Analyst, Research and Origination, Fund Ecosystem

The mission of Renaissance Philanthropy is to fuel a 21st century renaissance by increasing the ambition of philanthropists, scientists, and innovators. 

Our aim is to activate a virtuous loop of increasing ambition and impact between philanthropists and innovators: by identifying frontier experts both in science and in new ways of solving problems; by tapping into the growing number of emerging philanthropists; and by building multi-sector initiatives that can harness the power of philanthropy, markets, and governments.

We advance our mission by advising philanthropists, surfacing breakthrough ideas, and incubating ambitious initiatives. Read more about our philanthropic fund model here.

Role and Responsibilities

As an Analyst, Research and Origination within the Fund Ecosystem program at Renaissance Philanthropy, you will play a key role in building out Renaissance Philanthropy's work to design, launch, and evaluate new, thesis-driven philanthropic funds. 

The Fund Ecosystem program at Renaissance Philanthropy seeks to strengthen the broad ecosystem of thesis-driven philanthropic funds. The program has three focus areas: advising philanthropists who are interested in supporting thesis-driven funds, building public goods to support the philanthropic fund ecosystem, and origination (i.e., testing structured approaches to developing new fund ideas). . 

Reporting to the Program Director, Origination, the ideal candidate will be a technical polymath who thrives on a combination of breadth (surveying the full landscape of possibilities in multiple spaces) and depth (conducting deep and intense diligence on specific ideas to determine whether they are worth investing in).  

This role will have a strong focus on pressing health and development challenges in low-and-middle income countries (70%), but you should expect to spend much of your time (30%) traversing a wide range of other topics, from math education to climate policy to biomedical R&D.

The base compensation range for this role is $90,000 to $120,000, along with a comprehensive and generous benefits package, 401K contribution, and performance-based bonus. 

Renaissance Philanthropy has offices in New York, Washington D.C. and London. There is a preference for location in D.C. or New York  to enable in-person work, however, this is a remote role that is open to candidates anywhere, including in Africa and Asia. Your core responsibilities will include: 

Research, Origination and Evaluation:

  • Conduct research to identify high-impact opportunities that could be addressed through thesis-driven philanthropic funds.

  • Develop and execute systematic processes for identifying and originating new potential funds,  including identifying and vetting the talent to lead them. 

  • Support and incubate early stage projects and fund directors to take a promising thesis, and either disprove it, or turn it into a project that’s ready to fund and scale.

  • Lead the design and implementation of evaluation frameworks for assessing the performance of existing funds and nonprofits, as well as evaluating new potential funds and projects that don’t yet have track records. Evaluate projects across a broad range of countries, approaches, and topic areas.

Ecosystem Building and Network Development:

  • Build and maintain relationships with key stakeholders across topic area ecosystems, including policymakers, scientists, and technical experts in low-and-middle-income countries. 

  • Organize and support communities of practice to connect researchers, practitioners, and innovators working on high-impact challenges.

Partnership Management:

  • Directly support RenPhil‘s existing donors, potential new donors, and partnering organizations by preparing research, analysis, and briefing materials.

  • Support the development of compelling investment cases and talking points for thesis-driven funds.

If you are successful in this role, in two years, you will have helped identify and launch multiple high-impact philanthropic funds led by exceptional directors working on critical global challenges. You will have built a robust pipeline of fund opportunities and established Renaissance Philanthropy as a trusted partner for both ambitious philanthropists and field-leading experts. 

Key Qualifications

  • 1-4 years of experience in nonprofit or for-profit entrepreneurship, science or social science research, investing, philanthropic grantmaking, or project design and incubation

  • Evidence of both depth (i.e., you have gone very deep in at least one area) and breadth (i.e., you have worked effectively multiple topics, or disparate approaches across government, business, and/or non-profits to address one topic)

  • Experience working with researchers, practitioners, and/or policymakers in low and middle income countries and evidenced interest in global health and development 

  • Exceptional research and analytical skills, including the ability to do high-quality quantitative analysis (e.g. cost-effectiveness modeling), identify and understand the research frontier of a scientific question, and uncover high impact opportunities

  • Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with ability to translate complex concepts for diverse audiences

Values

You will thrive within our team if you:

  • Have strong mission and vision alignment: You believe in the power of science, innovation, and technology to create a brighter future for all.

  • Exhibit high agency: You can move mountains and break perceived constraints.

  • Inspire others and are highly collaborative: You can motivate others to join your mission and goals. You understand the value of going further by working with others.

  • Value exceptional talent and the power of networks: You can spot or nurture exceptional talent and believe in the value of building networks and the power law of talent.

  • Are comfortable working in fast-moving and ambitious teams: You are not afraid of ambiguity and enjoy working at pace.

Diversity

We encourage anyone who is interested in this role to apply, regardless of whether you feel you meet 100% of the qualifications. The top candidates will bring their own unique perspectives, experiences, and backgrounds from a variety of industries along with many but not necessarily all the skills listed above.

Recruiting, hiring, mentoring, and retaining a diverse workforce is critical to our success. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, colour, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or status as a protected veteran. 

Renaissance Philanthropy is an equal-opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.

Next Steps

Apply here.