Our mission
- CDC is the UK’s development finance institution. Founded 70 years ago, we invest in the most challenging markets of Africa and South Asia with the aim of supporting economic development. CDC has net assets of £5.1bn, with over 1300 growing businesses in the portfolio;
- CDC is wholly owned by the UK government, who has committed a further £3.5bn of capital for CDC to deploy over the next two to three years;
- We are expanding our presence in Africa and South Asia with further new offices openings in 2020;
- At CDC, we take an entrepreneurial approach to investment. We think innovatively about ways to deploy our capital, attract and mobilise other investors, and drive transformational impact;
- Primarily, CDC invests to achieve impact and a financial return which is reinvested into more businesses. We aim to create jobs and accelerate economic prosperity and focus on sectors that will do this; manufacturing, food and agriculture, infrastructure, financial institutions, construction, health and education;
- CDC works with likeminded ambitious people who are primarily motivated by our mission to deliver impact. We are a growing team of over 400 and place immense value on diversity within our organisation.
Team and role overview
Background
- If you a public affairs professional interested in joining a high-performing team that sits at the centre of a dynamic policy agenda, then this role is for you;
- Investing in the countries where we operate is challenging – which is why development finance is very much needed. Increasing understanding of the work we do is therefore an essential part in delivering our long-term impact – and is the focus of the Global Affairs team.
The Team
- The Global Affairs team performs 3 roles: monitoring and analysing external trends and identifying opportunities/risks; managing shareholder and stakeholder relationships to build long-term trust; and informing the decisions, policies and opinions that matter most;
- The team is on the frontline of a myriad of diverse topics, issues and processes. From handling our interactions with the UK government, Parliament and accountability bodies; shepherding input into international policy processes, such as COP 26; to convening stakeholders around key policy issues, such as investing in fragile states;
- We work in an agile way and the role will have opportunity to work across a number of our key stakeholders – including government, parliament, development finance institutions, trade associations and development partners;
- They assist the work of our senior leadership, including supporting the Chair and Chief Executive with their engagements. Provide advice and support to our team of investment and impact professionals in their own outreach. And work closely with colleagues across the wider Communication team and the Corporate Strategy team.
Purpose
The role will support the Head of Global Affairs in implementing a stakeholder engagement programme that increases stakeholder awareness and trust. It will support in monitoring and analysing external trends; managing stakeholder relationships; and helping to inform the decisions, policies and opinions.
Responsibilities
The issues and stakeholder focus will be subject to the priorities at the time, but the core activities of the role will be as follows:
Monitoring and analysing external trends
- Actively monitor external events, announcements, personnel changes and policy developments that impact CDC and contribute to written/oral analysis of their implications;
- Contribute to internal tools and processes that aid the institution in being externally aware – for example, internal newsletters, posts on CDC intranet, updates to Board and Management.
Managing shareholder and stakeholder relationships
Contribute to the build out of strong, targeted and systematic account management that gets the most out of our resources and relationships, including:
- Actively identifying and maintaining lists of key stakeholders;
- Tracking partnerships and stakeholder interactions across the organisation;
- Facilitating effective interactions with these stakeholders, ensuring senior staff are briefed in advance;
- Reporting back to colleagues on the content of meetings and follow-up on discussion points.
Informing decisions, policies and opinions
- Preparing briefing materials for external audiences ensuring that our activity is relevant to our audience;
- Coordinating submissions to relevant consultations and inquiries;
- Keeping our stakeholders informed on relevant developments, including representing CDC in relevant networks and events.
Undertake any other projects and tasks as required by the Head of Global Affairs.
The Candidate
Background
- Must have suitable experience at working in public affairs and stakeholder engagement roles;
- Will have worked in a relevant role with or within the UK parliament, British government and/or an intergovernmental organisation (such as the World Bank) – with a combination preferable;
- Sectoral experience of working within the international development sector (particularly private sector development); financial services or a business with international operations would be an advantage;
- Exceptional writing skills, an eye for detail and an energy to get things done;
- Willingness to undertake occasional travel inside and outside of the UK.
Skills
The candidate must be able to demonstrate:
- Mission driven - understands and is driven by the mission and purpose of CDC;
- Accountable - rigorous, disciplined and professional in their work - showing a “can-do” attitude that strives for excellence;
- Influencing – takes a thoughtful and analytical approach to understanding issues and policies that impact on CDC;
- Delivers results - highly organised and can manage/adapt to competing priorities;
- Understands stakeholder dynamics and how to build relationships;
- Works collaboratively with colleagues with a readiness to roll-up sleeves to ensure that the team and the organisation succeeds;
- Diplomatic and patient in their approach, with the ability to build trusted relationships;
- Effective communicator – exceptional writing skills and ability to distil complex scenarios into clear, understandable analysis.
CDC’s Values
We look for colleagues who are:
- Impact-led and commercially rigorous;
- Tenacious in the face of challenges;
- Collaborative and caring.
CDC is committed to diversity and inclusion and welcomes all applicants regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation.