Senior Associate, Strategy and Build

Position: Senior Associate, Strategy and Build

Start Date: Immediate

Contract length: One Year (renewable)

Location: Nairobi, Kenya/Hybrid

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About GDI: The Global Development Incubator, Inc. (GDI Africa), is a non-profit organization independently incorporated in Kenya in April 2017 and legally registered under the Non-Governmental Organizations Coordination Act of Kenya. GDI Africa is governed by a locally constituted Board and directly employs over fifty staff across the country and Africa region. GDI is renowned for launching and operationalizing initiatives aimed at systemic and scaled change. GDI's mission is to bring together ideas, leaders and capital to build and scale the next generation of social solutions. Key areas of implementation include youth employment, economic inclusion for the extreme poor, gender and PWD inclusion, financing for smallholder farmers, mental health, green jobs and financing, MSME development and sustainable economic development. GDI Africa works deep in the community with partners and directly with participants in all initiatives, building capacity and ensuring the voices and stories of communities, especially women, are incorporated in all of GDI's work. More on GDI's approach and work can be found on the following website:

If you enjoy the innovation and flexibility of startups and want to work on problems of great societal significance, then you may be the right fit for our team. We have a pipeline of opportunities to achieve large-scale impact, and we have the resources to get them going. Now we need you: an entrepreneur who wants to help address some of the largest social issues facing our world.

About the Role: The Senior Associate role is a unique opportunity to be on the founding team of startups and partnerships focused on social impact. You will work closely with social leaders, innovators, and entrepreneurs who are addressing some of the world's biggest problems. This position will play a critical role in supporting GDI's selection and development of new initiatives with the greatest potential to address persistent global challenges. Reporting to a Strategy & Build Director/ Senior Manager, the Senior Associate will work across the Strategy & Build team to research, scope, shape, and prioritize the ideas and partners GDI takes on, as well as further develop initial blueprints into full-blown ventures. The Senior Associate will have the opportunity to landscape, analyze, and develop hypotheses around a wide range of sectors—from value-based health care to marginalized populations and beyond. Additionally, the Senior Associate will work across the Strategy & Build team to help design, build, and launch GDI's initiatives to set them up for long-term success. The Senior Associate role combines both strategy and implementation.

As the engine of GDI's initiatives across focus areas, you will conduct research and analysis to support strategy development; participate in senior-level meetings with experts and partners; manage workplans, workflows, and budgets; and make sure all efforts are implemented for results. Although you will work closely with Strategy & Build Directors as supervisors, you are expected to exercise a high degree of autonomy and initiative and take on significant responsibility.

Note: This role will involve significant external consultations with global stakeholders and will require a work schedule that can periodically accommodate calls slightly earlier or later than usual work hours.

Responsibilities:

Strategy Development

• Support Strategy & Build Managing Directors to execute successful "Discover" phase work, in which GDI sources, evaluates, and shapes potential opportunities and concepts for incubation.
• Lead research, quantitative and qualitative analysis, stakeholder mapping, and market landscaping.
• Lead interviews with senior professionals, experts, and other stakeholders.
• Ultimately, make recommendations for the fit of an initiative to GDI's objectives and services, and support and inform early "blueprint" development for new initiatives.
• Support Strategy & Build Managing Directors and our partners to develop strategies for systems-change.
• Develop materials that convey the strategy to align stakeholders and mobilize resources for implementation.

Research + Communication

• Conduct complex market and policy analyses.
• Track risks, issues, stakeholders, and potential funders.
• Support the development and delivery of structured communications, especially reports and presentations.

Project Management + Implementation

• Support the translation of strategy blueprint into actionable plans, for example, by developing, managing, and directly contributing to work plans and budget management.
• Support founding teams to deliver key components of "Design" and "Build" plans, ranging from early program design and piloting to developing organizational infrastructure.
• Coordinate consultants and/or service providers, including assisting supervisors in preparation, processing, and administration of consultant and technical services contracts/agreements.
• Track risks, issues, stakeholders, and potential funders.
• Coordinate support from other GDI teams.
• Travel as needed to support implementation, including internationally.

Donor Engagement

• Support the development of concept notes and other fundraising materials.
• Review and analyze financial expenditure reports against budgets and donor agreements.
• Collect, organize, and prepare program and financial information for donor progress and internal grant management reports, as well as routine queries.

Support to GDI 

• Brief leadership on a weekly basis as to progress, risks, and issues.
• Participate in bi-weekly and quarterly reviews with the GDI leadership team, initiative management team, and advisors.
• Contribute to the refinement of incubation methodologies based on your hands-on experiences.
• Support broader knowledge management and dissemination.

Desired Qualifications:

• Education & Experience
  • Undergraduate degree with 2–5 years of professional experience, ideally in management consulting, investment banking, private equity, corporate strategy, or similarly rigorous, analytical environments.
  • Proven experience creating high-quality slide presentations in PowerPoint or Google Slides, including structuring storylines and synthesizing complex information into executive-ready materials.
  • Advanced Excel and analytical skills, with the ability to build models, analyze datasets, and translate findings into clear insights.
• Analytical & Problem-Solving Skills
  • Demonstrated ability to break down large, complex problems into component parts, develop hypotheses, design and execute structured analyses, and generate clear, actionable recommendations.
  • Strong ability to synthesize both quantitative and qualitative information and distill key insights for senior leadership audiences.
• Communication & Stakeholder Engagement
  • Exceptional verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to tailor messages to different audiences, from senior executives to technical teams.
  • Strong interpersonal skills; effective listener; collaborative team contributor; able to influence without authority.
• Work Ethic & Professional Style
  • Ability to self-manage workstreams, operate with autonomy, and deliver high-quality output under tight timelines.
  • Resourceful, proactive, and detail-oriented, with consistently high standards for accuracy and polish.
  • A curious and creative thinker with flexibility, humility, and a sense of humor.

Qualities of GDI Employees

• A relentless drive to get things done.
• Curious and entrepreneurial mindset.
• Passion for driving social impact and tackling the world's biggest challenges in new ways.

If you are interested in this position and meet the qualifications above, please submit a single PDF document containing a one-page cover letter and CV/resume outlining your interest in this position and why you would be a good fit. Please note that the cover letter is considered an important aspect of the application and will be evaluated against the qualifications above. Applications that do not include a cover letter will not be considered. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. Applications take place on a rolling basis until positions are filled and are to be submitted via