[vc_row row_type=”row” use_row_as_full_screen_section=”no” type=”full_width” angled_section=”no” text_align=”left” background_image_as_pattern=”without_pattern” css_animation=””][vc_column][vc_empty_space][vc_column_text]Location: Canada (remote)
Timeline: October 2020 – March 2021* (See terms)
Compensation:  $700 CAD per day

About Youth Challenge International (YCI)

YCI is a leading global youth development organization that promotes youth innovation to drive positive change. Together with our partners we create market ready solutions that catapult youth around the world to succeed and prosper; we are driven by youth and their potential to affect positive change in the world. Our solutions are focused – always keeping the young people we are designing for and with at the center of the conversation. Our approach is rooted in creativity and constantly evolving to respond to changing needs and market realities.  YCI is an organization where diversity and talent come together to shape a better future for youth around the world.

HerStart Innovate the Future

HerStart Innovate the Future is a program developed by Youth Challenge International that targets the development of young entrepreneurs, primarily women, to foster and create innovative solutions for a more equitable and prosperous economy within Ghana, Tanzania and Uganda.

The program includes training and support for aspiring entrepreneurs in social enterprise, gender-responsive business planning and social impact measurement, as well as access to finance through the HerStart Catalyst Fund. Canadian volunteers will be engaged in providing human capital support for activities through hands-on fellowships and capacity building initiatives with partner organizations. This initiative will provide programmatic support for organizations to more effectively deliver environmental and gender-responsive activities that drive sustainable and equitable business ventures. The entrepreneurial ecosystem in each country will be further catalyzed to identify and reduce gender barriers, which will foster more enabling environments, including access to finance, for young women entrepreneurs.

HerStart Catalyst Fund

The HerStart Catalyst Fund is a core element of HerStart’s Innovate the Future program and is a response to the financing gap faced by women entrepreneurs in Sub-Saharan Africa and globally. An initial investment in the Fund from Global Affairs Canada will be matched by funds raised from a diverse cross-section of Canadians through Social Impact Circles. HerStart Social Impact Circles are groups of 10-15 Canadians who have committed financial (and potentially human capital) support towards the Fund and young women’s social ventures. Social Impact Circles will be capitalized by individual donors, women in business, entrepreneurs and other relevant stakeholders who are mobilized, in part, by Canadian volunteers. At its current level of investment, the Fund will directly invest in 210 young women leading high-potential social ventures in Ghana, Tanzania and Uganda. These investments will support young women to achieve greater growth of their social enterprises and thus generate broader positive social and environmental impact in their communities. Beyond the positive benefits to the individuals supported, these investments will generate steady, longitudinal changes within communities and economies as more young women access stable livelihoods and become social innovators seeking and implementing new solutions. There is growing global evidence of the social, economic and environmental difference women entrepreneurs make, as they are more likely to reinvest their profits in education, their family and their community.

The HerStart Catalyst Fund is an opportunity to test innovations in gender-lens investing and deploying new types of capital. The design of the Fund aims to address the unique barriers to financing faced by young entrepreneurs – who are often starting micro-to-small enterprises – that are further compounded by the gendered barriers faced by women.

The 6-year implementation of the HerStart Catalyst Fund offers significant opportunity for experimentation and responsive design to truly innovate the mechanisms for providing capital to young women that help them achieve accelerated growth – both of their revenue and impact. HerStart Social Impact Circles provide an opportunity to engage a diverse group of Canadians in investing and supporting young women as leaders in social entrepreneurship.

Impact Fund Design Consultant

Reporting to the Director of Programs, the Fundraising Design Consultant will research, develop and test strategic, creative solutions for engaging the Canadian public in raising capital for the HerStart Catalyst Fund through the Social Impact Circles.

Responsibilities Include:

• Market Research – Perform a market scan to assess existing products that link raising capital in Canada for international social impact investing.
• Product Development – Propose and develop innovative products that will engage the Canadian public to raise capital for the Fund.
• Capital Raising – Identify opportunities and integrate strategies to raise additional capital for the Fund from Canadian sources.
• Donor/Investor Development – Develop strategies for donor development and cultivation which will provide a diverse and sustainable funding base for the HerStart Catalyst Fund.

Skills and Experience: 

You are a self-starter with 7+ years of experience in  impact investment, philanthropy, marketing and/or innovative fundraising and business development; you draw insightful conclusions from diverse types of data and information; you have a demonstrated track record of successful fundraising product and strategy design, including creative, cutting-edge approaches to fundraising; you possess sound knowledge of marketing and engagement strategies related to donors in the Canadian marketplace; you have experience in gender-lens and impact investing; you have experience leading or overseeing strategic marketing initiatives; you have knowledge of legislative frameworks governing fundraising in Canada and ethical codes of conduct for professional fundraisers; you have expertise in design thinking and are passionate about investing in women and youth livelihoods; you are inspired by the potential of innovation and social entrepreneurship; you work respectfully and inclusively with diverse stakeholders; you are an effective communicator with excellent written and verbal English proficiency.

Terms and application process:

Level of effort 30-40 days depending on approach/proposal. Level of effort cannot exceed 40 days.

Please submit your cover letter and CV in a single PDF attachment by October 23.

We thank all applicants for their interest; however, only those selected for an interview will be contacted

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