PlanAdapt is looking for experts and changemakers that have an interest, motivation, and professional experience in creating positive social impact related to climate change adaptation and resilience-building in the private and business sector:

Innovation Broker (Climate Change Adaptation and Private Sector Development/ Social Entrepreneurship)

Social entrepreneur in the health sector in Uganda (photo credit: Christian van den Brink/ Bayer Foundation)

PlanAdapt is consistently growing its portfolio in view of supporting innovators, start-ups, SMEs, accelerator and incubator programmes in countries of the Global South. Are you interested in being part of this exciting endeavour?

PlanAdapt is a new type of open organization that provides an ecosystem of opportunities to earn, learn and grow for professionals that see value in being part of a community of like-minded and entrepreneurial colleagues. We believe that underlying values – such as respect, mutual support, empathy and the benefits of collective wisdom and action – constitute the backbone of successful collaboration and eventually innovation!

Preferred background and qualifications:

Area of Experience 1 (Private Sector Development/ Social Entrepreneurship):

  • 3-5 years of experience working in and exposure to actors, initiatives and approaches that relate to businesses, and start-ups that create positive social and environmental impacts, including positive adaptation and resilience outcomes, particularly in the Global South. That would comprise experience in and exposure to:
    • financing models and instruments, business models;
    • (impact) investors and innovation brokers;
    • Innovation ecosystems and enabling legislative, regulatory and policy environment for businesses;
    • incubation and accelerator programmes;
    • application of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investment criteria;
    • ideation spaces for inclusive, open innovation.

Area of Experience 2 (Climate Change Adaptation and Resilience-Building):

  • 3-5 years of experience working in and exposure to actors, initiatives and approaches that focus on:
    • Assessing and measuring adaptation and resilience outcomes and impact;
    • Designing monitoring systems focused on adaptation and resilience outcomes;
    • Conducting research and analytical work on adaptation and resilience research;
    • Developing conceptual approaches that promote adaptation and resilience outcomes;
    • Identifying good practices and creating learning and knowledge outputs and products
    • Designing and implementing training and capacity-building activities for SMEs, start-ups and innovators.

We would welcome expressions of interest (EoI) from professionals across a wide range of sectors, such as agriculture, forestry, water resource management, coastal protection, human development, energy, infrastructure, health, and tourism. We are particularly encouraging applicants from East Africa or alternatively with experience in East Africa.

Social enterprise Kuli Kuli creates sustainable superfood snacks and naturally energizing moringa powders that improve the health of women, and the planet (photo credit: Kuli Kuli)

We understand that there will be few professionals who will have equal experience and expertise in both areas, i.e.  (1) Private Sector or Business Development/ Social Entrepreneurship and Innovation and (2) Climate Change Adaptation, covering the same depth and breadth. Hence, we encourage candidates to apply if they have strong expertise in one of the two areas, and complementary but limited skills and expertise in the other one.  We would, however, not consider EoIs that exclusively cover only one of the two areas.

Our Offer:

We aim to collectively develop our project portfolio in this field of work, with a more immediate focus on East Africa. Depending on the kind of projects and programmes that PlanAdapt will build, develop and attract, successful applicants will be offered project-based assignments and contracts. In addition, each successful applicant will get the opportunity to become a PlanAdapt Fellow operating in the Climate Co-Adaptation Lab. For mid-senior and senior colleagues, there are opportunities to become a PlanAdapt Leader and Senior Changemaker in view of Track B3.

Find more previous PlanAdapt initiatives that could be of interest:

In addition, we are running a kind of ideation and incubator space for adaptation solutions as part of our Climate Co-Adaptation Lab.

We would be keen to hear from you and receive your expression of interest/ motivation letter (of at least half a page) and your CV at the following email address, using ‘EoI – Innovation Broker’ in the subject line: engage (at) plan-adapt.org before 31 March 2023 (midnight CET).