Venture Development Lead

Company Description

Amref Health Africa was founded in 1957 and has since grown to become the largest African-based international health development organisation; currently implementing more than 180 programs, reaching more than 40 million people across 35 African countries; and a staff complement of over 2,000. Headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya, Amref Health Africa has offices in ten countries in Africa – Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Guinea (Conakry), Kenya, Malawi, Senegal, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. An additional eleven advocacy and fundraising offices are located in Europe and North America.

Amref Health Africa is driven by its vision of ‘Lasting health change in Africa’ and its mission ‘To catalyze and drive community-led and people-centred health systems while addressing social determinants of health’. We believe that the power to transform Africa's health lies within its communities, and therefore strive to ensure that health systems are not only functional but that communities are empowered to hold these systems accountable for the delivery of quality and affordable health care.

Job Description

Job Purpose

The Venture Development lead is responsible for driving the ideation, development, and scaling of social enterprises within Amref Ethiopia, with the overarching goal of creating sustainable solutions to address social challenges while generating positive impact and revenue. This role involves, conducting market research, establishing strategic partnerships, and overseeing the design and implementation of innovative ventures that advance the organization's mission to Identify, test and launch viable product or services as social enterprise to increase and diversify revenue and generate unrestricted income, while fostering a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship.

The Venture Development Lead will work closely with the lead, Strategy and Transformation and or Country director in identifying opportunities, designing business models, implement business ventures, and managing operations of the enterprises to ensure the success and impact of the ventures while upholding the values and principles of Amref Health Africa.

Main Duties and Responsibilities

1. Venture Identification, Feasibility & Development
• Conduct market research and sector analysis to identify and prioritize viable products, services, and venture opportunities aligned with Amref’s mission.
• Develop feasibility studies, business cases, and comprehensive business plans for selected ventures.
• Design strong venture business models including pricing, revenue streams, operational models, and scalability pathways.
• Establish venture selection criteria and lead decision-making on ventures to be incubated or piloted.
• Ensure ventures are designed for sustainability, scalability, and measurable health/social impact.
• Provide technical leadership on venture design using market validation, lean startup, and human-centered design methodologies.
• Lead the full lifecycle of venture development from concept generation to pilot readiness.

2. Venture Implementation, Portfolio Management & Scaling
• Lead the end-to-end implementation and launch of approved pilot ventures, ensuring delivery within defined timelines and targets.
• Monitor and evaluate pilot ventures to assess performance, impact, scalability, and operational feasibility.
• Develop and manage portfolio performance systems including KPIs, impact indicators, and financial performance tracking tools.
• Conduct regular portfolio reviews and implement corrective actions to strengthen venture performance.
• Provide strategic advisory and technical assistance to ventures on business growth, product-market fit, and go-to-market execution.
• Support integration of successful ventures into Amref’s broader operational and delivery structures.
• Identify and manage venture risks, ensuring effective mitigation strategies throughout implementation and scaling phases.

3. Investment Mobilization, Partnerships & Compliance
• Build and maintain strategic relationships with investors, donors, DFIs, private sector partners, accelerators, and innovation ecosystems.
• Lead fundraising and resource mobilization initiatives to secure financing and strategic support for ventures.
• Prepare ventures for investment through governance strengthening, financial modeling, investor documentation, and pitch readiness.
• Develop investment documentation including due diligence reports, investment memos, and venture performance profiles.
• Support structuring of investment and financing models (equity, debt, grants, blended finance).
• Ensure full compliance of ventures with legal, regulatory, and operational requirements in the country of operation.
• Develop compliance-driven business models that protect Amref Ventures from legal and reputational risks.
• Represent Amref Ventures in ecosystem platforms, investment forums, and strategic partnership engagements.

Qualifications

Required Qualifications

Education and Professional Qualifications
• Bachelor's degree in Business, Economics, Entrepreneurship, or International development
• Master’s degree in Business Administration is preferred

Required Qualifications and Experience
• More than 5 years of experience in business development, social entrepreneurship, venture capital, management consulting, or a related field is essential.
• Experience in launching and scaling social enterprises or start-ups would be highly beneficial.
• Strong analytical skills and experience in conducting market research, feasibility studies, and competitive analysis to identify market opportunities and assess venture viability.
• Solid understanding of financial concepts, including budgeting, financial forecasting, revenue modelling, and cost analysis. Experience in fundraising, securing investments, and managing budgets would be valuable.
• Knowledge of legal and regulatory requirements relevant to social enterprises, NGOs, and start-ups. Experience navigating regulatory frameworks and ensuring compliance with statutory requirements is preferred.

Knowledge, Skills and Competencies
• Demonstrated proficiency in clear and effective communication, both verbal and written, coupled with strong coordination abilities
• Ability to utilize and apply IT tools and systems, showcasing advanced technical competency in leveraging technology to enhance productivity, streamline processes
• Effective Team Collaboration and Leadership Skills.
• Knowledge on how international organizations and iNGOs operate
• Ability to quickly adapt and learn new environment
• Coordination and negation skills with both internal and external stakeholders
• Ability to work well with teams, coordination skill and ability to lead and mobilize senior team for action is required
• Must be in full agreement and support of Amref’s Core Values, to evaluate candidate’s motivational fit for the organization.

Additional Information

Your application should include a cover letter detailing why you are the best fit for this position and your CV with relevant skills and experience. Closing date will be on Friday, 03 April 2026.

Amref Health Africa does not require applicants to pay any money at whatever stage of the recruitment and selection process and has not retained any agent in connection with recruitment. Although Amref may use different job boards from time to time to further spread its reach for applicants, all open vacancies are published on our website under the Vacancies page and on our official social media pages. Kindly also note that official emails from Amref Health Africa will arrive from an @amref.org address.

Amref Health Africa is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and expects all staff to share this commitment. Amref Health Africa is is dedicated to diversity and is an equal-opportunity employer with a non-smoking environment policy.