Allied Talent Partners (ATP)
Allied Talent Partners (ATP), a Three Cairns Group initiative, is a mission-driven, not-for-profit talent marketplace focused on solving the human capital bottlenecks slowing down sustainable development efforts in emerging economies, with an initial focus on Africa. ATP connects vetted, experienced, context-relevant professionals to high-impact opportunities in energy access and sustainable development – strengthening local capacity and fuelling economic vitality. We specialize in fixed-term, deliverable-driven engagements – from interim leadership and generalist projects to niche technical expertise – handling project scoping, talent vetting and matching, contracting, payroll, and compliance so that our clients can focus on impact.
High-Level Overview
A philanthropic foundation is undertaking a time-bound strategic review to shape its future approach to Women & Families, with a focus on strengthening the economic power of households, entrepreneurs, and communities through market-based and capital-enabled interventions.
A philanthropic foundation is undertaking a time-bound strategic review to shape its future approach to Women & Families, with a focus on strengthening the economic power of households, entrepreneurs, and communities through market-based and capital-enabled interventions.
The organisation is working towards a board checkpoint on 27 March 2026, with a final approval of strategic direction targeted for 18 May 2026. The consultant will support the development of clear strategic “broad strokes” for the first board discussion, followed by refinement and prioritisation ahead of final approval.
The geographic focus of the work is Sub-Saharan Africa, while deliberately aiming to surface “universal” strategic themes that can be adapted to other regions, including South Asia. The work is intended to be highly practical, decision-oriented, and usable, rather than overly formal or academic.
Role and Responsibilities
Role: Sr Women & Families Strategy Consultant
Direct Report: Managing Director
Candidates Required: 1
Direct Report: Managing Director
Candidates Required: 1
Key Deliverables:
- Strategy, design & systems
- Strategic landscape assessment of funders, models, and approaches supporting the economic power of Women & Families.
- Identification of dominant themes, emerging innovations, structural gaps, and underexplored opportunity areas.
- Synthesis of insights into transferable strategic frameworks that can be adapted across regions.
- Execution & delivery
- Assessment of effective intervention and funding models across the capital continuum (grants, blended finance, guarantees, catalytic debt, equity, technical assistance).
- Identification of 2–3 priority opportunity sectors with high impact and scalability, including the creative economy (fashion, textiles, artisans).
- Clear point of view and recommendations outlining priority bets, key trade-offs, and risks, including what not to pursue.
- Physical supply chain / market context
- Assessment of relevant market dynamics, value chains, and enabling systems (policy, capital availability, data,infrastructure, local ecosystems) that influence feasibility and scale
- Capability building & engagement
- Ongoing, iterative engagement with the internal team to exchange ideas, pressure-test assumptions, and refine thinking under tight timelines.
- Preparation of lightweight, decision-oriented outputs (e.g. working slides, short memos, opportunity maps) suitable for internal use and board discussion.
- Facilitation of an interim validation session or workshop, if required
Requirements
Experience Required:
- Strong background in strategy, philanthropy, impact investing, or development finance, with a focus on Women’s Economic Empowerment, inclusive growth, or household economics.
- Hands-on exposure to real-world programs, funds, or operating partners (not purely academic or desk-based research).
- Experience working in or across Sub-Saharan Africa; broader emerging market exposure preferred.
- Proven ability to extract cross-regional insights and transferable patterns, rather than producing siloed regional analyses.
Technical Requirements:
- Strong qualitative research and synthesis skills.
- Ability to assess and compare funding instruments across grants, blended finance, debt, equity, and guarantees.
- Experience producing concise, board-facing materials without heavy process or over-formatting
Other Skills:
- Pragmatic, non-academic working style; prioritises clarity, judgment, and usability over highly polished or overly formal outputs.
- Comfortable working at speed and making “good-enough” recommendations under ambiguity and incomplete data.
- Strong point of view, with the ability to articulate trade-offs and defend recommendations.
- Collaborative thought partner, able to iterate quickly based on feedback
Working Arrangement
Location: Remote
Travel: None
Contracting Period: Approx. 15–25 days over ~6 weeks
Location: Remote
Travel: None
Terms of agreement:
Start Date:
Contracting Period: Approx. 15–25 days over ~6 weeks
About Allied Talent Partners
Allied Talent Partners (ATP), a Three Cairns Group initiative, is a mission-driven, not-for-profit talent marketplace focused on solving the human capital bottlenecks slowing down sustainable development efforts in emerging economies, with an initial focus on Africa. ATP connects vetted, experienced, context-relevant professionals to high-impact opportunities in energy access and sustainable development – strengthening local capacity and fuelling economic vitality. We specialize in fixed-term, deliverable-driven engagements – from interim leadership and generalist projects to niche technical expertise – handling project scoping, talent vetting and matching, contracting, payroll, and compliance so that our clients can focus on impact.
