Job Description

About Us

AECF is a leading African-based development organization that leverages the power of the private sector to address systemic issues of rural poverty and employment across the continent. We find and fund innovative, game-changing commercial businesses in the agribusiness and renewable energy sectors that transform the lives of low-income households. By catalyzing funding, we help companies surface and commercialize new ideas, business models, and technologies that increase agricultural productivity, expand energy access, and alleviate poverty, particularly where these efforts impact women and young people. AECF works in frontier markets, fragile contexts, and high-risk countries where few mainstream financing institutions go. We back bold enterprises to tackle climate risk, expand opportunity for women and youth, and build resilience in fragile contexts so rural and marginalized communities can rise out of poverty.

Since 2008, we have deployed over US$290 million, leveraged $916 million in additional capital, provided funding to 698 businesses in 27 countries – impacting 36 million people.

About the Program

REACT 2.0 – Energy for Sustainable Growth in Somalia (ESGS) is a four-year, SEK 60 million market development programme funded by Sida/Business Sweden. The programme advances two mutually reinforcing goals: expanding access to affordable, clean energy solutions across Somalia, and driving private sector development, job creation, financial inclusion, and mobilization of private capital.

The programme targets decentralized renewable energy (DRE) companies and financial institutions operating across solar home systems (SHS), mini-grids, and productive use of energy (PUE) segments. It deploys a combination of milestone-based grants, results-based finance (RBF), and technical assistance to de-risk early-stage business models, strengthen enterprise capacity, crowd in commercial capital, and contribute to Somalia's emerging policy and regulatory environment for energy.

Purpose of Role

The Portfolio Officer supports the effective delivery of the REACT 2.0 ESGS programme by providing day-to-day portfolio management, monitoring, and grants administration for a portfolio of investees in Somalia. The role holder works under the direction of the Programme Manager and Senior Portfolio Officer and is expected to work flexibly and collegially across internal teams including Impact, Legal, Finance, and Technical Assistance, to ensure investees receive timely, high-quality support throughout their grant lifecycle.

Given Somalia's fragile and dynamic operating environment, the Portfolio Officer must demonstrate sound contextual judgment, strong relationship management skills, and the ability to coordinate across remote teams and local partners operating in complex settings

Key Responsibilities

Portfolio Management, Monitoring & Reporting

• Manage a portfolio of investees ensuring adherence to grant agreements, milestones, and disbursement conditions.
• Lead the planning and execution of investee performance monitoring activities, including data verification exercises aligned with the programme's results framework and RBF disbursement protocols.
• Conduct regular investee site visits in Somalia in accordance with the agreed site visit schedule, assessing operational progress, documenting findings, and identifying risks early.
• Review periodic narrative and financial reports from investees, provide structured feedback, and flag deviations or delays to the Programme Manager with recommended courses of action.
• Analyse disbursement requests including milestone-based and results-based tranches in a timely manner and make recommendations for approval.
• Coordinate identification of investees requiring technical assistance (TA) and support delivery of business advisory and investment facilitation services in line with AECF's TA and Learning framework.
• Maintain accurate portfolio records and contribute to periodic management and donor reporting.
• Contribute to proposal development for various potential program areas.
• Facilitate consensus building on the Energy sectoral advocacy agenda through engagements with the Ministry of Energy and Water Resources (MoEWR) and the Somalia Green Energy Association (SOGEA).
• Support implementation of AECF advocacy activities in Somalia by representing AECF at key meetings.

Investment Facilitation and Enterprise Development

• Support investees in building their operational capacity, financial management systems, and investment readiness, with a focus on enabling transition from grant-supported operations to commercial finance.
• Facilitate linkages between investees and financial institutions including Somali and impact investors to crowd in follow-on capital.
• Support investees in developing PAYGO, lease-to-own, and energy-as-a-service financing models suited to Somalia's mobile money infrastructure and market conditions.
• Assist in identifying and brokering partnerships between investees, agricultural value chain actors (agribusiness, livestock, fisheries), and social institutions to strengthen productive use of energy (PUE) market linkages

Gender and Social Inclusion

• Actively implement AECF's gender-responsive investment and monitoring framework across the portfolio, tracking women's participation as entrepreneurs, employees, and end-users.
• Support delivery of gender mainstreaming activities with investees, including application of AECF's Gender Mainstreaming Toolkit for Energy Businesses.
• Support targeted outreach and sourcing efforts to increase the pipeline of women-owned and women-led enterprises in the portfolio, in line with the programme's gender inclusion commitments.

Risk & Compliance

• Ensure compliance with internal controls and risk management of the portfolio in accordance with the wider AECF Limited Management Framework.
• Implement the programme risk and mitigation framework, in line with the overall AECF Risk and Compliance Management Framework.

Experiences and Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in business, finance, economics, engineering, international development, social sciences, or a related field. Technical training or certification in solar energy or renewable energy is an advantage.
• Minimum five years of experience in private sector development, development finance, or sustainable energy, preferably with direct exposure to the Somali or Horn of Africa energy market.
• Demonstrated experience in portfolio management, including due diligence, monitoring, evaluation, and financial reporting for early-stage companies.
• Experience designing or appraising energy business cases, including SHS, mini-grid, and PUE business models.
• Familiarity with results-based financing (RBF), PAYGO models, and blended finance instruments is a strong advantage.
• Experience managing gender-responsive programmes or investments.
• Be proficient in English with strong oral and written communication skills.
• Strong understanding of Somalia's energy sector landscape, including ESPs, SHS market dynamics, the NEA regulatory development process, and the role of SOGEA.
• Analytical skills with the ability to assess investee financials, operational performance, and investment readiness.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills in English; Somali language proficiency is a significant advantage.
• Proficiency in report writing, portfolio analysis, and data verification.
• High degree of initiative, flexibility, and attention to detail; ability to work effectively in a remote and fragile operating environment.
• Strong interpersonal skills, including the ability to build trust with investees, government counterparts, and sector partners in a culturally sensitive manner.

Skills Required

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