Associate

About SNV Proximate
What if you could combine the commercial rigour of consulting, investment, or corporate strategy with the opportunity to create meaningful development impact at scale? SNV’s newly established impact capital accelerator aims to do exactly that: develop commercially viable solutions that generate both business value and development impact. Combining expertise in impact-driven finance and inclusive commercial value chains, SNV Proximate will operate with the pace, ambition, and commercial mindset of a boutique advisory firm while leveraging the reach, credibility, and market presence of a global development organisation.

Working with companies, investors, development finance institutions, foundations, and governments, this is your chance to join the team that will design, test, and grow new approaches to mobilising investment, strengthening markets, and building more inclusive and resilient value chains across emerging economies. It is a place for people who are excited by building something new, comfortable operating across both commercial and development environments, and motivated by turning ambitious ideas into scalable results.

Position overview
SNV is building a commercial markets accelerator, which runs client engagements across two streams — impact-driven finance (IDF) and inclusive commercial value chains (ICVC). Associates are the delivery backbone of both. This role sits at the intersection of substantive client work and internal knowledge building — you will contribute to billable engagements, work directly with clients in the field and in meetings, and help build the evidence base that sharpens the offer over time.

This is an early-career role designed for someone with 3–5 years of experience who has done solid analytical work and is ready to take on more client-facing responsibility. You will work across both IDF and ICVC engagements, mentored by stream leads, with the expectation that you develop a meaningful specialism in one stream over time.

The Accelerator is small and the work is varied. In any given month you might be building a financial model for an impact fund client, conducting field interviews with smallholder farmers, drafting a chapter of a market systems report, or packaging an internal case study for BD use. You will not be siloed.

Who you are
You are a motivated, curious, and analytical professional who enjoys tackling complex challenges and turning insights into action. You combine strong analytical skills with sound judgement, including knowing when to use AI and when a more human-centred approach is needed.

You thrive in fast-paced environments and enjoy working across different workstreams rather than specialising in a single sector or vertical. Adaptable and commercially minded, you are excited by opportunities to create both business value and development impact.

As an Associate, you contribute to both winning and delivering client mandates through high-quality analysis, research, stakeholder engagement, and problem-solving. You structure complex problems effectively, identify the key insights and implications, and translate mandates into practical recommendations and deliverables. Your work is accurate, well-reasoned, and thoroughly checked, requiring minimal rework and giving managers confidence in your output.

You act on feedback quickly, keep stakeholders informed, meet deadlines, and proactively flag risks or challenges. Over time, you take on increasingly complex assignments, require less guidance, and build a reputation as a trusted colleague whose expertise and collaboration make clients and peers eager to work with you again.

Key Responsibilities 

Client engagement delivery

• Contribute substantively to client engagements as a core delivery resource — research, analysis, data collection, and drafting, to a standard that requires minimal rework by the delivery lead.
• Conduct primary research: stakeholder interviews, field visits, surveys, and focus groups. Travel to project geographies is a standard part of this role.
• Synthesise secondary research: literature reviews, market assessments, policy analysis, and competitor landscape reviews.
• Build and maintain financial models, data trackers, and analytical frameworks to the level required by the engagement.
• Draft sections of client reports, slide decks, and working papers — presenting findings clearly and at a level of quality appropriate for external audiences.
• Participate in client meetings and workshops where appropriate — presenting analysis, facilitating sessions, and taking structured notes.

Stream-specific work

• Associates are generalists across both streams, with the expectation of developing a specialism in one. The lists below illustrates what the work looks like in each stream.
• IDF stream tasks
  • Landscape analysis of impact investment opportunities in a specific sector or geography.
  • Financial modelling for blended finance structures — grant/concessional capital ratios, return scenarios, investor waterfall analysis.
  • Due diligence research on investees or TA recipients — financial performance, impact track record, operational capacity.
  • Impact indicator development and data collection for investor reporting (IRIS+, IMP frameworks).
  • Market sizing and pipeline development analysis for fund managers or DFIs.
  • Synthesis of portfolio-level impact data across multiple investees into consolidated investor reports.
• ICVC stream tasks
  • Value chain mapping and diagnostic analysis — identifying bottlenecks, margin distribution, and inclusion gaps.
  • Smallholder farmer interviews and household-level data collection and analysis.
  • Market systems analysis — mapping actors, incentives, and constraints across a commodity or sector.
  • Business case development for inclusive sourcing or supply chain investment, including financial modelling.
  • Competitive landscape reviews for agribusiness clients entering new markets or commodities.
  • Supplier development programme design — segmentation, needs assessment, and service delivery modelling.
  • Policy and regulatory environment analysis for government advisory engagements.

Internal knowledge and BD support

• Contribute to the internal knowledge base — producing case studies, evidence summaries, and sector briefs from completed engagements. This feeds directly into the sales collateral and proposal infrastructure. Work produced here has a commercial use, not just an archival one.
• Support the Senior Manager for Impact and Intelligence with cross-portfolio data collection and analysis.
• Contribute to BD collateral where relevant: sector evidence packs, market data, and proof points for pitch materials.
• Support proposal development with research, data, and analysis sections — not writing the proposal, but providing the evidence infrastructure. Proposal support is a regular part of this role, not an occasional one. The unit cannot win work without strong analytical inputs to bids.

What you bring

To be considered for this role, you bring:

• 3–5 years of experience in research, analytical, or advisory role — in consulting, development finance, agribusiness, international development, or a related field.
• Demonstrated experience producing high-quality analytical outputs that were used in client-facing or decision-making contexts.
• Experience conducting primary research — interviews, surveys, or field data collection — in emerging market or development contexts.
• Some exposure to either IDF or ICVC subject matter: impact investing, blended finance, value chain development, agribusiness, or market systems.
• Experience working across multiple projects or workstreams simultaneously.

Additionally, we value:

• Strong analytical skills — quantitative and qualitative. Comfortable building financial models and analysing large datasets as well as synthesising interview findings and qualitative evidence.
• Clear, concise written English to publication standard. You can write a crisp executive summary, a well-structured analytical section, and a compelling slide — and they do not all sound the same.
• Proficiency with Excel and PowerPoint at a working level. Experience with data analysis tools (R, Python, Stata, or equivalent) an advantage.
• Intellectual curiosity about the sectors we work in. You read beyond the brief.
• English required. French or Portuguese a strong advantage.

• Reporting line: Director
• Location: Flexible. We welcome applications from candidates based anywhere within the time zones spanning Ghana to Singapore. As this role involves international collaboration and travel, candidates should be located within reasonable reach of a well-connected international airport.
• Travel requirements: International travel will be required.
• Expected start date: November/December 2026

What we offer
We offer a unique opportunity to help build and shape a new venture from the ground up, working alongside a diverse and experienced global team. You will have significant autonomy, exposure to senior leaders and clients, and the opportunity to influence how the Accelerator grows and operates.
We offer a competitive salary and benefits package, with compensation determined based on relevant experience, skills, and internal equity.

Contract arrangements
As a globally flexible role, employment arrangements will be aligned with the successful candidate's location and applicable local regulations. Further details will be discussed with shortlisted candidates during the recruitment process.

Working at SNV 
At SNV we challenge and inspire and offer continuous growth. We offer meaningful opportunities to shape the future, expand your skills, and collaborate with a vibrant, global network of experts. At SNV your contribution matter, and your development is our priority.

We are home to 57 cultures working in 22 countries, with about 95% of our team members holding the nationality of the respective countries we work in. We promote international career development. Our workforce consists of a mix of both people with longstanding tenure, willing to share their institutional knowledge, as well as people with local expertise and knowledge. All with an inquisitive view and united in ‘ONE SNV’ working towards our purpose.

Together, we are committed to the effective and efficient stewardship of resources and maximising positive, lasting impacts. Our ability to deliver results rests on our robust foundation of experience, technical knowledge, evidence and learning; our commitment to strengthening capacities and catalysing partnerships; and the relationships and trust of those we work alongside.

SNV is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to fostering an inclusive and diverse work environment and make recruitment decisions based on merit, competence, and organisational needs. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, ethnicity, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, disability, nationality, marital status, or any other status protected by applicable law. Women, persons with disabilities, and candidates from under-represented backgrounds are strongly encouraged to apply.

How to apply 
If you meet the key requirements and feel inspired by this opportunity, we warmly welcome your application. Please submit your CV and motivation letter by 29th of October via SmartRecruiters.

To ensure a focused and respectful recruitment process, we kindly ask that you apply only if you meet the essential qualifications and are available to work in the specified location.
Please note that only candidates progressing to the next stage of the selection process will be contacted. Individual feedback cannot be provided.

If this role isn’t the right fit but you’re interested in joining SNV in the future, we invite you to follow us on LinkedIn and our career page Vacancies | SNV to stay updated on new opportunities that match your profile.

Reference and vetting check
At SNV, our belief in the CARE principles — Commitment to impact, Adaptive to Context, Respecting Difference and Expertise in Practice — shapes how we work with each other and every interaction we have with our colleagues, partners, and the communities we serve. These values guide how we welcome new team members, ensuring our workplace remains a place of trust, safety, and dignity for all.

As part of our commitment to a safe, inclusive, and respectful workplace, we carry out reference and background checks for all determined positions, with particular attention to safeguarding. You will be invited to provide the contact details of [two] referees, and we will only approach them once you have given your permission. We handle this process with care, empathy, and strict confidentiality, using the information solely for purposes related to your application and the role you have applied for.

SNV is committed to safeguarding and to protecting children and adults from all forms of harm, with zero tolerance for sexual exploitation, abuse, harassment, or any other form of misconduct. As part of creating a safe, respectful, and inclusive working environment, all staff, consultants, and partners are expected to uphold SNV’s safeguarding, child protection, ethical standards, and CARE principles. In line with these commitments — and as a participant in the Inter‑Agency Misconduct Disclosure Scheme (MDS) — SNV will request a Statement of Conduct from your previous employer(s), covering any substantiated findings of misconduct, to ensure a recruitment process that safeguards and protect the communities we serve.