Managing Director, Impact Ventures & Business Instruments

ImpactAlpha; København; On-site; DKK 1,345,000 - 1,943,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Opportunity to shape a new investment

Work with a professional investment

Impact-driven investments

Role in Copenhagen with flexible start

State-owned development finance role

Collaborative investment team

Access to organizational resources

Job summary

Impact Fund Denmark seeks a Managing Director to transform mandates into a functioning investment platform, build the team, and lead venture activities. You will oversee direct investments, align with business development, and guide a growing team within a state-owned development finance institution.

Reporting to the CIO, you will establish a capable team within the first year, build a credible pipeline, and engage with partners to ensure commercial and impact alignment across investments.

Qualifications

• Experience leading direct investments and guiding opportunities through an investment process.
• Strong commercial judgment and ability to distinguish viable businesses from others.
• Ability to build relationships with Danish businesses and navigate the investment ecosystem.
• Experience and credibility to lead investment professionals and represent the organization externally.
• Practical approach to building a team, pipeline, and new activity area.
• Excellent written and spoken English.
• Experience with venture or early-stage investing (advantageous).
• Experience with venture building (advantageous).
• Background in technical assistance (advantageous).
• Experience in development finance (advantageous).
• Experience with investments in developing and emerging markets (advantageous).
• Danish language skills (advantageous).

Responsibilities

• Report to the CIO and set the strategic direction for the new investment team.
• Collaborate with existing venture and investment activities.
• Build a credible pipeline and manage opportunities through the investment process with rigor.
• Lead investment professionals with clear priorities and standards.
• Develop relationships with Danish businesses, founders, investors, funds, and business associations.
• Assess and advance direct investments balancing commercial potential, financial risk, and impact.
• Shape investment processes to fit size and risk, with proper governance and documentation.
• Coordinate with Sustainability & Impact, Legal, Risk, and Operations to bring new instruments into day-to-day use.
• Help promising businesses become investable by identifying needed technical assistance.
• Represent Impact Fund Denmark externally and explain the investment approach to partners.

Skills

Direct investments

Venture/early-stage investing

Strategic leadership

Team building

Stakeholder management

English proficiency

Danish language (adv)

Job description

About Impact Fund Denmark

Impact Fund Denmark (IFU – the Investment Fund for Developing Countries) is a Danish state-owned investment fund and development finance institution dedicated to contributing to green, just, and inclusive societies while supporting the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. The organization operates as a commercial impact investor, providing risk capital to companies operating across developing countries and emerging markets in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and parts of Europe. The fund has an extensive track record of impact investing, having co-invested in over 1,300 companies across more than 100 developing countries and emerging markets. The organization’s contracted investments total EUR 31 billion, with Impact Fund Denmark contributing EUR 3.4 billion of this amount. The fund currently manages EUR 2.1 billion in capital, with plans to expand this to EUR 5.0 billion over the coming years. Impact Fund Denmark makes investments on commercial terms through multiple instruments including equity, loans, and guarantees. The organization combines financial returns with measurable social and environmental impact, positioning itself at the intersection of commercial discipline and development impact. The fund operates with a professional investment team and maintains relationships with governments, development organizations, and commercial investors globally.

About this Role

Impact Fund Denmark is developing new ways to invest in businesses with links to Denmark and activities in developing and emerging markets. The organization is seeking a Managing Director to transform these mandates into a functioning investment platform, build the team behind it, and lead the continued development of venture activities. This role combines direct investment responsibility with business development and team leadership. The position requires the ability to make sound decisions in an evolving operating model where strategic direction and organizational infrastructure are still being developed. Reporting to the Chief Investment Officer, you will set the direction for the new team and work closely with colleagues across existing venture and investment activities. Within the first year, the successful candidate should establish a capable team and practical working relationships with Impact Fund Denmark’s existing investment organization. Relevant partners should understand when and how to engage with the new instruments, and the team should have built and assessed a credible pipeline with investment decisions supported by clear commercial and impact reasoning.

Responsibilities

• Report to the Chief Investment Officer and set strategic direction for the new investment team
• Work closely with colleagues across existing venture and investment activities
• Build a credible pipeline and ensure opportunities move through Impact Fund Denmark’s investment decision process with appropriate rigor
• Build and lead a team of investment professionals with clear priorities and standards for investment work
• Develop relationships with Danish businesses, founders, investors, funds, and business associations to identify relevant opportunities
• Assess and advance direct investments, balancing commercial potential, financial risk, and intended impact
• Shape investment processes that fit the size and risk of each opportunity while meeting Impact Fund Denmark’s requirements for documentation and governance
• Work with Sustainability & Impact, Legal, Risk, and Operations teams to bring new instruments into day-to-day use
• Help promising businesses become ready for investment by identifying where technical assistance or specialist support can make a difference
• Represent Impact Fund Denmark externally and explain the investment approach to businesses and partners

Requirements

• Demonstrable experience making or leading direct investments, including assessing opportunities and taking them through an investment decision process
• Strong commercial judgment and the ability to distinguish a promising business from an investable case
• Ability to build relationships with Danish businesses and navigate the Danish business and investment ecosystem
• Experience and credibility to lead investment professionals, work with senior peers, and represent an organization externally
• Practical approach to building a team, a pipeline, and a new area of activity
• Strong written and spoken English
• Experience with venture or early-stage investing (advantageous)
• Experience with venture building (advantageous)
• Background in technical assistance (advantageous)
• Experience in development finance (advantageous)
• Experience with investments in developing and emerging markets (advantageous)
• Danish language skills (advantageous)

Benefits

• Opportunity to shape a new investment platform within an established organization
• Work that calls for commercial discipline and offers the chance to support businesses whose growth can create measurable impact
• Role based in Copenhagen with flexible start date by agreement
• Position within a reputable Danish state-owned development finance institution
• Access to a professional investment team and organizational resources
• Opportunity to lead and build a new investment team
• Involvement in impactful investments supporting sustainable development goals