About Africa Jobs Fund

The Africa Jobs Fund is a mission-driven investment vehicle that channels concessional capital into export manufacturing and labor mobility ventures to create jobs and raise incomes across Africa. Unlike traditional development banks, it operates with a venture-like agility, deploying capital to directly de-risk private sector expansion into African markets. Working here means being at the intersection of industrial policy, international trade, and impact investing, with a tangible focus on job creation.

About the role

As Head of Manufacturing Relocation, you will be the primary architect of the fund's strategy to recruit Asian and Turkish manufacturers to establish export production in Africa. You will own the entire lifecycle—from identifying expansion-ready manufacturers and building relocation business cases to negotiating with governments and deploying concessional capital to close deals. This role is pivotal in proving that Africa can be a competitive export manufacturing hub, directly influencing the fund's impact and financial returns.

A typical day

Your day might start with a call with a Chinese electronics manufacturer to discuss labour costs and logistics in Kenya, followed by a meeting with a Rwandan government official to negotiate incentives for an industrial park. In the afternoon, you'd build a financial model to assess a concessional loan package for a Turkish garment company, then debrief with your team on pipeline progress. Expect frequent travel to Asia, Turkey, and across Africa to close deals.

Who Africa Jobs Fund is looking for

**Senior manufacturing or FDI executive** with 10–25 years of P&L ownership, plant operations, or investment deal experience in Asia/Turkey and a track record of expanding production across borders.
**Africa-savvy dealmaker** who has navigated government negotiations, industrial park incentives, and licensing processes in at least two African countries, ideally in export processing zones.
**Fluent Mandarin Chinese speaker** (strongly preferred) with the cultural fluency to build trust with Chinese manufacturers and the ability to work effectively with Turkish counterparts.
**Strategic financier** who can structure concessional capital deployments, build cost-effectiveness models, and assess risk to tip investment decisions toward Africa.

Tips for this application

Quantify your deal experience: specify the number and value of FDI projects you've led, especially those involving manufacturing relocation to Africa or other emerging markets.
Highlight any direct experience with Chinese or Turkish manufacturers, including names of companies, sectors, and the specific outcomes (e.g., jobs created, capital invested).
Show your government navigation skills: list specific African countries where you've secured licenses, incentives, or partnerships, and describe the complexity of those negotiations.
Demonstrate your ability to deploy concessional capital: provide examples of how you structured or recommended financial packages to de-risk investments, including cost-effectiveness analysis.
If you have Mandarin skills, make them prominent—include a line in your CV summary and mention specific business contexts where you used them.

What to cover in your cover letter

1. Your unique combination of manufacturing operations and FDI deal execution in Asia/Turkey and Africa, with concrete examples. 2. A specific instance where you built a business case for relocating production to Africa and successfully closed the deal. 3. Your experience deploying concessional or blended capital to influence investment decisions. 4. Your Mandarin proficiency and cultural understanding of Chinese manufacturing firms, if applicable.

Draft a cover letter

Research before applying

Study the Africa Jobs Fund's existing portfolio and investment thesis—understand which sectors, countries, and types of ventures they've supported.
Research recent trends in manufacturing relocation to Africa, including Chinese and Turkish FDI flows, and identify key players and industrial parks.
Map out the major export processing zones and industrial parks in Africa, their incentive packages, and any recent deals they've attracted.
Understand the landscape of concessional capital providers (e.g., DFIs, impact funds) and how they structure deals to de-risk manufacturing investments.

Africa Jobs Fund website

Likely interview topics

Based on the job description, expect questions about:

Walk us through a time you convinced an Asian manufacturer to expand production to Africa. What were the key objections and how did you overcome them?
How would you build a cost-effectiveness analysis for deploying concessional capital to attract a Turkish textile manufacturer to an Ethiopian industrial park?
Describe your experience negotiating with African governments on incentives, licensing, and land. What pitfalls should the fund avoid?
Which African countries do you see as most competitive for export manufacturing today, and why? How would you prioritize them?
How would you leverage your network to identify manufacturers with expansion opportunities, and what criteria would you use to screen them?

Practise interview questions

Common mistakes to avoid

Focusing only on high-level strategy without demonstrating hands-on deal execution or P&L accountability.
Ignoring the need for Africa-specific experience—generic emerging markets exposure without concrete examples in African industrial parks or government negotiations.
Underestimating the importance of Mandarin or Turkish language skills; if you lack them, failing to address how you'll overcome that gap.

Deadline

No deadline is listed. Roles without a deadline usually close once the employer has enough candidates, so apply soon if you are interested.