The International Water Management Institute (IWMI), a CGIAR Research Center, is seeking an innovative and highly motivated Consultant – Investment to support the Water and Soil Accelerator (WASA) Agribusiness Catalyst.

WASA is an initiative led by IWMI to accelerate the scaling of sustainable water and soil management solutions in rainfed agricultural systems across Zambia and Malawi. The program strengthens local institutions, builds implementation capacity, and promotes equitable access to resources for smallholder farmers—particularly women and youth—to improve food security, livelihoods, and climate resilience.

The WASA Agribusiness Catalyst addresses market and financing barriers that limit the adoption of climate-smart agricultural innovations. It aims to accelerate five scalable agribusiness and partnership models (three in Zambia and two in Malawi) that:

• Improve market access for climate-smart producers.
• Enable last-mile delivery of proven water and soil management technologies.
• Develop inclusive financing mechanisms, including working capital, guarantees, and insurance.
• Mobilize private-sector co-investment.
• Scale interventions to reach 50,000 farmers across 50,000 hectares.

Objective of the Assignment

The consultant will provide investment advisory and transaction support services to advance five selected agribusiness and partnership models to investment readiness and mobilize private-sector co-investment. The consultant will strengthen financial and commercial structuring, build institutional capacity to engage investors, and facilitate investment partnerships that support the scaling of climate-smart agricultural solutions.

Duties and Responsibilities

1. Inception Report and Workplan
• Review agribusiness models, program documentation, and the broader WASA framework.
• Engage with IWMI and stakeholders to refine the assignment approach.
• Develop an inception report outlining methodology, investment-readiness criteria, investor selection criteria, co-investment attribution methodology, risks, assumptions, and implementation workplan.
2. Institutional Pitch Kits
• Assess the commercial viability and financing requirements of each model.
• Develop investor-ready business cases, financial models, projections, and financing structures.
• Prepare professional investment materials suitable for commercial investors, impact investors, DFIs, and financial institutions.
3. Capacity Building
• Design and deliver training on investment readiness, financial management, governance, deal negotiation, and inclusive financing.
• Strengthen the capacity of participating enterprises to engage effectively with investors and financiers.
• Document training outcomes, competencies developed, and recommendations for further support.
4. Investor Engagement and Capital Mobilization
• Identify and engage relevant investors, financiers, and capital providers.
• Facilitate investor outreach, introductions, negotiations, and partnership discussions.
• Support the mobilization of the targeted USD 500,000 in private-sector investment.
• Track and document investment pipelines, commitments, and results.

Deliverables

• Inception Report and Workplan
• Institutional Pitch Kits
• Capacity-Building Completion Report
• Qualified Investor Engagement Report
• Capital Mobilization and Final Report

Requirements

Educational Qualifications Required:

• A Master's degree in Finance, Economics, Business Administration, Development Finance, Agricultural Economics, or a related field.

• Professional certification in finance, investment, or a related discipline (e.g. CFA, ACCA, FMVA).

Experience Required:

• A minimum of 8 – 10 years of demonstrable experience in investment advisory, transaction structuring, blended or development finance, or private sector investment mobilization.
• A proven track record of mobilizing private sector capital or co-investment, with verifiable results (ideally including deals of comparable scale to this assignment).
• Demonstrated experience in structuring inclusive financing mechanisms, working capital facilities, guarantees, insurance, and first-loss or concessional instruments and matching instruments to specific enterprise and market contexts.
• Prior experience working with agribusinesses, SMEs, or agricultural value chains, preferably in a climate-smart or sustainable resource management context.
• Experience working in Zambia, Malawi, or comparable East and Southern African markets, with familiarity with regional investors and financial ecosystem.
• Demonstrated experience in supporting enterprises through investment readiness, due diligence, and negotiation toward firm commitments.
• Experience in designing and delivering capacity building to institutions or enterprises on financial and investment topics.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities Required:

• In-depth knowledge of the capital landscape relevant to agribusiness and development finance, including commercial investors, impact investors, DFIs, and local financial institutions.
• Strong financial modelling, business plan appraisal, and deal-structuring skills.
• Established and active relationships across the investor and financing ecosystem, with the ability to broker credible introductions and deals.
• Sound understanding of the regulatory, currency, and country-risk considerations affecting investment in the target markets.
• Excellent negotiation, facilitation, and relationship management skills, with the ability to translate between enterprise and investor perspectives.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to produce investor-grade materials.
• Ability to work independently, deliver to milestones, and document results credibly against agreed attribution criteria.

Benefits

This is a globally hired consultancy; therefore, individuals with relevant abilities are encouraged to apply. IWMI offers a competitive rate for this assignment. The duration of the contract will be for a period of twelve (12) months.

How to Apply: Apply for the position by following the application instructions at www.iwmi.org/jobs. We will be accepting applications until 24:00 (IST) on July 31, 2026 (applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis). Your application must include a CV, cover letter, and three (3) references, which may be contacted if you are shortlisted. Receipt of all applications will be acknowledged, but only short-listed candidates will be contacted.

IWMI believes that diversity powers our innovation, contributes to our excellence, and is critical for our mission. We offer a multi-cultural, multi-color, multi-generational and multi-disciplinary working environment. We are consciously creating an inclusive organization that reflects our global character and our commitment to gender equity. We, therefore, encourage applicants from all cultures, races, ethnicities, religions, sexes, national or regional origins, ages, disability status, sexual orientations, and gender identities.