What does an Associate do at Value for Women?

The Associate supports the delivery of multiple engagements across practice areas at VfW and owns the delivery of specific tasks or activities within projects, at the direction of the Project Lead or Engagement Manager with little oversight. They support gender lens advisory to business partners and demonstrate an ability to develop content with the audience in mind, approach project challenges with a problem-solving attitude, and anticipate client needs proactively.  They support project management, client relationship management, internal coordination, work planning and project systems and processes. They have content expertise in at least one VfW practice area or topic and are actively contributing to practice area development and projects across practice areas.  They support producing research, technical guides, reports or studies in these areas. They participate in activities outside of project management and delivery including supporting business development, internal initiatives, and special projects.

More about the Associate responsibilities

An Associate will support the work of the organisation and our partners to ultimately: 

• • Understand and tackle barriers women face in business and entrepreneurship 
  • Reach more women and women-led businesses with financial and non-financial products or services
  • Implement gender lens investment strategies, plans and approaches
  • Mainstream gender across business strategy, decision-making, operations and value chains 

More specifically, the Associate will implement across a select group of projects and/or special initiatives across at least one technical practice area. This includes supporting the coordination and preparation of in-person and virtual meetings and presentations (internal, external; kick-off and otherwise) as well as the production process of external-facing materials or activities, supporting project plans, system and process updates.  

The Associate will support Project Leads, and/or Engagement Managers in managing client relationships and supporting other project teams in at least one core  practice area

The Associate  helps Value for Women build technical expertise by delivering research studies and technical support for one core practice area

Key deliverables will be defined in project work plans, based on the roles described above and in tandem with Project Leads.

Specific responsibilities will also include: 

• • Leading the implementation of gender lens advisory with minimal oversight in one core practice area
  • Support the capturing of internal lessons learned in practice areas identified and participate in organisational learning, sharing and practice area growth
  • Provide well-written technical inputs for research reports or briefs 

What are the requirements for this role?

The ideal candidate requires full professional proficiency in Spanish with professional working proficiency in English. Is an expert problem solver who is quick to adapt to changing realities, is client-oriented, works efficiently against client and deliverable deadlines, and is focused on quality and timeliness. They are able to work in a fast-paced, dynamic team and consultancy environment, working independently as part of a remote international team. 

They are an innovative thinker and can work effectively with diverse stakeholders. They have a demonstrated ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously delivering high-quality client deliverables. Our team works best with people who interact positively, who are results-based, entrepreneurial and client-centred.

Additionally, we require the following background and experience:

• • 3 years of overall professional experience, with 1+ years experience ideally in gender lens advisory services
  • Relevant experience working in an emerging market context
  • 1+ years of experience leading consulting or advisory services
  • Demonstrated knowledge and practical expertise in promoting gender equality, women’s economic empowerment, women’s entrepreneurship and/or working within the entrepreneurship ecosystem, financial inclusion, agriculture, sustainable energy space in emerging markets
  • High competency in advisory consulting services skills such as critical thinking, problem-solving, project management, written and verbal communications such as supporting the development of client-facing reports and presentations
  • A Bachelor’s degree or equivalent in business, economics, gender and women’s studies or international relations or development
  • Full professional proficiency in Spanish and professional working proficiency in English is required
  • Candidates would preferably be based in Mexico or the LAC region

We also seek these attributes:

• • Experience working in the energy, agriculture and/or financial services sectors, specifically providing consulting services to businesses, investment funds, accelerators/incubators, and/or development finance institutions (DFIs) in these industries is an asset 
  • Research and writing experience is an asset
  • International experience- working in your own region, and across borders 
  • Client-centric orientation and understanding of how to manage diverse client relationships in a consulting setting 
  • Uphold the principles of trust, equality of opportunities, transparency and collaboration 
  • Positive attitude and optimism about the role of small and growing businesses in generating positive social impact
  • The ability to thrive in a matrix-based organisational structure; operating internationally as a distributed team across the globe
  • Demonstrated alignment with Value for Women’s mission, vision and ways of working
  • Learning, adapting, and demonstrating their excitement for contributing to the growth of a small and growing business with a social mission
  • Project and team management skills 

Application process- our internal steps

Step 1: Submit your Online Application by March 5th 2024 including your CV and Cover Letter. If you encounter any problems when filling out your online application, please contact us at valueforwomen@v4w.org

Step 2: Shortlist. Our recruiting team reaches out if your profile is a match, and you will be invited to   Interview #1, a video call interview with our HR Manager 

Step 3: Interview #3. Successful candidates are asked for a 45-minute video call interview. This is a chance for you to ask us questions too. 

Step 4: Interview#2. Written Interview. We invite you to participate in a written interview. You are asked to upload your responses or send them back to us within 3 days.  You can ask for more time if you have other commitments already scheduled.

Step 5: Final Interview! This is the really short- shortlist, and you are a finalist.