IIX 2023 Summer Apprenticeship Program
About IIX:
Impact Investment Exchange (IIX) is the pioneer in the impact investing movement and a global leader in sustainability. We have transformed the financial system so that women, the environment and underserved communities are finally given a value and a voice in the global market. Over the past decade, we have built the world’s largest crowdfunding platform for impact investing (Impact Partners), operated award-winning enterprise technical assistance programs such as IIX ACTS, created innovative financial products such as the Women's Livelihood Bond and established an Impact Institute and Research & Advisory to build the sustainable investing market. To date, our work has spanned 53 countries, unlocked US$233 million of private-sector capital, and positively impacted over 140 million direct and household lives, and avoided over 1.4 million tons of carbon. The foundation of IIX's work is IIX Values, an innovative impact verification solution for every organization, which effectively measures the social and environmental impact of an investment and gives value to the voices of the underserved. IIX recently launched the Orange Bond Initiative to unlock $10 billion in the capital markets by 2030 and impact 100 million women in the last mile. IIX’s numerous awards for its work include the Oslo Business for Peace Award, the P4G State-of-the-art Partnership award, the UN Global Climate Action Award and most recently the Environmental Finance's Award for Innovation.
About an apprenticeship with IIX:
You will join a highly effective team that provides you with an un-paralleled hands-on exposure to the Impact Investing and Social Finance space. You will thrive in applying finance and economic principles to tackle development issues and excel in creating solutions using structured strategies and innovative programs that address and solve the world’s most pressing problems, from food security to inclusive finance to clean energy. You will become a global development leader who has a passion for international development and you will get involved in work that makes a difference.
When you join IIX, you embark on 12 rewarding summer weeks where we are heavily invested in giving you training and exposure to enable you to build a career in impact investing. We will build on your strengths and help you gain new skills with training, encouragement and guidance in the right direction. The work experience at IIX is a value addition to advance your career, providing you invaluable knowledge of the rapidly growing impact investing space.
With the knowledge gained at IIX, you will WANT to instigate change.
Thus, as a successful apprentice, you should be:
• Mission driven: Commitment to social finance and impact investing as a path to unlock society’s potential to effect social change is essential for a happy and successful tenure at IIX.
• Results oriented: At IIX, we manage toward impact maximization and produce measurable returns. These results strengthen the ecosystem and transform existing realities by helping impact enterprises magnify their impact and scale.
• Resourceful: While IIX is a seasoned stakeholder in the impact enterprise and impact investing space in Asia, we pride ourselves on creating new opportunities. Being resourceful and skilled at mobilizing human, financial and political resources to achieve IIX’s mission is a key part of the role.
Some of our clients include foundations such as the Rockefeller Foundation and Bank of America-Merrill Lynch Foundation, corporations such as Standard Chartered Bank and KKR, international non-profits such as Oxfam and World Vision, multilateral institutions such as the Asian Development Bank, UN Agencies such as UNDP, and government agencies such as USAID and SIDA.
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IIX is pleased to announce the opening of the application for the 2023 Summer Apprenticeship Program.
About the IIX Summer Program:
1. Overview
As an apprentice team member, you will learn about our businesses and build career-enhancing skills. This program is open to third and fourth year undergraduate and graduate level students from any field of study. While your discipline or major is not important, we’re looking for students with an outstanding record of academic achievement and an interest in changing the world by changing the financial markets.
A financial background is not necessary. Your area or major of concentration is less important to us than your potential. Whether you’ve distinguished yourself in economics or history, the next phase of your career will be shaped by your passion, energy and vision. We encourage you to apply, provided you share an interest in connecting the back streets with wall streets, and have demonstrated strong academic performance and professional drive.
2. The Experience
We provide our new apprentices with the tools necessary for professional growth and career advancement. As a new apprentice, you will learn a great deal about the firm and how we do business and about the whole sector. You will gain the skills and knowledge necessary to support our businesses.
As part of the Summer Program, you will receive formal training followed by department-specific training. You will also receive ongoing training, based on your specific skill needs and interests, to bolster your professional development through learning in the workplace. There will be targeted skills enhancement workshops, discussions and team based projects apart from the daily and ad-hoc tasks. There will also be field visits to Singapore-based social enterprises.
The IIX Summer Program is based in the Singapore headquarters. We will provide a small stipend for food & local transport. The apprenticeship program is an intensive program where all apprentices will be participating as a core member of each team. Selected apprentices may also get field experience to support our work in South and Southeast Asia. An apprenticeship at IIX can open the doors for you to join the IIX team full time if you perform exceptionally well. Some of our full time staff have gone on to study at top Business Schools for their post graduate studies, for example at Yale, Georgetown, INSEAD, Columbia SIPA among others.
The IIX Summer Apprenticeship Program will run from 15 May 2023 to 11 August 2023 for a total of 12 weeks.
Our Core Teams and areas of work:
Impact Partners:
The successful apprentice candidate will assist the Impact Partners team to conduct Impact Enterprise (IE) and investor outreach. This individual will also work with and assess Impact enterprises to prepare them for Impact Partners listing (examining financial reports, business plans, understanding capital needs), guiding them to be investor-ready and managing their capital raising process. This work will include financial modelling and analysis, process management and building trusted relationships. The impact assessment work involves the measurement and communication of the social and environmental impact that IEs are having. Impact assessment work also involves providing detailed projection and data collection tools as well as recommendations, to help magnify the social and environmental performance of an IE as well as to enhance the transparency and accountability to stakeholders and funders.
Growth and Innovation: The Growth and Innovation team initiates and cultivates important relationships and initiatives that will result in strategic partnerships. The successful apprentice candidate will support the development of new products, services and projects that IIX has launched such as IIX Values. The apprentice will support outreach to build a local and regional network of ecosystem partners who will contribute and support the long-term sustainability of IEs will also be a critical role. Demonstrated project and process management skills are required in this role. The Growth and Innovation apprentice will support the team to focus on marketing and developing IIX products and services that fulfill a need in the IE and impact investment community in Asia. The apprentice will also help the team to conduct research and analysis of the Impact enterprise sector in Asia. This includes countrywide, sector-specific or ecosystem-targeted research as well as broader policy perspectives. These research efforts culminate in published reports that are widely disseminated across the region.
Innovative Finance Team:
The Innovative Finance team apprentice will learn about the structuring of fixed income products in innovative finance such as the Women’s Livelihood Bond series, while also contributing to IIX's other areas of work such as Women’s catalyst Fund. This team also performs credit analysis on IEs and MFIs shortlisted as potential borrowers under the various sustainability bond structures and provides financial analysis and full credit reports on selected IEs and MFIs. The young apprentice will support basic operations of the innovative finance team such as sourcing, calls preparations, communications with internal and external stakeholders, taking minutes to preparing research and pitch decks. The apprentice may also get a chance to assist in raising and structuring credit facilities and/or investment capital for IEs and MFIs through participation in the transaction process.
Marketing and Advocacy Team: The apprentice will work with the IIX team to continue building strategic messaging and initiatives that promote the impact investing and IE space in Asia-Pacific. Work closely across all functions of IIX and IIX Foundation to continue building a cohesive and compelling story of how social capital markets will influence sustainable development in Asia. The apprentice will also support the marketing and management team to promote the courses of IIX Impact Institute, which empowers stakeholders to participate in the Impact Investing Space.
Research and Advisory: Our research and advisory team offers impact investors, corporations, foundations, international organizations and governments in-depth sector analysis, landscape mapping, and action-oriented research. Using proprietary data, local industry analytics and innovative financial structuring, we help to identify impact investment opportunities for sustainable development solutions, conduct due diligence, and manage transaction execution. The selected apprentice will support the team in its research and advisory projects by providing research support and market insights.
Please note: Previous marketing, development or research work highly preferred. Only candidates who are excellent writers, critical thinkers and energetic team players will be successful at IIX.
IIX Growth Fund (IGF): IGF’s summer program focuses on pipeline building and exploring investment opportunities in the selected countries and sectors. The apprentice will support IGF's activities in target markets, assist to conduct investment research and due diligence activities as well as support the team’s fund raising efforts for IGF. The investment apprentice may also assist the team on the active management of portfolio companies – including on-going monitoring of portfolio companies, preparing monthly operational and financial performance reports and/or information memos for quarterly board meetings.
Please note: due to the nature of IGF's work, IGF will show a strong preference to candidates who have a strong background in the private equity/investment sectors. Working history in development as well as demonstrable interest in Asia is also a plus.
Application Process:
Interested candidates can submit their application at apprentice@iixglobal.com. Please note all accepted Summer Apprentice Associates/Analysts will be working across teams as needed.
· Dates of Summer Apprenticeship Program: 15 May 2023 to 11 August 2023 (12 weeks).
· Last date to submit applications will be 31 January 2023 and IIX will inform its final list of candidates for Interview by 10 February 2023.
· Short listed candidates will be required to complete a test and interview with at least one IIX team member. All offers will be made by 21 February 2023.
· Eligibility: Students who have completed their 3rd year of Bachelor’s degree (rising seniors) and MBA/Master’s/ Ph.D students are welcome to apply.
· Submit your latest resume, cover letter highlighting clear motivation to work in Impact Investing space in the long term, your university/college transcripts indicating your current GPA score, along with a writing sample.
· Due to limited openings on the summer apprenticeship program and an overwhelming number of applications, all applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis and you are highly encouraged to submit your applications as early as possible.
· Only shortlisted candidates will be notified of the selection. If you don’t hear back from us within 3 weeks of applying, it means your application was not shortlisted. Additionally, you can also follow up with us after 3 weeks of applying, on the status of your application.
You may highlight in your application which core team you prefer to work with. However, the final decision to assign the team will be based on IIX’s assessment of your application.