Associate, Programs Acumen Academy (12 month fixed term contract role)

Acumen India is seeking an Associate to work directly with social entrepreneurs, supporting them to strengthen and scale their enterprises. We are looking for someone with atleast 5 years of experience in consulting, marketing support, client services and management. This will be a full time role but 12-month fixed term contract and will be based in Mumbai

About Acumen
Acumen is changing the way the world tackles poverty by investing in companies, leaders and ideas. We invest patient capital in businesses whose products and services offer important opportunities to people living in poverty. To date, Acumen has positively impacted over 500 million lives by investing $154.4M in 167 innovative, early-stage companies in Africa, Latin America, South Asia, and the United States. But investment isn’t only about capital, we’ve been investing in innovators for years, connecting with emerging leaders around the world and engaging them in collective dialogue, moral inquiry, and skill building.

About Academy
Acumen Academy is the world’s school for social change. We’re looking to support a new generation of social innovators and leaders with the character and competence to solve problems of poverty and build a world based on dignity. We seek to inspire a new generation by sharing stories of visionary role models and business models with the world.

About the Role –Associate Programs

The Associate will work directly with social entrepreneurs, supporting them to strengthen and scale their enterprises. 

This role is entrepreneurial and execution-oriented, well-suited for candidates who thrive in dynamic, start-up-like environments and are motivated by working directly with social entrepreneurs to drive measurable social impact. The Associate will report to the Associate Director of Academy

Supporting Social Entrepreneurs

• Work closely with social entrepreneurs and portfolio enterprises to understand their needs, challenges, and growth goals.
• Provide ongoing programmatic support to help enterprises strengthen operations, scale impact, and move toward long-term sustainability.
• Connect entrepreneurs to relevant tools, resources, expertise, and networks as part of the program.
• Capture insights and learnings from entrepreneur engagement to inform program improvements.

Program Tracking & Learning

• Track enterprise progress against agreed milestones, outcomes, and impact indicators throughout the program period.
• Document challenges, pivots, and successes to build a clear narrative of enterprise growth and program effectiveness.

Donor Reporting & Stakeholder Engagement

• Lead the preparation of a comprehensive annual donor report, synthesizing enterprise progress, impact outcomes, and key learnings.
• Coordinate with internal teams to collect data, stories, and evidence required for donor reporting.
• Ensure reporting is accurate, timely, and aligned with donor expectations.
• Support ongoing communication with donors and partners through clear and thoughtful updates.

Knowledge Sharing & Communications

• Contribute to the development of case studies, insights notes, and learning outputs drawn from program implementation.
• Support documentation of best practices and scalable models emerging from work with social entrepreneurs. 
• Plan & execute a stakeholders conference at the end to socialise the report.

Qualifications and Characteristics

• Minimum 5 years of work experience, in development consulting, management/operations consulting, client management and project management. People who have experience of working with C Suite executives in the development and execution of key initiatives may also apply.
• Require excellent financial, modeling and business analysis skills; demonstrated by prior experience.
• Require operational skills such as problem solving and project management, including ability to work and deliver projects independently, proactively and under pressure.
• Familiarity with the social enterprise and impact investing sectors; demonstrated commitment to serving the poor is preferred.
• Strong ability to take initiative with research and analysis and produce valuable results in conditions of uncertainty.
• Bachelor's Degree from a reputable institute in Engineering, Economics, Management, Business or Commerce is required; Masters is preferable.
• Self reflective and aligned with Acumen values
• Permanently authorized to work in India. 

Deadline:

Acumen is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to building a diverse and inclusive workplace. We welcome applications from all qualified candidates, regardless of gender, age, disability, race, religion, sexual orientation, or background.

Applications will be reviewed and interviews scheduled on a rolling basis. 

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