Accion International

Senior Associate, Innovative Solutions and Design, Accion Advisory

Posted Date 1 day ago(12/4/2025 11:32 AM)
Job ID
2446
Company
Accion Centro, Bogota

 

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.

 

About Accion Advisory:

The Accion Advisory team combines decades of on-the-ground experience with insights into new technologies to help our partners become more sustainable and scalable. We work with a variety of organizations focused on serving the financial needs of low-income people and businesses in emerging markets. With a presence in Africa, Asia, and the Americas, our team provides strategic and operational support to strengthen our partners and maximize their impact on underserved customers.

 

Our team is comprised of Regional Program Managers (RPMs) and their teams who are responsible for driving new business, bringing local context and hands on experience to meet customer needs; and Practice Area Leads who are technical area experts responsible for building the Advisory team’s expertise in core areas, driving execution excellence, and capturing synergies across technical practice areas and regions. The Practice Area Leads seek to improve efficiency and effectiveness of the execution of our engagements and to develop reusable tools and collateral for specific areas of expertise that Accion Advisory brings to all of our clients.

 

Position Summary 

Accion is seeking a Senior Associate in Innovation and Strategic Design to lead and facilitate co-creation processes with clients and internal teams, and design solutions that integrate Human-Centered Design (HCD), industry and segment knowledge, business strategy, and data insights. This role requires a strategic thinker with strong facilitation, analytical, and solution-design skills, capable of translating user needs, business challenges, and market dynamics into actionable concepts, prototypes, and implementation pathways. The Senior Associate will mobilize teams, connect strategy with execution, and ensure solutions deliver meaningful value for both clients and the organization.  

   

Positions Responsibilities

Strategic Innovation & Co-Creation 

  • Design, lead, and facilitate innovation, strategy, and co-creation workshops with internal and external stakeholders.
  • Apply HCD, Design Thinking, and strategic design methodologies to frame challenges, extract insights, and develop solution concepts.
  • Translate user insights and data into clear strategic opportunities, prototypes, solution pathways, and recommendations
  • Support the definition of implementation strategies, adoption plans, and scaling options for designed solutions. 

Consulting & Stakeholder Engagement 

  • Coordinate multidisciplinary teams (business, data, digital, product, and technology) to develop viable, desirable, and feasible solutions.
  • Bridge strategic vision and practical implementation, ensuring alignment with client needs and institutional capabilities.
  • Document, package, and share methodologies, toolkits, best practices, and learning assets to strengthen the practice. 

Business, Data & Solution Strategy 

  • Analyze qualitative and quantitative data identify strategic opportunities, customer needs, and innovation potential.
  • Translate insights into actionable business strategies, product concepts, solution pathways, and value propositions, aligning them with institutional priorities and market realities.
  • Develop and support go-to-market strategies.
  • Work with cross-functional teams to ensure strategies are viable, scalable, and ready for implementation. 
 

Advisory and Project support: 

  • Participate in the end-to end design and delivery of digital strategies and customer-centric solutions to financial and other service providers
  • Conduct internal and external data analysis and human centered research to assess end-customer need, and derive strategies to Accion partners in addressing those needs
  • Support the identification, design, and deployment of innovative solutions aimed at measuring and strengthening the financial health of low income / vulnerable population
  • Build Accion’s internal capacity in relevant capability areas by documenting and sharing project results and disseminating useful information and tools through a variety of knowledge exchange mediums such as team meetings/debriefs, workshops, blogging, etc. 

General Business Development Support: 

  • Support partner selection, project implementation activities and general business development, especially as related to Accion Advisory’s strategic priorities outside traditional financial services providers.
  • Clarifying Accion Advisory’s value proposition through the development and/or enhancement of marketing, business development and other internal collateral
  • Landscape assessment in priority markets to identify high-impact partners (e.g. platforms, fintechs, donors,etc)
  • Support proposal development: Outreach to identified priority prospects; conducting necessary due diligence to identify areas of mutual alignment with Accion’s objectives
  • Follow-up with relevant parties and action items as may be needed, to ensure continued momentum and closure of collaboration opportunities 

  

Position Qualifications

  • Minimum 6 years of progressive experience in product development, with at least 3 years in years in digital product development with financial services in emerging and/or low-income markets
  • Excellent verbal and written communication skills in English and Spanish. 
  • Experience facilitating innovation or strategy workshops with clients, internal teams, or external partners.
  • Strong command of Human-Centered Design, Design Thinking, agile methodologies, and strategic design tools.
  • Ability to connect business strategy, user insights, and data analysis to inform solution design and decision-making.
  • Experience developing business cases, strategic roadmaps, prototypes, or solution concepts.
  • Interested in our mission and working globally.
  • Willingness to embody our values of excellence, respect and passion for social change.
    • Excellence: Accion staff should always put forth their best effort in all activities, strive for high quality of collective and individual performance; and demonstrate honesty and integrity at all times while in the workplace and while working on behalf of the organization.
    • Respect: Accion staff should value one another’s roles and responsibilities as much as their own, be encouraging, and value the diverse and unique perspectives of colleagues. They should honor obligations and commitments to each other and to external partners.
    • Passion for Social Change: Accion staff should be committed to making a difference in the lives of those less fortunate, value the greater good of the organization over personal gain, and promote a productive workplace by acknowledging the accomplishments of others. 

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.

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