Acumen Fund is a global non-profit venture capital fund, focused on supporting the delivery of critical services – water, health, housing, energy, agriculture – at affordable prices to the four billion people who lack access in India, Pakistan, and East Africa. Acumen Fund exists to help end poverty by changing how the world addresses it. It does this in two ways: (1) by investing patient capital to identify, strengthen and scale business models that effectively serve the poor and (2) by championing this approach as an effective complement to traditional aid, which can create dependence, or pure market approaches, which can bypass the actual needs of the poor. With more than $35 million invested in South Asia and Africa, and offices in India, Pakistan, Kenya and New York, Acumen Fund addresses problems of poverty using market based approaches. Acumen Fund’s vision is that one day every human being will have access to the critical goods and services they need so that they can make decisions and choices for themselves and pursue lives of greater purpose. This is where dignity starts – not just for the poor but for everyone on earth. www.acumenfund.org
Position Description
Acumen Fund is looking for a volunteer Communications Associate/Editor to write, edit and manage content on two of our key online properties – Acumen Fund’s blog and website. This is a 3-month, part-time (3 days/week) volunteer position. The volunteer will be expected to work out of Acumen Fund’s New York office
The Communications Associate/Editor will be a key member of Acumen Fund’s communications team and is primarily responsible for:
Website Content Creation and Management
o Work directly with Acumen Fund’s Portfolio and Communications teams to ensure that we have the most accurate and timely ongoing content updates for our website www.acumenfund.org through our content management system
o Based on the latest Portfolio updates, pitch and then create stories and photo essays on our investments and their impacts, often drawing from the stock of existing blog posts, pictures and video resources
Blog Content Management and Editing
o Act as the Managing Editor of the Acumen Fund blog
o Work with the team to ensure regular, topical updates to the Acumen Fund blog
o Scan portfolio updates and investee news to ensure regular updates
o Work with team to publish opinion pieces based on the latest mainstream news stories
o Edit, format and publish blog content
o Publicize the blog and manage online discussion through comments
Internal Knowledge Management
o Work with the Portfolio and Knowledge teams to improve the knowledge management function so research and other information can be easily accessed, organized, stored and made available
o Specifically, work with the team to build best-in-class knowledge libraries around Acumen’s core focus areas: health, water, housing, energy, agriculture and nutrition
Qualifications
• A bachelor's degree
• Experience in editing or journalism with a personal or professional interest in Acumen Fund’s mission and vision
• In depth knowledge of, and fluency in, the world of technology a plus (including basics of blogging, general online publishing best-practices, social networks, etc.)
• Detail-oriented with excellent written and verbal communications skills
• Ability to translate complex ideas into compelling prose
• An openness to evolving responsibilities
• Strong organizational skills; ability to multitask and prioritize time and workload
• Enjoy being part of a team and work well in a collaborative environment
Compensation
This position will be unpaid; based on performance and mutual interest, the volunteer could extend into a paid consulting contract over a longer term
Location
New York, NY
To Apply
Send a cover letter and resume to dplatzer@acumenfund.org. Please include the job title "Volunteer Communications Associate" in the subject line. Deadline for applications is 5:00pm EST, January 15, 2010.
