About Us
Agriculture is the key to unlocking a better future for billions of people. But while rural families sustain the world, they struggle to sustain themselves. At the same time, they face increasingly urgent challenges, from volatile crop prices to extreme weather.
Root Capital is an impact investor that provides financing and business training to agricultural enterprises in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Since 1999, we have loaned over $2B to more than 800 businesses that are too big for microloans but too small for commercial lenders, and have trained more than twice as many businesses. As these businesses succeed and scale, they become engines of impact for local communities, raising incomes, creating jobs, expanding opportunities for women and young people, preserving nature, and building rural prosperity.
Headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Root Capital has more than 180 employees operating in more than a dozen countries in Latin America, Africa, and Southeast Asia, and has associated offices in Costa Rica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Colombia, Peru, Ghana, and Kenya.
Position Overview
The Account Associate will play a pivotal role in fostering and maintaining impactful, win-win partnerships with Root Capital’s public sector funders, and related alliances and coalitions. This position requires a strategic and proactive approach to communication, relationship management, and data management. The Associate will play a key support role for the Director, Multi Stakeholder Partnerships, who leads Root Capital’s engagement with bilateral and multilateral funders (e.g. development finance institutions and foreign aid agencies/initiatives; NGO allies with whom Root Capital collaborates to cultivate public sector partnerships; and other catalytic capital providers. The Associate will ensure seamless communication internally and externally, and foster alignment throughout the partnership development process.
Key responsibilities include providing essential support for the Director, Multi Stakeholder Partnerships, supporting dynamic and consistent communication with funders and prospects, coordinating internal information flow, managing data entry and analysis in Salesforce, collaborating on partnership strategies and internal approval processes, and producing relevant materials to support effective partnership management. The Associate will also serve as an internal liaison with Partnership Operations, Finance, and other relevant departments and teams, taking meeting notes and tracking follow-up items as needed.
This role offers a dynamic opportunity for an individual seeking to develop and advance their career in international development, government relations, development finance innovation, and multi-stakeholder alliance-building.
Duties & Responsibilities
Purpose (30%)
- Research, monitor, and analyze trends in public resource mobilization, including diplomacy and foreign affairs, impact investing, and blended capital approaches to identify and capitalize on funding opportunities.
- Develop profiles of public funders, funding mechanisms, and related NGO/private partnership opportunities, via desk research and collation of insights from a variety of sources.
- Support the work of the Director, Multi Stakeholder Partnerships and Development Writing Team to develop communications, including concept notes, proposals, outreach emails, presentations, and reports, to support interactions with funders and partners.
Engagement (20%)
- Collaborate with the Director, Multi Stakeholder Partnerships to support execution of strategies for developing partnerships with public funders.
- Manage internal information flows between the Director, prospects/funders and Root Capital program staff, ensuring accurate tracking and data integrity.
- Develop and maintain excellent working relationships with colleagues in the Partnership team, and program and support staff globally to enhance communication, coordination, and efficiency.
- Provide strategic administrative support for the Director, Multi Stakeholder Partnerships, including initial fielding of inquiries as needed.
Delivery (50%)
- Maintain accurate stakeholder and partnership data and documentation in Salesforce and Box, including data entry and activity tracking across the portfolio.
- Schedule, internal and external meetings related to public funding.
- Prepare materials, agendas, background research, and briefings for external prospect and funder meetings, as well as internal strategy meetings. Follow-up on noted tasks and drive toward execution.
- Ensure delivery of high-quality funder acknowledgement and stewardship materials, and ensure accurate recognition of assigned funders in Root Capital materials.
- Coordinate internal drafting and approval processes necessary for proposals, reports, and budgets, ensuring timely delivery and quality control.
- Undertake special assignments and projects as directed.
- Perform other relevant duties as assigned.
Required Skills and Experience
- Minimum 3 years of account, project management experience or administrative support in a development/ fundraising office, nonprofit program context, or within a client-service focused for-profit company.
- Knowledge of multi-/cross-sector partnerships with an understanding of the unique challenges and opportunities presented by these collaborations.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills with meticulous attention to detail and a high standard of excellence for all work products. : Proven ability to manage projects independently, strategically prioritize conflicting demands, and consistently meet tight deadlines.
- Understanding of the role of written communications in building and maintaining complex individual and institutional relationships.
- Proficiency in using CRM databases (Salesforce preferred), including data entry, usage, reporting, and analysis functionality.
- Strong analytical skills, with the ability to work with quantitative and qualitative data, interpret findings, and construct compelling narratives.
- Self-starter and motivated; ability to problem-solve, identify, and create processes necessary to support effective partnerships.
- Flexibility and adaptability to respond quickly to changes in short-term work priorities.
- Ability to analyze and interpret financial data.
- Experience working and communicating in a remote environment.
- Experience in a fast-paced and high-volume development office/fundraising environment (preferred).
- Root Capital is a bilingual organization. Spanish proficiency (written and spoken) is a plus, although it is not a prerequisite for this role. Advanced English proficiency is required for this position.
- Deep belief in and dedication to the mission of Root Capital, with a passion for promoting inclusive and sustainable economic development and rural resilience in low- and middle-income countries.
- Enthusiasm for thriving in diverse, multicultural settings, with a strong preference for experience in global and multi-location work environments.
- Strong commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion, with the ability to build a respectful and inclusive work environment.
- Proactive approach to problem-solving with demonstrated decision-making capabilities.
- Strong attention to detail and the ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously and adapt to a dynamic environment.
- Skilled in effectively working and communicating within remote teams.
- Committed to practicing and supporting wellbeing and a work-home life balance.
- Authorized to work in a country listed under “Position Location.” Preference for availability during Eastern Standard Time (EST) hours.
- Travel flexibility is required for local and regional assignments. This role’s scope includes the potential for travel to client sites in rural areas.
Applications
More information about Root Capital is available at https://rootcapital.org/ Applications are accepted on a rolling basis. Candidates are encouraged to apply using the form below as soon as possible, making sure to include a resume and cover letter that describes your interest, qualifications, language abilities, salary requirements, and how you learned of the position. Finalist candidates will be required to provide at least three work-related references.
Root Capital provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, sex, national origin, ancestry, active military or veteran status, age, physical or mental disability, medical condition, pregnancy (which includes pregnancy, childbirth, medical conditions related to pregnancy and childbirth, and breastfeeding and expressing breast milk), sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by law. Root Capital is committed to creating a dynamic work environment that upholds our leadership principles of: empowerment, equity, integrity, service, and transparency.
