NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Position: Business Development Manager – Marketing

Location: New York, NY

Organization: Acumen Fund is a global non-profit venture capital fund, focused on supporting the delivery of critical services – water, health, housing, energy – at affordable prices to the four billion people earning less than four dollars a day in India, Pakistan, and East Africa. Acumen Fund seeks to prove that small amounts of philanthropic capital, combined with large doses of business acumen, can build thriving enterprises that serve vast numbers of the poor. Acumen Fund has successfully impacted over 10 million lives so far, through over $30 million invested in South Asia and Africa. Its country offices in India, Pakistan and Kenya work closely with the New York team to identify and support local social enterprises. Through our investments we address problems of poverty using market based approaches, demonstrating that there is a role for patient capital, intensive management assistance, and knowledge sharing at the base of the pyramid. Since 2001, Acumen Fund has functioned under a philanthropic capital model, raising donations to fund investments in enterprises that deliver health, water, housing or energy to the poor.

Description: Acumen Fund’s Business Development team is responsible for raising philanthropic capital for Acumen Fund and for managing relationships across our extended community of Partners (donors), Advisors and supporters.

Acumen Fund is looking to create a step change in terms of awareness, excitement, and membership in our community of supporters and advocates – from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands, and someday millions of people who believe that markets and entrepreneurship have a central role to play in the global fight on poverty.

We are looking to hire someone with a strong marketing background and significant online experience to help both accelerate the growth of our current community of %7E20,000 “Friends of Acumen Fund” and improve our engagement with and offerings to that community. Ultimately, you will be accountable for generating a significant revenue stream ($1M+/year) from this community, doing so in a way that is consistent with Acumen Fund’s brand, positioning, and core values.

The successful applicant will have the experience, analytical skills, leadership qualities, and persuasive capacity to help us refine our positioning and messaging so that we can more successfully and more actively engage a broader community in our work. (And, as a starting point, we are totally, completely uninterested in anything involving the words “direct mail” or “spam filter.”)

Our team is small and very fast-moving, and there will be significant opportunities for growth.

For more information, including the full job descriptions and instructions on how to apply, visit the Work with Acumen Fund page of Acumen Fund’s web site.