Omidyar Network is a philanthropic investment firm dedicated to harnessing the power of markets to create opportunity for people to improve their lives. Established in 2004 by eBay founder Pierre Omidyar and his wife Pam, the organization invests in and helps scale innovative organizations to catalyze economic and social change. Omidyar Network has committed more than $1 billion to for-profit companies and nonprofit organizations that foster economic advancement and encourage individual participation across multiple initiatives, including Education, Emerging Tech, Financial Inclusion, Governance & Citizen Engagement, and Property Rights.
Omidyar Network’s Education work in Africa aims to promote scale, access and equity in education, impacting learners, educators, parents and local communities. We invest in early-stage entrepreneurs building for-profit and non-profit organizations with a strategic focus on innovative school models, education technology and connected skilling for work readiness. More at: https://www.omidyar.com/our-work/education
POSITION SUMMARY:
The Africa Education Investment Associate/ Analyst is primarily responsible for helping build a portfolio of Education organizations, reviewing prospect business plans, performing due diligence and competitive analysis, and supporting the education team’s efforts in managing the portfolio of investments and activities. Responsibilities include:
- Scoping out high impact education opportunities in Africa
- Supporting the review and analysis of investment proposals, business plans, and organization budgets; prioritizing opportunities and conducting diligence on prospects
- Support deal execution – develop investment thesis, conduct financial analysis and prepare investment memoranda
- Working closely with investees on strategic aspects to help them scale successfully and achieve their financial targets and impact potential
- Conduct market research and keep current with industry trends and contribute to ON’s knowledge management efforts by sharing key learnings and providing feedback on similar themes/ opportunities across target countries
- Develop strategic education sector relationships
- Collaborate internally to advance ON strategy and mission and support leadership of the Education initiative on a variety of projects and analysis, as necessary
SKILLS, EXPERIENCE AND EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS:
- 2-5 years of direct investing experience preferred (VC, private equity, investment banking, or management consulting firm); MBA preferred for Associate role
- Strategic thinker with exceptional analytical and Excel modeling skills
- Ability to evaluate proposed investments from multiple perspectives (strategic fit, market opportunity, impact potential, operational capability, business model, financial performance, valuation, etc.)
- Familiarity with the education sector or direct experience working in education a plus
- Independent self-starter with high degree of flexibility and adaptability in a rapidly evolving organization
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills
- Working experience in or an understanding of the business landscape in Africa required
- Passion for social impact and diversity & inclusion
If interested, please apply here.