Manager, Global Engagement

Company Description

Aceli Africa is a market catalyst that unlocks private sector lending for agricultural enterprises. Drawing upon new data that explains the credit gap for small- and medium-enterprises (SMEs) in the agriculture sector, Aceli offers financial incentives to a marketplace of 50+ commercial banks and innovative finance companies to share in the risk and defray the high transaction costs of lending to agricultural SMEs.

Since launching in 2020, Aceli has mobilized $585M in lending to 7,000+ agricultural enterprises providing market access for 2.7M smallholder farmers across Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia. With access to finance, agricultural SMEs are accessing loans for the first time, growing their businesses, increasing their purchases from farmers, and creating more jobs. Building on learning to date, Aceli plans to mobilize $2 billion in financing for agri-SMEs and improve livelihoods for 5 million farmers and workers by 2030.

Job Description

Based in the US and reporting directly to the CEO, the Manager, Global Engagement will shape how Aceli tells its story to international audiences, including funders, investors, development finance institutions, policymakers, and sector peers. The Manager will be a writer, editor, project manager, and thought partner to the CEO and Executive team, identifying, producing, and presenting the many layers of Aceli's story. Working closely with the Kenya-based Communications team, the Manager will keep Aceli’s communications strategy aligned with the organisation’s overall strategy, while owning Aceli’s messaging framework and brand. The role will also lead the thought leadership calendar and digital channels, and shape the narrative for Aceli’s fundraising. It works in close partnership with Aceli's Communications team, which focuses on communications with Aceli’s partners in Africa and handles in person and virtual events in our focus countries, internal communications, and capacity building on communications for the Aceli team.

The ideal candidate is a skilled writer and project manager with experience in thought leadership and communications for international development, impact investing, philanthropy, and/or financial services. S/he must be able to translate complex, data-rich work into narratives that resonate with senior global audiences, especially donors.

Key Responsibilities

1. Thought Leadership & Editorial

• Draft and co-author thought leadership content, including articles, op-eds, reports, speeches, and talking points, and serve as a writing thought partner to the CEO and senior leaders as they develop and refine their ideas.
• Own Aceli's thought leadership calendar, planning and sequencing publications around key organizational milestones and international sector events.
• Help team members shape narratives around their work (e.g., climate, economic opportunities for women and youth, nutrition) that can be developed into thought leadership pieces for international audiences.
• Advise the CEO on the narrative approach for Aceli's publications; review final drafts and provide copyedits and recommendations to make messaging clear and compelling to a general audience.
• Manage design partners from procurement through publication, leading feedback cycles and owning final quality control.
• Work with the regional Communications team to build internal skills through training and templates, in line with Aceli’s writing style, tone, and editorial conventions.

2. External messaging and brand

• Lead the development and maintenance of a set of clear, consistent key messages that staff should use to tell Aceli's story; in partnership with Communications team, ensure Aceli staff are familiar with these messages and provide capacity building as needed
• Partner with the regional Communications team to maintain Aceli's visual brand standards and ensure all public-facing collateral reflects a consistent, professional identity.
• Serve as a trusted thought partner to the Executive team and the regional Communications team on key decisions about Aceli's external brand and messaging.
• Build on existing engagement analytics to assess how key messages and stories land with funders, partners, and other priority international audiences, and refine the key messages based on what resonates.

3. Fundraising

• Partner with the fundraising team to shape the narrative in funder proposals, reports, and pitch materials so Aceli's data and human impact reinforce each other for an external audience.
• Provide input and writing support for funder proposals and external materials as needed
• Maintain a close partnership with the regional Communications team to ensure collateral such as quotes, photography, and videos meet the needs of international and funder audiences.
• Support the regional Communications team to identify and develop high quality and effective collateral for sharing the human stories behind Aceli's data that will be most compelling to funder audiences and provide editorial support so these stories work for both local and international audiences.

4. Digital Platforms

• Execute website content updates and oversee technical maintenance to ensure security and an optimal user experience.
• Design quarterly newsletters and publication announcements, and execute campaign delivery optimized to Aceli's audiences.
• Develop and disseminate messaging and content optimized for LinkedIn, working closely with the regional Communications team to maximize audience engagement.
• Track analytics across the website, newsletter, and LinkedIn to measure audience engagement and inform Aceli's broader communications strategy.
• Support regional Communications team with digital communications relating to events e.g. invitations using MailChimp

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Communications, Journalism, International Development, Economics, or a related field.
• Minimum of 7 years of experience in strategic communications, thought leadership, editorial, or brand roles, of which at least 3 years in international development, impact investing, philanthropy, or financial services.
• Familiarity with agricultural finance, SME finance, or blended finance, ideally in African markets.
• Demonstrated track record writing and publishing thought leadership (reports, articles, op-eds, briefs) for senior international audiences.
• Exceptional English writing and editing skills, with the ability to translate complex financial and data-heavy content into clear, compelling narratives.
• Experience advising senior executives on messaging, positioning, and narrative strategy.
• Experience developing messaging frameworks, style guides, or brand standards, and managing external design and creative partners.
• Proficiency with website content management systems, email marketing platforms, LinkedIn, and web and social analytics tools.
• Strong attention to detail and organizational skills, with the ability to manage multiple publications and priorities simultaneously.
• Team player with a collaborative spirit and strong work ethic, able to work effectively and independently within a remote, multi-country team.
• Willingness to travel to East Africa, Europe, and Washington, DC.

Preferred

• Experience developing fundraising communications for bilateral and philanthropic donors.
• Experience with data storytelling and data visualization.
• Experience building communications or storytelling capacity across distributed teams.
• Working knowledge of design tools for producing on-brand collateral.

Additional Information

Aceli is an equal opportunity employer. Please share an updated CV, cover letter, and two writing samples by 10 November 2026. Applications without a Cover Letter and writing sample will not be considered.