SAGANA 

Job Description 

Title: Senior Director, Sagana Consulting – Gender Lens Investing 

Location: Any location in Europe and India – this is a fully-remote position 

Reports to: Business Unit lead / Head of Sagana Consulting and Co-Founder 

Company: 

Sagana is a global impact investment advisory firm working to unleash the potential of people, capital, and business to improve human and planetary health. We are passionate about advising, investing in, and growing companies that are successfully solving some of the biggest challenges of our time - and to helping other investors to do the same. We leverage decades of experience in private equity, impact advisory, and entrepreneurship to scale big ideas that create an abundant, thriving world for all.  

Our name means “Abundance” in Tagalog, and this is core to who we are.  To learn more about what sets us apart, check out our video: Sagana - Unleashing Potential 

Sagana Consulting: 

Sagana Consulting works with development organizations, foundations, corporations and other allocators of capital on maximizing the transformational effect of their resources. We combine our expertise as business consultants, investors and technical experts with our deep understanding of local markets to co-create investment strategies and financial vehicles that empower our clients to deepen their positive impact. We advise on climate impact, gender and diversity lenses, and innovative finance. Our clients include development organizations like British International Investment (BII), FMO, Swiss Agency for Development (SDC), Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs (DFAT); fund managers like EQT, responsAbility, and Verod; foundations such as Botnar, Gates, and Laudes; market-builders like Fair4All Finance; and corporates like Cartier and Mondelez. 

Opportunity: 

We are hiring a director-level consultant with an unwavering enthusiasm for impact to grow our impact investing consulting practice. You will drive business development and direct multiple projects simultaneously across a range of environmental/social topics and client types. You will lead project teams to support clients in understanding the power and opportunities of catalytic capital and private sector engagement, designing and executing such initiatives, measuring their outcomes and sharing the learnings. You will contribute actively to coaching junior team members and internal initiatives. In other words, you will play a pivotal role in accelerating Sagana’s growth and impact.  

Our ideal candidate is a colleague who combines the analytical and problem-solving skills of a strategy consultant with the scrappiness and relationship-building skills of an entrepreneur. If this is you, let’s talk asap!   

Responsibilities: 

• Identify/cultivate new relationships that generate business for Sagana and strengthen existing client relationships. As a director, you will write proposals and pitch new projects to both existing and new clients 
• Proactively lead projects to improve human and planetary health, including developing and implementing gender action plans, impact investing and blended finance strategies, engaging private sector capital, and creating more inclusive processes and practices. Projects are likely to include, conducting research and analysis of markets, capital flows and incentives, sectors, companies, and business/organizational models. You will engage deeply with the technical content and produce deliverables yourself, alongside project team members that you manage  
• Ensure high-quality, on-time delivery across multiple projects at once, by building and directing workplans, timelines and budgets  
• Develop junior team members through regular project delivery   

Skills and Experience: 

• Have at least 8 years of relevant work experience, with at least 3 years successfully working in a well-established consulting firm. You know how to be a great consultant  
• Have direct business development experience. You enjoy building and nurturing relationships with clients and partners and being a valued thought partner to them. You understand how development organizations think and make decisions 
• Experience working in emerging markets is a plus. Experience working with culturally diverse client and colleague teams is a must! You are a global citizen who thrives working remotely and across time-zones  
• Understanding of investing, catalytic capital and/or blended finance is a big plus. 
• You have worked on gender related engagements with financial institutions, development organizations and private organizations  
• Commitment to and experience in at least one social or environmental impact area such as climate, agriculture and food, health, supply chains, fin tech/financial inclusion and infrastructure. Strong project management skills in leading complex projects with multiple and diverse stakeholders. You work seamlessly across public and private actors – we often act as a bridge between them  
• Thrive in an entrepreneurial culture. You are proactive and like to get things done. You can deliver work at a strategic level while also paying attention to the details. You like to build new ventures and your commitment to quality is unwavering  
• Skilled communicator, both written and oral. Strong presentation and facilitation skills. Fearless in delivering challenging or contrarian messages  
• Fluency in English. Knowledge of other languages is an added advantage 

Additional desirable experience: 

• Existing relationships with development agencies, development financial institutions, institutional investors, foundations, or other relevant clients. 
• Experience working on technical assistance, blended finance, ODA, or impact funded programs or projects. 
• Experience spanning both investment and advisory services, particularly within organisations that combine these capabilities. 
• A track record of bringing established client relationships or accounts into a new organisation or market. 

Values: 

Our shared values guide all that we do: 

• Courage - Is what empowers us to think differently, ask difficult questions, speak our minds, act on what we believe in, and find opportunities that others don’t always see 
• Authenticity - Is what guides us to bring our whole selves to our endeavors and not hide behind a mask. It brings out our honesty, creativity, and enthusiasm that allows us to use our full potential in delivering our work 
• Respect - Is the foundation of all relationships – with ourselves, our clients and partners, our colleagues, our communities, and our planet 
• Responsibility - Is what we take for the world in which we live. We hold ourselves accountable for the decisions we make and the actions we take as people and as a company every day 
• Excellence - We are committed to being our best. Because creating a better future takes more than good intentions. 

Inclusion: 

We are actively creating a workplace where authentic communication, collaboration, and inclusion enable people to become their best selves both personally and professionally while having a career with purpose and impact. 

Apply: 

To be considered for this career opportunity, apply via the link. For any queries, please contact the Talent team at Sagana  talent@sagana.com