EIT Food is looking for a Senior Investment Manager

About AgriFoodInvest by EIT FOOD

AgriFoodInvest BV is an impact investment holding company that is fully owned by EIT Food ivzw.

EIT Food (www.eitfood.eu) is the largest agri-food Knowledge and Innovation Community (KIC), part of the European Innovation & Technology Institute (EIT). EIT Food’s mission is to create a world where everybody can access and enjoy sustainable, safe and healthy food, with trust and fairness from farm to fork. EIT Food’s role is to bring all stakeholders together and guide them to accelerate the innovation process to support the transformation of our food system. Its main strength comes from the partnership, which represent over 150 of Europe’s leading agri-food companies, research institutes and universities. EIT Food is headquartered in Leuven (Belgium) and has regional offices in Warsaw (Poland), Munich (Germany), Reading (UK), Bilbao (Spain) and Madrid (Spain).

EIT Food is a springboard for launching, accelerating and scaling up innovative agri-food ventures through EU-wide incubation and acceleration programmes, which provide access to the market and financing via the EIT Food network (https://www.eitfood.eu/entrepreneurship).

AgriFoodInvest BV is the holding structure of EIT Food, which aims to hold minority stakes in some of Europe's best early-stage agri-food start-ups, with investment tickets ranging from €500,000 to €1.5 million.

JOB DESCRIPTION

AgriFoodInvest BV plans to strengthen its team with a Senior Investment Manager to achieve its ambitious investment plan and attract co-investors to support the development of innovative companies that will accelerate the transformation of the food system.

As Senior Investment Manager, you report directly to the Managing Director and play a key role to develop AgriFoodInvest in a successful impact investment holding company and to actively manage the investment portfolio.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Reporting to the Managing Director, your key responsibilities include:

Fundraising:

as a priority, you actively participate in fundraising for the co-investment vehicle, leveraging your and EIT Food’s networks, targeting the right potential investors and communicating EIT Food’ story and AgriFoodInvest’s value proposition, engaging with potential investors to convince them to partner and invest in the vehicle.

Portfolio Management:

as a second priority, you hold responsibility for monitoring and reporting investment portfolio performance. You manage the post-investment portfolio and assist in the value creation process. You act as board observer to selected portfolio companies and build strong relationship with them. You assess risks and define/implement exit strategies.

New Investments:

you also support new deal flow and, together with the team, you discuss, provide feedback, and decide which companies to advance past the first screening stage and agree on who will be the deal lead. Under specific circumstances, you can take the lead on a deal in which case you will be responsible for the next stages of analysis, supported by the Investment Analyst(s), including e.g., calls with the company, doing due diligence, and writing / presenting the investment memo.

Investor Community:

you manage together with the team the relationships with investors that meet the Investor Community criteria (pan-European agfood focus). Your primary focus is on the portfolio, introducing portfolio companies to trusted external investors.

EXPERIENCE & SKILLS

• You hold a Master or PhD, preferably in finance, economics or engineering, ideally with an MBA, or equivalent through experience. A CFA certification is a plus.

• You have at least 5 years of relevant experience within VC investment or corporate venture capital (preferably), and/or start-up accelerator, venture builder or strategy consulting firm linked to the agrifood sector.

• You possess excellent verbal and written communication & presentation skills.

• A positive team player with an adaptive and flexible approach who can work independently and in small (multi-national) teams.

• Experience with an international environment.

• Strong Microsoft Office skills (especially Microsoft Excel).

• You fluently speak English (min. C1). Knowledge of any other language is considered a plus

• You are proactive and flexible, with excellent problem solving and analytical skills.

• You are entrepreneurial and creative. You constantly challenge the status quo.

• Ability to work effectively under pressure and to deadlines.

WHAT WE OFFER

Working at EIT Food means joining a team of like-minded individuals who are dedicated to creating a better future through food innovation. We cultivate a culture of collaboration, inventiveness, inclusivity, and constructive feedback. All employees are encouraged to contribute their ideas and expertise towards our mission of creating a more sustainable and inclusive food system.

Together, we're making a real impact on the food industry and we're looking for talented individuals like you to join us.

As a valued member of our team, we'll provide you with a competitive salary and comprehensive benefits package.

CONTRACT TYPE

Full-time permanent position.

LOCATION & TRAVEL FREQUENCY

EIT Food HQ, Leuven (Belgium) with the possibility for hybrid working. Travel within Europe might be required

Please note that all applicants must be legally authorized to reside and work in Belgium.

APPLICATION

Interested candidates are asked to upload their CV and Cover Letter in English in electronic format to CV Warehouse before 15/12/2024.

Shortlisted candidates may be invited for an interview and may be asked to prove their background, qualifications, skills and experiences by providing relevant documents.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES

EIT Food is an equal opportunity employer, offering each candidate matching the minimum obligatory qualifications and experiences an equal chance in employment and promotion procedures. If you need any special assistance during the interview process, please let us know.