Sierra Leone Investment & Ecosystem Adviser (Freelance Consultant)

British International Investment; City Of London; On-site; GBP 80,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

A major development finance institution is seeking a Freelance Consultant to drive investment ecosystem efforts in Sierra Leone. The role requires extensive experience in development finance, investment promotion, and a strong ability to manage relationships with local stakeholders. The Consultant will focus on unlocking investments and building the broader investment ecosystem through strategic partnerships and targeted advisory services. Competitive contracting terms apply.

Qualifications

• Experience working in development finance or related fields.
• Strong track record of managing multiple workstreams.
• Ability to engage with senior business leaders.

Responsibilities

• Build relationships with the ARIA initiative.
• Produce market research for informed investment decisions.
• Design and oversee implementation of sectoral advisory projects.

Skills

Development finance experience

Impact investing

Commercial banking

Strong management skills

Sectoral knowledge in agriculture

Relationship management

Job description

Sierra Leone Investment & Ecosystem Adviser (Freelance Consultant)

Are you passionate about unlocking capital and catalysing investment ecosystems and want to be part of our pioneering partnership to support the private sector in Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone has been prioritised by British International Investment (BII) as a frontier market where BII wants to work with partners to support driving more investment and building the investment ecosystem. This builds on the work of the ARIA initiative which is co‑funded by BII FMO and Proparco and works closely with the British High Commission in Freetown

We are looking for an experienced Consultant to help drive BII's market creation efforts in Sierra Leone helping to unlock investments, address barriers to investment in key sectors and build the broader investment ecosystem. The Consultant will deliver concrete outputs to support driving BII origination and investment whilst shaping and delivering impactful investment ecosystem support to help facilitate increased flows of sustainable capital into Sierra Leone. We are looking for a Consultant who can bring experience at the intersection of finance, private sector development, investment promotion and stakeholder management.

BII and our market creation activity in Sierra Leone

British International Investment (BII) is the UK’s development finance institution. Over the past five years BII has committed almost 7 billion of new investments with net assets growing in value to approximately 7.5 billion.

As we look to strategically increase the role BII plays in frontier markets, now is the time to pilot novel approaches to investment and the wider investment Sierra Leone. We have committed almost $100 m in the last 10 years. Since 2022 BII market creation activities have had significant traction in Sierra Leone through ARIA and several public and private sector partnerships in‑country. BII is now looking to expand our market creation activities in Sierra Leone working closely with the ARIA initiative and the British High Commission in Freetown. BII will focus on unlocking more investment and addressing sectoral bottlenecks to investment across financial institutions, agriculture, manufacturing, emerging sectors and infrastructure / energy. This will be combined with broader activities to build the investment ecosystem and support changing the image of Sierra Leone among investors.

Scope of services :

Working closely with the BII Plus Market Creation team and BII’s Coverage Director the Consultant will help deliver concrete outcomes to enable more of BII’s transactions in Sierra Leone as well as supporting the investment ecosystem building activities.

1)Support Unlocking Investments

• Build a close relationship with the ARIA initiative and leverage the origination efforts.
• Produce market research and investment intelligence to help deal teams make informed decisions and manage risks effectively.
• Prepare and review data rooms and gather intelligence to assist deal teams during deal due diligence and execution.
• Additional advisory services to support the deal process.

2)Support Building the Investment Ecosystem

• Provide input into the market creation strategy across financial institutions, agriculture, manufacturing and infrastructure / energy and the investment ecosystem more broadly.
• Scoping and designing 4‑6 sectoral / ecosystem / policy advisory projects drafting terms of reference and overseeing implementation of projects (or sometimes delivering directly) to ensure results are achieved.
• Reporting on the results of activities and performance tracking including semi‑annual and annual reviews.
• Build and maintain a database of contacts and relationships with local stakeholders including transaction intermediaries, government regulators, development partners and the private sector to gather intelligence and support investment activities.
• Additional advisory to support building the investment ecosystem.

Deliverables :

• Market research briefing documents, project design documents, TORs, database of contacts as per the scope of services above.
• Monthly dashboard report presenting progress against the agreed schedule of services to be approved by BII.
• Quarterly report detailing outputs and outcomes achieved from the services to be approved by BII.

Required Skills :

• Experience working in or with development finance, impact investing, commercial banking, corporate finance, investment banking, private equity, M&A and investment advisory and / or investment management.
• Understanding of how to leverage different tools (transaction advisory, technical assistance / advisory, research events, partnerships etc.) to unlock investments, address sector level barriers and build the investment experience.
• Sectoral experience in financial institutions, agriculture, manufacturing and infrastructure / energy.
• Strong management experience with the ability to manage multiple workstreams at once and a proven track record of delivering concrete results.
• Ability to engage effectively with senior business leaders and to build strong relationships with local stakeholders, including government regulators and investment promoters.
• Experience working with international development institutions (World Bank, IMF, African Development Bank etc.) and / or relevant UK and Sierra Leone government departments.

Key additional information :

• The selected consultant will be based in Freetown, Sierra Leone.
• The duration of the assignment will be for 6 months. Future related assignments with BII or its partners may be possible.

How to apply :

In order to apply please email your CV and a maximum two‑page proposal covering the relevant experience, proposed approach and commercial proposal by the 7th of October 2025 to the BII Plus mailbox.

Required Experience : Contract

Key Skills

Sales Experience, Trusts, Financial Services, Investment Experience, Military Experience, Banking, Securities Law, Relationship Management, Customer relationship management, RMF, Financial Planning, Wills

Employment Type : Contract

Experience : years

Vacancy : 1