Duration: 12 months (with possibility of extension)
Type of contract: Full time
Location: London, UK (hybrid working considered); ability to travel required
Fii & the Climate Finance Team
Financial Innovation for Impact (Fii) is an international, not‑for‑profit dedicated to the advancement of scalable, sustainable, and evidence‑based financial and regulatory innovation. The Climate Finance team is a high‑performing, growing function at the forefront of mobilising investment into climate‑positive opportunities across emerging and frontier markets. Driving system‑level change what makes this team distinctive, with a mandate that spans business acceleration, capital mobilisation, and enabling environment work across climate‑vulnerable markets. The CIN's goal is not to build individual projects but to address the structural barriers that prevent capital from flowing at scale. The team works with investors, financial institutions, governments, DFIs, development partners, and local ecosystem actors, designing solutions that are commercially grounded, contextually appropriate, and built for enduring impact. The team is deliberately lean, combining a high‑ownership core with shared organisational capabilities (finance, ops, marketing and comms on a matrix basis) and a rich external network of advisors and partners.
The Commonwealth Investment Network (CIN) is the team's flagship programme, having proven the model across the Caribbean and Pacific it is entering its most ambitious phase. A central delivery mechanism for the Commonwealth Plan of Action on Investment and the Commonwealth Secretariat Strategic Plan 2025-2030, it is a member‑led initiative with strategic direction informed by all 56 member states. It is governed by a Steering Committee including the Commonwealth Secretariat, UK FCDO, DFAT Australia, Fiji, St Kitts & Nevis, CBWN, CWEIC, and HM King Charles III's SMI; and an Expert Advisory Board of senior investors, DFIs, and climate finance specialists.
The CIN operates across three mutually reinforcing pillars:
* Bankability: building investment‑ready pipeline and building IPA and local partner capacity
* Enabling Environment: co‑designing the institutional conditions (frameworks, taxonomies, sandboxes, governance) that allow private capital to flow, supported by a Knowledge Exchange (CIN KE) driving shared learning across the Commonwealth
* Strategic Initiatives: investor‑facing interventions designed to resolve structural barriers to capital flows at scale, addressing root causes of the climate finance gap rather than its symptoms
In a period of geopolitical instability and shifting trade relationships, the Commonwealth ability to connect diverse countries, ensuring that member states have equal voices on a global stage, provides and essential and durable foundation for investment and partnership.
The Role
The Market Programme Manager owns the upstream components of the CIN's theory of change: building the enabling environment conditions and investment‑readiness programmes that make capital mobilisation possible. This is a position with ownership, an externally facing brief, and scope to contribute to strategy and co‑design solutions with stakeholders. It is a role which demands range, with significant intellectual and delivery dimensions. The successful candidate will combine market and stakeholder insight with the operational discipline to make things happen, working in close partnership with the Head of Climate Finance, colleagues and partners. As the portfolio grows, the Programme Manager has the potential to take on management responsibilities, ensuring that programme standards and learning travel with the platform. Candidates who are energised by complexity, motivated by our mission, and ready to operate with a high degree of autonomy in an entrepreneurial environment will find it exceptionally rewarding.
Enabling Environment & Stakeholder Management
* Work with governments, IPAs, local institutions, and partners to understand and co‑design interventions around the policy and regulatory levers that can drive transition, adaptation, resilience and real economy impact in their markets; bring a private sector and investor lens, working with partners including to build on existing work
* Build and manage productive relationships with stakeholders across governments, development partners, regional bodies, and ecosystem organisations; take ownership of IPA engagement, including designing capacity building, structuring regional collaboration and facilitating training
* Own the workstream’s delivery workplan and operational preparation for CHOGM
Bankability & Knowledge Exchange
* Develop and manage delivery of investment readiness support SMEs and projects; design and implement a scalable project preparation offer leveraging AI tools, online resources, expert content, structured learning pathways; identify, onboard, and lead the Expert Advisory Group; on the ground relationships building local capabilities to enable decentralised delivery
* Lead market research and stakeholder engagement to shape Knowledge Exchange content and community strategy, work with the Learning Technologist to build genuine peer‑to‑peer value across the network, and ensure operational excellence; embed the CIN KE as the SteerCo and Advisory Group/Board’s key collaboration space
System‑Level Change
* Bring market intelligence, stakeholder perspectives, and on‑the‑ground knowledge of what works for the private sector in SIDS to the design and prioritisation of locally grounded system‑level interventions; Contribute to market‑facing aspects of system‑level initiatives as they move into implementation; coordinate with local partners and institutions to test, iterate, and scale approaches that work
* Ensure that enabling environment and bankability activities are consistently designed and evaluated in terms of their contribution to market‑level change, addressing the structural barriers preventing capital from flowing at scale, not just individual outcomes
* Represent the team at events, meetings, and workshops, building the credibility that positions the CIN as a trusted convener and technical expert; ensure that reports, SteerCo papers, and external‑facing outputs consistently meet funder requirements and are high quality
* Ensure the Steering Committee can operate as an effective governance and strategic asset for the CIN; coordinate, attend and document discussions, ensuring that insights are captured and translated into clear action points, which are then followed up between meetings; where appropriate present updates on workstreams
* Contribute to the team’s culture, standards, and ways of working; as the CIN expands into new markets, provide support and knowledge transfer to in‑country teams; potential to take on oversight and management responsibilities based on team needs and individual performance
* Collaborate effectively with colleagues and contributing partners; work with colleagues across technical assistance, policy, and applied research directorates as directed by the Head; maintain detailed workplans, risk registers, and KPI frameworks across workstreams
Requirements
* 6+ years of experience in programme delivery, market development, partnerships, sustainability, finance, business acceleration, policy or a related role, working in more than one market or geography; experience working across both the public and private sector is strongly preferred
* Experience of multi‑stakeholder programme management in an international context; natural ability to take initiative, and follow through, keeping to time, budget, and quality without requiring close supervision; able to escalte effectively and manage deliverables independently
* Climate, sustainability or resilience expertise including an understanding of business models and sectors and how these opportunities are assessed by investors; appreciation of how climate risk and sustainability considerations shape decision making and market development affect investment flows at a business, policy, regulatory, framework or capital holder level
* Demonstrated track record of building and managing substantive, productive relationships with businesses, investors, governments, and/or ecosystem organisations; comfortable building long‑term trust with diverse counterparts
* Outstanding written and verbal communication skills and cultural sensitivity, able to translate complex ideas for diverse audiences and represent the organisation in high‑stakes external settings; ability to operate in high‑context settings and produce written content which is sensitive to cultural, historical, or political environment and nuances
* Strategic and analytical capabilities to contribute to complex problem‑solving, concept development, and strategy; comfortable producing high‑quality concept notes, analytical inputs, and programme documentation for senior audiences
* Appetite for a fast‑paced and entrepreneurial environment with a portfolio that is actively growing and developing
* Degree or equivalent experience in a relevant field
If you feel that you meet some but not all of the stated requirements but have the right expertise and motivation for the role, we encourage you to apply. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis and we may close this vacancy early. We encourage interested candidates to apply as early as possible. Closing date 19 June.
What We Offer
* Competitive compensation
* Life insurance coverage
* Pension scheme with a 10% employer contribution.
* We are an equal opportunities employer and are committed to ensuring our recruitment process is inclusive and accessible. If you require adjustments to support your application or participation in the selection process, please let us know
#J-18808-Ljbffr