Senior Strategy Associate (Sustainable Finance)

About the role

Our client, is a systems change company working to accelerate the transition to a net-zero, nature-positive, and more inclusive economy. As a certified B Corp, they partner with business, finance, policymakers and civil society to transform five interconnected systems: energy, nature and food, materials and circularity, sustainable finance, and urban transformation. Founded in 2016, they have grown to a global team of more than 300 people across Brazil, France, Germany, Indonesia, Kenya, the Netherlands, the UK and the US.

They are looking for a Senior Strategy Associate to join their growing Sustainable Finance practice in Kenya, focused on public and development finance — strengthening governments' financing strategies and mobilising capital for climate, nature and development priorities, including sovereign debt sustainability and the case for investing in resilience.

Working within small, collaborative teams, you'll support advisory engagements spanning finance ministries, central banks, IFIs/DFIs (including the IMF and World Bank), donors and the private sector, with opportunities over time to lead your own workstreams. The role blends macro-level strategic thinking, strong analytical skills, and stakeholder engagement in fast-moving, ambiguous contexts. Strategy consulting experience is welcome but not essential — backgrounds in IFIs, central banks, credit rating agencies, or finance ministries are equally valued.

Location: Kenya (Nairobi preferred)
Team / Platform: Sustainable Finance
Reporting to: Sustainable Finance leadership

What You'll Do

• Support or lead workstreams delivering advisory support on public and development finance for climate and nature outcomes.
• Develop structured analysis and client-ready materials (decks, technical notes, briefing packs).
• Drive sovereign financing strategy work — macroeconomic context, sovereign risk, debt sustainability, credit dynamics.
• Help design and assess financing instruments: concessional/blended finance, sustainability-linked bonds/loans, debt-for-climate/nature swaps, risk-sharing structures.
• Support stakeholder engagement across ministries, debt management offices, central banks, IFIs/DFIs, donors and private sector partners.
• Work flexibly across the team's three focus areas — macro modelling, investment planning/instruments, and IMF/World Bank/investor engagement — based on your skills and project needs.

Mindset, Skills & Experience

Essential

• Degree/Masters — Economics/Finance/International Development, especially welcome.
• 3–8 years' relevant experience e.g. strategy consulting (sustainable finance), IFIs (IMF/World Bank/AfDB), central banks/DMOs, credit rating agencies, sovereign research, finance ministries, or development finance advisory.
• Familiarity with the sovereign financing landscape — concessional/blended finance, climate and nature instruments.
• Strong analytical and research skills; able to synthesise complex material into clear, structured outputs.
• Strong project discipline under tight deadlines; collaborative, entrepreneurial, mission-aligned.
• Comfortable with ambiguity — balancing multiple live workstreams while keeping sight of the bigger picture.

Desirable

• Formal economics background (macro, development, climate/nature economics).
• Exposure to public-sector policy/planning (finance/environment ministries, IFIs/DFIs).
• A genuine regional outlook on Sub-Saharan African sovereign contexts, not Kenya-only.
• Experience with government-facing consultations or convenings, including senior IFI/investor stakeholders.
• Swahili or French is a plus.

Success in the First 3–6 Months

• Navigating ambiguity and coping with a fairly unstructured, fast-moving environment.
• Delivering successfully on live workstreams while keeping sight of the bigger goal, even when juggling multiple, shifting priorities.
• Proactively building relationships, both internally and externally.
• Demonstrating resilience.
• Taking the ambiguity and workload in the right spirit.
• Getting up to speed quickly enough to operate semi-independently.
• Depending on seniority and skillset, contributing to one or more of: macro/economic modelling, investment planning, and financing instrument work with government stakeholders, or engagement with IMF/World Bank/investors.

Recruitment Process

1. Screening call with the Semata recruiter.
2. First interview — face-to-face where possible.
3. Second interview — includes a case study testing critical, analytical and structured thinking, as well as creativity.
4. Offer.

Target start: as soon as possible, accounting for standard notice periods.

A Note on Our Process

In the interest of transparency: the essential criteria above genuinely reflect what this role requires. Candidates who don't meet them — for example, limited IFI, credit rating agency, or public sovereign finance exposure — should expect to be screened out at the initial stage. This isn't a reflection of overall ability, just fit for this specific role.

Additional information

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.