• Support the Director in the execution of special projects and initiatives (e.g. coordinate AECF Investee Exchange physical meetings and AECF Investee working groups, Gender Lens Investing Knowledge Seminars, Gender Mainstreaming Awards, Innovation Prize etc.);
• Coordinate with Portfolio Team to maintain and update investee contact and investee synopsis database for easy access to information and reference.
• Support the Director in researching and preparing presentation and meeting materials, organizing schedules of multiple participants, taking minutes, and following up on action items.

Administrative Support to Directors

• Support the directors in all matters administrative whenever called upon.
• Facilitate all travel arrangements for the directors by ensuring all the necessary documentations are in place.
• Facilitate meeting requirements for the directors to ensure all the necessary materials are in good order.

The Candidate:

Suitable candidates should:

• Hold a Bachelor’s degree in Business Management, Public Administration, or other business-related fields.
• Have professional certification in the field of administration. Formal secretarial training is preferred.
• Have an excellent command of English. Fluency in French and Portuguese will be an added advantage.
• Have at least 4 years post-qualification experience in managing an executive office, preferably in a not-for-profit organization.
• Have an ability to manage budget, resources, and timelines to deliver maximum results.
• Have the ability to effectively take into account the views and perspectives of a diverse set of stakeholders.
• Have the ability to organize and facilitate meetings effectively.
• Have a high level of computer literacy (Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint).
• Have knowledge of MS Project or any project and task management tool (trello.com, outlook tasks) is an advantage.
• Have planning and organization skills: devise plans of action with explicit paths and measures of accomplishment for self and/or others and allocates suitable resources so that objectives are achieved. Strong administration skills.
• Demonstrate technical competencies for the position: demonstrate knowledge of all own work role specific issues. This encompasses the technical skills or knowledge required to perform the essential duties as described in this job description.
• Demonstrate a high level of accuracy, attention to detail, thoroughness and an ability to maintain a timely and efficient workflow.
• Demonstrate the ability to plan and use resources (people and/or finance and/or physical assets) in accordance with AECF guidelines and delegated accountability so that objectives are achieved in the most effective manner possible.
• Have exceptional communication skills and ability to represent AECF externally at high levels. Should also demonstrate an ability to maintain lasting, healthy, and effective one-to-one working relationships with colleagues, suppliers, customers, professional peers, etc.
• Demonstrate an ability to cross and bridge different racial, cultural, or business cultures. This requires and is exhibited by personal experience of international or cross-cultural business with improved achievements.
• Demonstrate a productive drive in working with peers, partners, consultants and others to achieve pre-targeted and measurable business results.