Description:
We are exclusively retained to appoint a founding Investment Director / Managing Director for a newly established, FOAK independent private equity platform dedicated to scaling market-rate, UN SDG-aligned investments across emerging markets.
Headquartered in a premier Middle Eastern financial center, this platform is raising a first vehicle of USD 200m to back growth-stage, revenue-generating businesses at the intersection of commercial excellence and measurable impact.
Capital will be deployed across private equity and infrastructure via USD 5-20m tickets, utilizing tailored structuring mechanisms like blended finance.
The investment thesis is anchored in two core pillars: Planet (waste, water, energy, food systems) and People (healthcare and education), linked by themes of circularity, decarbonization, accessibility, and quality.
The Role:
Acting as a true strategic partner to the CEO and Managing Partner, this senior hire will shape the firm’s investment approach, portfolio construction, governance, and long-term track record.
- Origination & Deal Sourcing: Build proprietary deal flow across prioritized geographies, leveraging networks to access off-market opportunities and screening them against impact frameworks and risk-return parameters.
- Execution & Structuring: Lead end-to-end evaluation, direct multi-disciplinary due diligence (commercial, financial, legal, ESG, impact), build complex valuation models, and structure transactions using blended finance instruments.
- Portfolio Management & Value Creation: Lead post-investment stewardship, hold Board seats, monitor KPIs, and design value creation strategies with management teams.
- Exits & Realizations: Design and refine exit pathways in alignment with target gross IRR and MOIC, leading sell-side processes and negotiating documentation.
- Impact Governance: Embed UN SDG Impact Standards and IRIS+ metrics into every deal, partnering with the Impact Director to ensure third-party-verified reporting.
- Fund Representation: Support LP engagement, build relationships with DFIs, family offices, and sovereign allocators, and represent the fund at industry forums.
Your Core Competencies & Expertise:
To ensure alignment with the platform's rigorous standards, the ideal candidate brings:
- 10+ years of private equity experience and strong investment track record (growth equity preferred), managing the full investment lifecycle from origination to exit.
- Deep expertise in impact investing, UN SDG-aligned strategies, and emerging markets private equity.
- Expert-level capabilities in financial modeling, valuation, investment underwriting, and transaction structuring.
- Direct experience exercising governance rights, Board-level representation, and driving portfolio value creation.
- Domain expertise in at least one key sector: climate tech, waste management, water infrastructure, energy, food systems, healthcare, or education platforms.
- Institutional maturity to engage with senior DFIs, regulators, and CEOs, backed by a top-tier academic background (MSc, MBA, or CFA preferred).
- Familiarity with AI-enabled tools across the investment lifecycle.