About Accion:

Accion is a global nonprofit on a mission to create a fair and inclusive economy for the nearly two billion people who are failed by the global financial system. We develop and scale responsible digital financial solutions for small business owners, smallholder farmers, and women, so they can make informed decisions and improve their lives. Through targeted investment strategies, advisory solutions, and expert thought leadership, we work with local partners to develop and scale cheaper, more accessible, and customer-friendly financial solutions. Since 1961, Accion has helped build 267 financial service providers serving low-income clients in 75 countries, reaching 440 million people. More at https://www.accion.org.

Position Summary 

Accion seeks a motivated graduate student professional to join our team in the summer of 2025 (flexible start date in May/June). The Impact Summer Associate will carry out critical projects related to Accion’s impact management system and help accelerate our impact. The role offers an opportunity to gain hands-on experience within an established impact investing firm, working in private markets to drive positive social and environmental impact and significant business value for Accion and its stakeholders. The IMM team sits within Global Operations and is charged with the research, analysis, and partner engagement work that enables Accion to develop, execute, and continuously strengthen its impact-first strategy. The position thus requires the ability to work independently and proactively communicate and collaborate with distributed colleagues and partners.

The position will be based remotely, with the option to work out of any of Accion’s hub offices globally. The Impact Summer Associate will report to the Global IMM Lead (based remotely) and have the opportunity to engage with senior leadership, including Partners and Directors on the investment, advisory, and CFI teams.

Position Responsibilities

Executing targeted impact monitoring, analysis, and research:

• Conducting targeted, action-oriented research and analysis on market, portfolio, and/or thematic questions, including research on best practices, case studies, and innovative approaches to financial inclusion to inform continuous improvement of Accion’s impact-first strategy
• Providing inputs to inform strategic feedback to senior leaders on impact strengths and opportunities
• Contributing to additional projects as needed

 Maximizing the effectiveness of Accion’s impact management systems:

• Supporting investment teams on implementation and evolution of impact scorecards, including monitoring portfolio company impact against expectations and implementation of action steps over time
• Creating impact criteria and frameworks for strategic themes such as infrastructure / ecosystem players and agritech value chains enabling financial inclusion

 Insights and knowledge management:

• Contribute to the creation of reports, presentations, and white papers that summarize findings and actionable recommendations
• Support ongoing internal capacity-building efforts by sharing insights and helping develop evidence-based decision-making frameworks
• Ensure that insights, lessons learned, and best practices from past projects are properly documented and easily accessible for current and future use, possibly leveraging new AI solutions

Qualifications and Responsibilities

• Current graduate student in a master’s program in Economics, Business, Public Policy, Public Administration, Development Studies, Sociology, or similar discipline
• 1+ years of relevant professional experience in impact investing, business analysis, investment or market research, management consulting, strategy development, social enterprises, or other relevant fields
• Knowledge of best practices in impact management or monitoring and evaluation
• Demonstrated ability to synthesize insights from research to inform the development of new policies, products and services and simplify complex information to communicate trends, patterns, and insights to all audiences
• Analytical and strategic thinking skills, with the ability to understand and apply analytical frameworks and identify key takeaways
• Excellent oral and written communication skills; capable of proactive and highly professional engagement and collaboration with colleagues and partners across time zones, as well as cultural and socio-economic differences
• Self-motivated work ethic, with ability to see tasks through to completion independently and proactively anticipate needs, events, and activities, as well as the ability to identify the appropriate parties required to achieve the desired end results
• Highly organized and adaptable; able to work in a dynamic, distributed work environment with excellent attention to detail and ability to deliver under tight deadlines
• Proficiency in using the Microsoft Office Suite, specifically Excel, Word, PowerPoint, SharePoint, and Teams
• Alignment with Accion’s Values: Respect, Excellence, Passion for Social Change

 Preferred

• Knowledge of microfinance, digital financial services, or fintech innovations aimed at increasing financial inclusion for underserved populations
• Interest or experience in knowledge management, including organizing, curating, and sharing organizational knowledge
• Strong written and oral communication skills in Spanish
• Experience with creating dashboards on visualization tools like Power Bi or Tableau
• Experience with predictive analytics development and analysis
• Competency in managing and analyzing large data sets, especially in MS Excel
• Proactive approach to problem-solving
• Project management skills and proactive approach to communication and time management

Compensation:

• Hourly rate: $25.00 – $30.00
• The above salary serves as a general guideline. Accion considers a number of factors when determining base salary offers such as the scope and responsibilities of the position and the candidate's experience, education, training, skills, location, current market conditions as well as internal pay alignment.

Accion is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to a diverse and inclusive workplace culture. Accion seeks qualified applicants without regard to race, color, gender, sex, age, religion, creed, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, marital status, sexual orientation, physical or mental disability, medical condition, military and veteran status, gender identity or expression, genetic information, change of sex or transgender status, or any other basis protected by law. Accion is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities.