Senior Associate

Senior Associate – Sustainable Finance
Location: Kenya, Nairobi preferred
Contract: 12-month FTC, very likely to extend / convert to permanent
Team / Platform: Sustainable Finance
Reporting to: Sustainable Finance leadership

SYSTEMIQ is looking for a Senior Associate to join our growing Sustainable Finance practice in Kenya, focused on public and development finance. You will work with governments and public finance institutions to strengthen financing strategies and mobilise capital for climate, nature and development priorities.

This is a strategy advisory role, working in small, collaborative teams on complex advisory engagements and multi-stakeholder initiatives spanning governments, IFIs/DFIs, bilateral donors and the private sector. As a Senior Associate, you will play a key role in shaping and leading workstreams, developing client-ready analysis and materials, managing stakeholder relationships, and contributing to the growth of SYSTEMIQ’s sustainable finance work in Kenya and the wider region.

This role blends macro-level strategic thinking with strong research and analytical skills, excellent stakeholder engagement and communication, and the ability to deliver high-quality outputs in fast-moving, stakeholder-heavy contexts. Strategy consulting experience is welcome but not essential.

• Lead and support workstreams delivering high-quality advisory support on public and development finance for climate and nature outcomes.
• Develop structured analysis and synthesise complex information into client-ready outputs, including strategy decks, technical notes, briefing packs and recommendations.
• Drive work on sovereign financing strategies, including consideration of macroeconomic context, sovereign risk, debt sustainability and credit dynamics.
• Help design, shape and assess financing approaches and instruments, including concessional and blended finance, sustainability-linked bonds/loans, debt-for-climate/nature swaps, and risk-sharing structures.
• Manage and support stakeholder engagement across ministries, debt management offices, central banks, IFIs/DFIs, donors and private sector partners, including workshops and convenings.
• Provide strategic insight and practical recommendations to support successful financing strategies and implementation pathways.
• Contribute to proposal development, thought leadership and knowledge building within the Sustainable Finance team.
• Support and mentor more junior team members, contributing to a collaborative, inclusive and high-performing team culture.

We are seeking candidates who can demonstrate a strong commitment to SYSTEMIQ’s mission and a passion for systems change.

• Master’s degree or equivalent experience in economics, finance, international development, public policy or a related field.
• Typically 4+ years of relevant experience, for example in:
  • strategy consulting, ideally with exposure to sustainable finance;
  • international financial institutions such as the IMF, World Bank or AfDB;
  • central banks, debt management offices, finance ministries or public finance institutions;
  • credit rating agencies;
  • sovereign research or strategy teams;
  • development finance or advisory roles with strong sovereign finance exposure.
• Strong familiarity with the sovereign financing landscape, including concessional finance, blended finance and/or climate and nature finance instruments such as sustainability-linked bonds/loans and debt-for-climate/nature swaps.
• Strong understanding of macroeconomic context, sovereign risk, debt sustainability and credit dynamics.
• Excellent problem-solving, analytical and research skills, with the ability to synthesise complex material into clear, structured and actionable outputs.
• Strong communication and influencing skills, including excellent written and verbal English.
• Demonstrated stakeholder engagement skills, ideally in government-facing or multi-stakeholder environments.
• Strong project discipline and ability to deliver high-quality work under tight deadlines.
• Entrepreneurial, proactive and adaptable mindset, with the ability to navigate ambiguity and drive work forward.
• Collaborative team player with strong mission alignment and willingness to support others.

• Formal study in economics, with a focus on macroeconomics, development economics, climate economics and/or nature economics.
• Exposure to public-sector policy or planning, for example within finance ministries, environment ministries, or IFIs/DFIs.
• Familiarity with Sub-Saharan African sovereign contexts and financing priorities.
• Experience supporting stakeholder consultations, convenings or government-facing processes.
• Additional languages, such as Swahili or French.

You are mission-driven and excited by the opportunity to help governments and financial institutions mobilise financing for climate and nature outcomes. You combine intellectual rigour with pragmatism and strong relationship skills. You are comfortable leading workstreams, structuring complex problems, engaging senior stakeholders and supporting junior colleagues.

You thrive in small teams, enjoy working across disciplines and stakeholder groups, and want your work to influence real-world decisions.

You will also align naturally with our values: Creativity, Challenge, Collaborate, Change and Care.

At SYSTEMIQ, we believe that diversity and inclusion are crucial to system change and our mission. We are committed to embedding diverse and inclusive practices in all aspects of our work, including recruitment, performance management, people processes and policies.

We aim to provide a supportive environment where everyone can be themselves and perform at their best, regardless of background, personality, gender, sexual orientation, race, mental health, religion or other characteristics.

Only applications from candidates legally eligible to work in Kenya will be considered.

Visa sponsorship and relocation costs will not be provided.

The remuneration and benefits package will reflect the successful candidate’s experience and expertise.