Head of Innovative Financing - Africa

Job Title: Head of Innovative Financing - Africa Reports To: President & Chief Operating Officer Industry: Nonprofit Location: Nairobi, Kenya Travel: Up to 30% Travel Across the company Priority Countries in Africa Employment Type: 12-Month Fixed-Term Contract with Potential Conversion Pathway About the Company: Our client is a nonprofit social enterprise helping millions of smallholder farmers across Sub-Saharan Africa lift themselves out of poverty. They seek a Financing Innovations Lead to spearhead the development, testing, and scaling of financing models that make irrigation technologies accessible to smallholder farmers. This role owns the end-to-end design of financing mechanisms—from early concept through field testing to strategic scale-up. You'll work directly with MFIs, SACCOs, banks, cooperatives, agribusinesses, and last-mile extension agents to build a robust pipeline of financing pilots and translate evidence into an organization-wide financing strategy. This role requires strong financial product-design and testing skills, deep understanding of smallholder economics, and ability to work across diverse markets. As irrigation financing is an emerging field, we need someone with a creative, experimental mindset who can design solutions beyond conventional microfinance. Key Responsibilities Financing Strategy s Model Development

Build the company's financing innovation roadmap for different farmer segments and value chains

Design and structure diverse financial products: revolving funds, microfinance loans, value-chain financing, lease-to-own solutions, and blended-finance mechanisms

Model customer economics, repayment scenarios, and partner incentives to ensure commercial viability and farmer affordability

Apply creative problem-solving to build financing models that respond to farmer realities

Guide leadership on strategic trade-offs, investments, and scale potential of different solutions

Collaborate with Country Directors, Sales, Product, and Impact teams to integrate financing into strategies

Pilot Design, Testing s Iteration

Lead full lifecycle of financing pilots across priority countries

Develop pilot concepts, budgets, implementation plans, risk frameworks, and learning agendas

Support country teams through launch, implementation, and troubleshooting

Synthesize evidence to refine models and inform scale-up decisions

Partnership Development s Ecosystem Engagement

Build relationships with financial service providers, cooperatives, and market actors

Co-create financing programs with partners and negotiate operational terms

Embed financing into value chains and last-mile distribution systems

Represent the company in agricultural finance and financial inclusion forums

Data, Evidence s Portfolio Economics

Develop monitoring frameworks for financing pilots and partner portfolios

Analyze repayment performance, default rates, customer behavior, and adoption dynamics

Produce actionable insights that shape the company's financing strategy

Document models with strong evidence bases and build replication toolkits

Qualifications

Minimum of a Bachelor's degree in finance, economics, business, agricultural economics, or related field

Master's degree in relevant field will be an added advantage

Minimum 7-10 years' experience designing/managing financial products in emerging markets

Experience in smallholder agriculture, value-chain finance, embedded finance, or climate-smart financing

Experience working across multiple African markets

Direct experience with MFIs, SACCOs, banks, or agribusiness financial programs

Demonstrated ability to design, test, and iterate inclusive-finance models

Strong skills in financial modeling, unit economics, risk assessment, and portfolio analysis

Rural market experience and comfort with field work

Track record of launching pilots that generated actionable learning

Entrepreneurial thinker who enjoys testing, learning, and iterating

Strong analytical and financial-design capabilities

Ability to understand farmer cashflow cycles and design appropriate products

Clear communicator across diverse stakeholder groups

Skilled partnership-builder navigating complex institutions

Strong project management and coordination abilities

High integrity with commitment to farmer-centered financing

How to Apply If you are up to the challenge and possess the necessary qualifications and experience, please send your CV, quoting only the job title in the email subject (Head of Innovative Financing– Africa), to jobs@corporatestaffing.co.ke before 11th September 2026 NB: Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. If you do not receive any communication from us within two weeks of your application, kindly consider your application unsuccessful. We appreciate your interest and thank you for applying Corporate Staffing Service never asks candidates to pay any money or pay for tests at any stage of the recruitment process