Portfolio Director – [Energy/Agriculture/Mobility/Other] Factor[e] Venture Studio
Nairobi, Kenya – Full-time

 

 

About the Role

We are looking for a highly skilled Portfolio Director to join our team and work closely with leadership to build and execute the venture studio strategy. The Portfolio Director will report to an assigned founder of a venture build that is happening within the studio and will work closely with the venture founder to help them and their team go through the venture building process. The Portfolio Director will support the founder in venture strategy, human centered design, field research, and in project managing the venture creation process. The Portfolio Director will play an instrumental role in helping new founders utilize all of the resources that the Factor[e] Venture studio makes available to them.

A strong Portfolio Director will use rigorous, data driven insights to support venture builders and move at a fast pace to make progress towards pre-set targets and timelines, managing the studio led pilots and pushing them along & working with the co-founder to do the sprints. To succeed in this role, the ideal candidate will have experience working in an entrepreneurial environment in Africa, strong project management and business analysis skills, excellent communication skills, and the ability to execute and manage multiple competing priorities. All venture studio team members must also be committed to a mission-driven, collaborative, open and high performing team culture within the studio.

This position will be based in the Factor[e] office in Nairobi, Kenya, and will work closely with our team and partners across Africa. Some domestic and pan-African travel may be required.

This is a unique opportunity to learn from new company founders and to live the process of building new ventures from the ground up multiple times in a short time span.

 

Responsibilities

• – Venture Ideation & Pilot Leadership

Conduct business relevant research and provide quantitative analysis on data sets to inform strategic decisions within the studio:

• o Portfolio Directors will provide leadership to multiple venture ideas as they go through the venture ideation and pilot phases in the studio.
• o Initially, Portfolio Directors will focus on one of our core sectors – energy, agriculture or mobility – and will lead or support all ventures in this space while they are in the studio.
• o Design & run Co-Founder Cohorts.
• o Manage studio-led venture ideas and pilots until a Co-Founder has been recruited and onboarded (e.g. a 12 month seed technology pilot).
• o For venture ideas that are Co-Founder led or Co-Created with Co-Founders, the Portfolio Director will be a partner to Co-Founders in the ideation and pilot phases.
• o Conduct Co-Founder onboarding.
• o Help make decisions about which venture ideas to invest in and which ones to kill.
• o Help prepare IC materials and make recommendations to IC for the studio or in partnership with Co-Founders.

 

• – Venture Building Support

Support venture co-founders as they go through the venture creation process:

• o When a Venture enters the Build Phase, it will always have a Co-Founder or Co-Founders leading the venture, but a Portfolio Director will continue to support the venture in multiple ways as it goes through the studio.
• o Become an expert in the Factor[e] Venture Studio Human Centered Design and venture building practices and tools and train Co-Founders and their teams on them.
• o Be a primary support person to new company founders by supporting them on their venture creation journey, taking them through the Venture Studio process, and enabling them to succeed by matching them with resources within the Factor[e] ecosystem.
• o Ensure Co-Founders are maintaining high velocity and learnings throughout the process, as this is key to company and studio success.
• o Support founders in the creation of venture updates, project plans and IC materials. Drive rigorous, high velocity project decisions with appropriate team members/stakeholders as needed. Conduct analysis of different strategic decisions or pathways and present to founders with recommendations
• o Support venture founders in data analysis, business analysis, and in the creation of presentations.
• o Fill in to missing roles on venture build teams by providing dynamic and nimble support in sales, marketing, strategy, or other departments.

 

• – Help Design & Continuously Improve Studio Venture Building Process

Provide ongoing strategic support to founders and their teams:

• o Consolidate learnings from the venture design process and incorporate learnings into the core venture studio materials.
• o Create new venture building best practices and tools.
• o Conduct webinars and training to Co-Founders and companies in and out of the venture studio.
• o Conduct analysis on the venture building process in order to identify opportunities to improve.

 

Required Qualifications

• ● Demonstrated passion for our mission to build high impact, commercially scalable ventures in Energy, Agriculture and Mobility in Sub-Saharan Africa to address some of Africa’s greatest income inequality and climate issues.
• ● 5+ years of experience building a fast-growing venture and/or product design and management experience in Africa.
• ● Experience working in an entrepreneurial environment in Africa. Experience with venture studios is a plus.
• ● Leadership experience in a professional, educational or community setting (experience managing another employee, starting a new company or organization, leading a volunteer project, captain of sports team, etc)
• ● Strong professional verbal, written, visual communication and presentation skills
• ● Experience analyzing qualitative and quantitative data to inform strategy and decision making
• ● Demonstrated ability to contribute to a strong team culture and build and maintain strong working relationships with a variety of stakeholders
• ● Must be comfortable self-managing multiple priorities and partners concurrently, thrive in the face of change and uncertainty, and be motivated to drive projects forward
• ● Positive, encouraging, collaborative attitude
• ● Bachelor’s degree or equivalent

 

 

Preferred Qualifications 

• ● Experience in the energy, agriculture or mobility sectors

 

 

To Apply:

Please submit your resume to talent@factore.com with the subject line “Last Name – Portfolio Director”. Please include a brief cover letter explaining your interest in the position and in joining the Factor[e] team.

 

We are building a diverse and inclusive leadership team. Candidates from African countries and women are particularly encouraged to apply for this role. But Factor(e) Ventures does not discriminate on the basis of race, age, color, religion, national origin or ancestry, sex, gender, disability, veteran status, genetic information, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression.

Factor(e) Ventures is committed to providing a safe and productive learning and living community. To achieve that goal, we may conduct background investigations for all final candidates being considered for employment. Background checks may include, but are not limited to, criminal history, national sex offender search and motor vehicle history.