Senior Associate, Private Finance, Health Systems Strengthening

Job Title

Senior Associate

Company/Organisation

The Clinton Health Access Initiative, Inc. (CHAI)

Location

Nairobi, Kenya; Kigali, Rwanda; or Lagos, Nigeria. Other CHAI program countries in sub-Saharan Africa may be considered, subject to leadership approval and work authorisation.

Job Description and Responsibilities

The Senior Associate will play a core role across investment sourcing, execution, diligence, and deal structuring to support high impact private health companies across sub-Saharan Africa to expand their reach, while working closely with commercial investors and development finance institutions to design and stand up financing mechanisms that can be replicated across markets and subsectors.

Key Duties

• Develop an in-depth understanding of high-potential health companies and key financing constraints in the private health market in sub-Saharan Africa
• Design, pilot and scale blended finance and risk-sharing mechanisms that unlock investment in health systems
• Provide targeted transaction support to high impact companies
• Support communication and strategic projects related to CHAI’s Private Finance work

Responsibilities

• (i) Develop an in-depth understanding of high-potential health companies and key financing constraints in the private health market in sub-Saharan Africa
  • Build and manage a sourcing and screening pipeline, including clear investment-readiness criteria and triage processes to prioritise the highest potential businesses across focus markets.
  • Engage with businesses across priority health areas (e.g., primary care, diagnostics, oncology, oxygen, pharmacy, and supply chains) to understand market dynamics, identify disruptive business models and technologies, and identify recurring constraints in access to capital and scaling.
  • Build relationships with financiers across the capital spectrum (e.g., microfinance institutions, local commercial banks, impact investors and development finance institutions), to understand barriers in underwriting healthcare investments and constraints in deploying capital.
• (ii) Design, pilot and scale blended finance and risk-sharing mechanisms that unlock investment in health systems
  • Work with commercial and concessional financiers, donors, and governments to design replicable financing structures tailored to overcome key constraints in access to capital for healthcare, and coordinate de-risking arrangements required to support these structures.
  • Pilot mechanisms to validate design assumptions and enable initial capital deployment.
  • Support development of light-touch M&E frameworks to track financial performance and health impact at the mechanism level.
  • Translate financing designs into implementable structures, including standardised term sheets, eligibility criteria, governance arrangements, and monitoring frameworks.
• (iii) Provide targeted transaction support to high impact companies
  • Work directly with founders and management teams to build/refine financial models, unit economics, and fundraising materials (e.g., data room, investor memo, capital plan), and run targeted investor/bank outreach through to term sheet/credit approval.
• (iv) Support communication and strategic projects related to CHAI’s Private Finance work
  • Develop clear, structured presentations and materials to inform decision-making by governments, donors, investors, and CHAI leadership.
  • Support strategic projects related to CHAI’s Private Finance work, including scoping new financing opportunities, developing concept notes, and advising CHAI teams on opportunities to mobilize private capital for health impact.

Requirements/Qualifications

• Bachelor’s or advanced degree in Business, Economics, Finance, or a related field; CFA or equivalent a plus.
• 4-7 years of full-time experience in venture capital, growth equity, investment banking, private equity, corporate finance, transaction advisory, or structured finance, with demonstrated experience in deal execution, capital raising, or investment readiness advisory. Prior experience working directly with SMEs or growth-stage businesses in emerging markets strongly preferred.
• Prior work experience in sub-Saharan Africa strongly preferred, or demonstrated experience working in emerging markets and with growth-stage businesses in resource-constrained settings.
• Demonstrated ownership of complex Excel-based modeling work with expertise in financial modelling and financial statement analysis.
• Hands-on experience in corporate/project finance structuring, including exposure to debt, equity, or blended finance transactions.
• Comfortable working with imperfect information and “messy” SME financials, and able to impose structure quickly.
• Demonstrated track record of supporting companies or projects through capital raising, investment readiness, or transaction execution, with ability to show tangible outcomes (capital deployed, deals closed, or material improvement in investment readiness).
• Strong written and verbal communication skills in English; experience developing Microsoft Powerpoint presentations for senior executives.

Attributes

• able to independently build and maintain complex, flexible, auditable models in Microsoft Excel to inform decision making.*Strong analytical and financial modeling skills:*
• self-starter who thrives in fast-paced, unstructured environments and consistently delivers high-quality outputs.*Entrepreneurial mindset:*
• skilled at working through complexity and uncertain operational challenges with resilience and adaptability.*Detail-oriented and structured thinker:*
• : able to build relationships and interact with confidence, humility and respect with diverse partners, including government officials, private sector representatives, and NGOs.*Strong interpersonal skills and collaborative approach*
• comfortable engaging confidently with founders, commercial banks, Development Finance Institutions, and investors, and able to translate between health impact goals and commercial financing requirements.*Commercial and investor-facing maturity:*

What Success Looks Like

Within the first 6–12 months:

• Strong network of health businesses and financiers developed across priority markets and service delivery areas.
• Robust understanding of key systemic constraints in healthcare investment in SSA.
• 2-3 high impact financing mechanisms designed with stakeholders aligned and plan for execution.
• Capital raising support provided to 3-5 high impact health businesses.

How to Apply

Not specified.