Manager, Innovation Fund at GSMA
About the job
What The Hiring Manager Says
“This is a great opportunity to play a role in supporting start-ups that are striving to deliver transformative impact for low income populations and vulnerable communities. Through this role, you will be exposed to digital solutions that provide socio-economic impact for the underserved and business models that have the potential to scale. We’re keen to have someone join our team to strengthen our diverse team. The successful candidate should demonstrate their ability to manage grants funded projects and in particular innovation funds geared towards helping scale innovative mobile centric solutions with sustainable socio-economic impact.”
About The Team
The GSMA Innovation Fund team was established in March 2020 and has the responsibility of planning and executing all Innovation Fund rounds on behalf of the GSMA Mobile for Development (M4D) programme. Leveraging on 10 years of M4D experience running Innovation Funds on a multitude of topics, the team are responsible for setting up the processes and managing all rounds from design to grantee selection to grant completion and post grant follow up. The GSMA Innovation Fund’s mission is to be a centre of excellence that will ensure M4D continues to support local entrepreneurship and digital innovation through grant funding and technical assistance. This is a skilled and diverse team represented in London, Nairobi, India, Indonesia and Pakistan.
About The Role
As a Manager in the GSMA Innovation Fund team, you will have the following responsibilities:
Grant Management
- Work in a team to review and assess grant applications for funding
- Support shortlisted grant applicants (approx. 5 per round), this will include conducting due diligence and an extensive review of their grant application (workplan and budget)
- Prepare and present final recommendations to the independent fund panel committee
- Manage a portfolio of grant projects from contracting to project completion, including providing tailored technical assistance (either directly or through a third party).
- Support the Senior Managers in key reporting activities including monthly and quarterly Socio-Economic KPI reporting.
- Manage and coordinate regular meetings with the grantees assigned to you. This will include coordination with the internal sub-grant compliance team and external fund manager.
- Conduct regular market visits of the assigned grantees to witness the activities and the associated impact of GSMA-funded project(s) in the relevant markets
- Manage and coordinate with internal stakeholder such as relevant program team(s) to gather their technical input as and when needed to ensure successful implementation of the project(s) that is/are assigned.
- Proactively manage risk on the projects. This must include troubleshooting, escalating to GSMA Innovation Fund senior management and sharing lessons with the wider team including instances where things fail.
- Support relevant M4D teams such as MEL and the marketing team in conducting market research activities and knowledge product development such as blogs, written case studies & video case studies etc.
Ecosystem Engagement
- Build relationship and do proactive market engagement with the key regional and local stakeholders, including investors, local incubators/accelerators/tech hubs, government etc.
- Build relationships with mobile network operators (MNOs) across Asia in order to build a pipeline of MNOs interested in commercial partnerships with GSMA Innovation Fund grantees, participation at GSMA Innovation Fund Bootcamps or clinics
- Actively promote the GSMA Innovation Fund at GSMA events or external events to disseminate insights, as well as to continue to position the programme in forums around innovation and investment.
The successful candidate will report into the Senior Manager, GSMA Innovation Fund.
About You
The ideal candidate will display the following qualities:
- A proven track record of managing complex grant projects, with multiple stakeholders’ engagements, and within predefined budgets and timelines
- Experience in successfully managing innovation fund grantees across emerging countries. This includes experience managing risk and helping grantees pivot
- The ability to think creatively of solutions to new challenges or a changing environment.
- Ideally, an understanding of emerging technologies for good – such as how AI can be used to deliver socio-economic outcomes
- Strong understanding and experience working with start-ups in Asia, as well as networks within the ecosystem such as investors and tech hubs
- Strong interpersonal skills, and a very collaborative approach to working with other teams across the M4D.
- Critical analysis of business models and an understanding of the path for sustainability for grantees
- Experience dealing with a variety of external stakeholders, in particular the innovation ecosystem players including MNOs.
- Fluency in English is essential
Contract type
Fixed Term Contract (Fixed Term)
Worker type
Employee
What We Offer
Working at the GSMA offers you unparalleled access to the mobile industry. We offer a chance to truly shape the direction of mobile, whatever your role. By joining the GSMA, you will be exposed to a fast-paced rapidly evolving environment, working on global solutions, genuinely fascinating and industry-changing projects and a stimulating and dynamic environment designed to enable you to flourish.
In addition to architect-designed offices and competitive compensation, our benefits include fantastic learning & development opportunities, generous holiday allowances, four additional days off for professional development and many others.
To learn more about the GSMA, visit our career site, our LinkedIn page and our Twitter page.
Being You at the GSMA
We are one of the most diverse companies you will ever come across, we care deeply about equality and inclusivity and aspire to be the best at it. Your well-being and work/life balance is important so if you prefer to work flexi-time or a day from home, just ask. We’re keen to ensure everyone is equal, represented and connected so we particularly encourage applications from all demographics. The success of the GSMA year on year will continue to be contributed by people from all walks of life.
GSMA Values
Our values not only drive our culture – they shape how we work and interact inside and outside our global organisation.
Passionately driven
We approach everything we do with unparalleled capability, tenacity and commitment, knowing that the challenging scale, pace and complexity of our work is what leads to its world-changing impact.
Insightful leaders
We continually develop and engage our expertise, insight and creativity so that we’re always ready to respond to the changing landscape with authority, agility and nuance.
Stronger together
We lean on each other so the industry can lean on us, embracing our diversity by actively seeking out perspectives and skill sets beyond our own, fuelling each other’s successes and constantly asking how we can help.
Underpinning our values is our collective mindset to show up purposefully as good human beings every day, in every situation. When we’re at our best – we are collaborative, considerate and compassionate to others, and we create a safe space for one another to thrive, assuming positive intent in our colleagues. And if we aren’t at our best and the pressure is on – we feel free to be ourselves but still remain curious, lean into the tough stuff and we are always respectful to others and accountable for the part we play.