Investment Associate

Overview

The Pharo Foundation is a mission-driven organisation working to build a vibrant, productive, and self-reliant Africa. Founded and fully funded by Pharo Management, an emerging markets hedge fund, the Foundation applies private sector rigour and operational discipline to maximise impact.

We invest in economic development programmes and ventures to deliver sustainable impact, meaning outcomes that continue long after the initial investment, rather than gains that require constant external funding to maintain. Thus, our model links two engines together: ventures create jobs and economic activity, while their profits help fund the development programmes that strengthen the conditions for future growth.

Over the next decade, the Foundation’s ambition is to deliver lasting impact across three interdependent missions:
• Empowering the next generation through affordable, high-quality education
• Solving water scarcity through sustainable infrastructure
• Driving economic productivity by unlocking jobs, investment, and innovation through both non-profit and for-profit ventures

The Foundation operates in Ethiopia, Somaliland, Kenya, and Rwanda, employing more than 800 people across three divisions: Pharo Schools, Pharo Development, and Pharo Ventures.

Opportunity

This is a high-impact analytical role at the centre of how Pharo Foundation makes decisions. Sitting within the Impact Team under the Chief Impact Officer, you will serve as the analytical engine behind our investment assessments, new venture evaluations, development programme proposals, and strategic partnerships.

We move fast and value insight over process. Your job is to determine whether an idea is worth pursuing, and to make the case clearly and compellingly when it is. You will work with a high degree of autonomy, owning your workstreams from initial framing through to final recommendation.

The ideal candidate brings a consulting or investment background, builds financial models from first principles, and can distill complex analysis into tight, well-structured outputs for senior leadership and trustees. You will present your work directly, defend your assumptions, and be expected to push back when the evidence warrants it.

You will have direct exposure to a senior leadership team thinking rigorously about capital allocation across some of the most complex and high-potential markets on the continent. The portfolio spans agribusiness, education, water infrastructure, and new ventures, meaning no two months look the same.

For the right person, this is an accelerant. You will build an analytical track record across investment, strategy, and impact, with real decisions depending on your work.

Key relationships

Role: Investment Associate

Location: Nairobi, Kenya

Reporting to: Chief Impact Officer (CIO)

Functional relationship: Impact Teams, Ventures Teams

Key Responsibilities
• Financial modelling and investment analysis

Build and maintain detailed financial models for new and existing ventures, covering unit economics, multi-year P&Ls, break-even analysis, working capital, and scenario planning. Translate modelling assumptions into clear commercial judgements. The core question you answer: does this business work, under what conditions, and what does Pharo need to believe?
• Market sizing and commercial due diligence

Conduct rapid, structured assessments of new business opportunities and development programmes. This includes market sizing (TAM/SAM/SOM), competitor and supply chain analysis, and identification of key value drivers and risks. Speed and judgement matter as much as precision.
• Investment memos and decision decks

Produce crisp, executive-ready presentations and investment memos that communicate findings clearly to the CEO, trustees, and other stakeholders. You write tight, cut ruthlessly, and know what belongs on each slide.
• Programme and partnership evaluation

Support assessment of new development programme proposals and strategic partnerships, helping the Foundation allocate capital and management attention for maximum impact. You are as comfortable evaluating a social programme as a commercial venture.
• Cross-functional collaboration

Work closely with Country Directors, ventures managers, and the broader Impact Team to ensure analysis is grounded in operational reality. You are a trusted analytical partner across the organisation and you are able to travel to the field when it matters.

Ideal Profile
• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Finance, Economics, or a quantitative discipline. Strong academic record.
• 3–4 years in management consulting, investment analysis, private equity, or a comparably rigorous analytical environment. Candidates from Africa-focused advisory or consulting firms are particularly well-suited. Experience working in sub-Saharan Africa is a strong plus.
• Genuinely comfortable spending extended time in Addis Ababa, Hargeisa, Kigali, and other field locations across our country portfolio. This is not occasional travel. Being present where the work happens is part of the role.
• A team player who takes the work seriously but not themselves. You share credit, ask for help when you need it, and have no interest in politics. People enjoy working with you.
• Exceptional Excel skills. You build models from first principles, not templates. You understand what drives a business and can model it cleanly, quickly, and transparently.
• You write and present with clarity and economy.
• You operate independently. You can receive a brief, define the analytical approach, and deliver a polished output without being managed line by line. You ask good questions upfront and surface blockers early.
• You work with urgency. You can turn around a solid first draft in 48 hours. You are comfortable with imperfect information and know how to make defensible assumptions.
• Curious, commercially sharp, and mission-aligned. You want to understand how things work and you care whether they create impact.

Application Process

Applicants are required to attach a detailed CV and a cover letter.

We will review applications on a rolling basis, and in the event that an exceptional candidate is identified early in the process, Pharo Foundation reserves the right to make an appointment before the advertised deadline. We therefore encourage interested applicants to apply as early as possible.

Please note that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted due to the high volume of applications received.

Pharo Foundation is an equal opportunity employer committed to promoting diversity, inclusion, and gender equality in all its practices. We encourage applications from qualified individuals regardless of race, gender, religion, or background.