Fellows: 2009 Roles
City First Enterprises: Special Projects
City First Enterprises (CFE) is dedicated to developing innovative, market-oriented solutions that expand opportunity and create stability for low- and moderate-income families in Washington D.C. CFE serves as a holding company and an incubator for new solutions. CFE’s subsidiaries include City First Bank, City First Capital and City First Homes.
City First Enterprises is launching a number of new initiatives that the Inspire Fellow will potentially be involved with:
– City First Homes is expected to close on $10MM of financing in July as part of a joint-venture responding to foreclosures. The Fellow will be involved with financial analysis, strategy, and organization development to support this fund.
– City First Homes plans to close a second round of financing that is focused on new market tax credits. The Fellow will be involved with structuring and closing the deal.
– City First Enterprises is developing a new initiative – an online platform that targets small investors to make loans to community development projects. Similar to kiva.org and microplace.org, this online platform would enable individuals to make small loans ($25-1,000) to mission-related work, and receive a small return. The Fellow would develop a business plan for the new program and identify key steps, timeline, and resources required to launch the initiative.
– City First Homes is expected to close on $10MM of financing in July as part of a joint-venture responding to foreclosures. The Fellow will be involved with financial analysis, strategy, and organization development to support this fund.
– City First Homes plans to close a second round of financing that is focused on new market tax credits. The Fellow will be involved with structuring and closing the deal.
– City First Enterprises is developing a new initiative – an online platform that targets small investors to make loans to community development projects. Similar to kiva.org and microplace.org, this online platform would enable individuals to make small loans ($25-1,000) to mission-related work, and receive a small return. The Fellow would develop a business plan for the new program and identify key steps, timeline, and resources required to launch the initiative.
– CFE is pursuing a merger with a $5MM community development venture fund and is developing a plan for use of these investment dollars that represents the newest solutions and best practices in social innovation finance.
Family Health International: Pricing and Cost Analysis
Family Health International is a global health and development organization working to improve the lives of the world's most vulnerable people. The Inspire Fellow will lead the development of a pricing strategy and cost analysis to help Family Health International be more effective in fundraising. This is a highly visible role that will involve working with the organization’s CFO, and exposure to other senior executives.
Responsibilities:
– Analyze pricing strategy and processes
– Dive deep on current budgets to identify opportunities for cost savings
– Develop cost models and pricing scenarios
– Evaluate indirect cost rate structure
– Develop strategies for pricing future proposals and projects
Requirements (in addition to standard selection criteria for Inspire Fellows):
– Comfortable working with senior executives
– Strong analytical experience
– Experience building analytical models
– Ability to work effectively as a team member and in a matrix management environment
Family Health International: Business Intelligence
Family Health International is launching a new unit focused on market analysis, business intelligence and business planning. The Inspire Fellow will support the Director of Business Planning and Strategy in setting up this new unit.
Responsibilities:
– Understand landscape and conduct market analyses
– Support organization’s 2nd annual business planning process and identify opportunities for improvement
– Develop systems for tracking intelligence on funding and grant opportunities
– Establish processes for information flow with country office
Requirements (in addition to standard selection criteria for Inspire Fellows):
– Experience in consulting and/or project management
– Comfortable synthesizing information and establishing new systems
– Ability to work effectively as a team member and in a matrix management environment
Latin American Youth Center: Special Projects
Latin American Youth Center (LAYC) is a multicultural community-based organization that supports youth and their families in their determination to live, work, and study with dignity, hope, and joy. LAYC achieves its mission by operating a regional network of youth centers and public charter schools with a shared commitment to meet young people where they are and help them make a successful transition to young adulthood. LAYC is part of the investment portfolio of Venture Philanthropy Partners.
The Inspire Fellow will be involved with two major initiatives:
1) Social Enterprise program: LAYC is launching Impacto Consulting, a social enterprise focused on replicating their model of outcomes measurement to like-minded institutions. The Fellow will conduct research on how other organizations are measuring outcomes, create the value proposition, and develop a business plan. Impacto Consulting uses the ETO software to measure outcomes.
2) CharterSchool: LAYC is building a second YouthBuild Public Charter School. The Fellow will be involved in structuring the financing and working with the executive team on launching the new school
Living Cities believes that the emerging green economy can create opportunities for low-income people and under-invested neighborhoods both by reducing energy and transportation costs and by creating jobs with meaningful career ladders. The economic recovery bill, with billions of dollars allocated to green programs, provides an opening to build systems that will endure after the stimulus dollars have been spent.
Living Cities has a small and dynamic staff and an extremely ambitious agenda. The Inspire Fellow will work both with the Director of Capital Formation and the Director of Green Economy Initiatives. Projects are likely to include:
– Helping to structure and market the new green fund
– Analyzing the risks and financial returns of proposed “green” investments (may include private equity, venture capital, debt)
– Helping to develop metrics to assess the social and environmental impact of proposed initiatives
– Assisting in the structuring and implementation of large scale energy efficiency retrofit programs in two cities
– Preparing materials for Living Cities Working Groups and Advisory Boards, which include leadership from Living Cities member organizations
Requirements (in addition to standard selection criteria for Inspire Fellows):
– Strong writing and oral communications skills
– Analytic orientation
– Ability to juggle multiple projects and zoom from detail to big picture and back
– Bias for action
– Commitment to the mission and social returns sought by Living Cities
– Interest in innovative approaches to community development finance
Year Up: Baltimore Expansion
Year Up DC is launching the Baltimore site in 2010. The Inspire Fellow will be responsible for developing and executing the strategy to launch the Baltimore site.
Responsibilities:
– Support Year Up’s Operations Director in activities related to expansion
– Design the structure for Baltimore, including number of staff members, roles, division of responsibilities with DC site
– Build community relationships
– Manage day-to-day activities related to expansion
– Requirements (in addition to standard selection criteria for Inspire Fellows):
– Passion for Year Up’s mission to close the opportunity divide
– Comfortable leading a startup effort, entrepreneurial personality
– Ability to work independently
– Can travel to Baltimore
ACCION International: Impact Investing Analyst
ACCION International’s Frontier Investments Group is a double bottom line, venture equity fund focused on achieving social change through market means. In alignment with ACCION’s strategic mission of creating sustainable solutions to address poverty, Frontier Investments builds upon the success microfinance has achieved in “banking the unbanked” and looks for the next generation of technologies and disruptive business models that will radically enhance efficiency, and expand the reach and scope of financial services. Frontier Investments invests in innovative technologies, products and business models that have game changing potential in financial service delivery to the poor. Our investment thesis revolves around catalyzing four key sectors that make up what ACCION calls the "new business model" for microfinance:
– Technology: Scalable platforms that enhance the efficiency and expand functionality of paper and people intensive processes (e.g. core banking systems, switches, etc.).
– Distribution Channels: Mobile banking, ATMs, cards and point of sale devices, and other “branchless banking” payment systems that bring the product to the customer.
– Risk Management: Credit scoring, credit bureaus and other systematic approaches to evaluating clients’ credit worthiness to deepen reach.
– Financial Products & Services: Housing, microinsurance, remittances and other financial products for the poor, beyond microcredit.
Responsibilities:
– Develop business proposal – based on analysis of other double bottom line, venture equity funds, historic assessment of the core competencies ACCION Global Investments (built in its quarter of a century of capital markets work) and position of Frontier Investments, revenue models of other double bottom line funds – for presentation to ACCION board. Proposal would be based on in depth interviews with other fund managers and leading industry players.
– Develop straw man pitch deck for fundraising, using existing decks and other content as a base. Focus would be on form and style, as much as business content and messaging (which exists in draft form.)
– Source and analyze new deals, including breakdown of the “physics” of innovative technologies / disruptive business models; identification of comparables and other core components of valuation; development of key performance indicators to measure and monitor success
Qualifications:
– The ideal candidate will be a self-starter used to working with limited organizational administrative support and technical supervision.
– Experience in venture capital, private equity, investment banking or relevant experience in position(s) that required critical analysis of business models and structuring deals
– Ability to analyze strengths and weaknesses of different business models and technologies to assess potential benefits and disadvantages of adoption
– Ability to clearly communicate data and insights in a structured fashion (especially in reports and decks)
– Ability to work in a collaborative/team approach in a high performance environment.
– A passion for making a difference by giving poor people the tools they need to work their way out of poverty.
– Undergraduate degree in Economics, Finance or a related field and/or a Master degree in Business or Finance.
– Fluency in Spanish highly desirable.
