Head of Investor Relations & Capital Formation

ImpactAlpha; Oakland (CA); Hybrid; USD 180.000 - 320.000; Vollzeit

Benefits dieser Stelle

Discretionary bonus

Health insurance

401(k) retirement plan

Professional development support

Mission-driven network access

Zusammenfassung

Illumen Capital in Oakland, California, seeks a Head of Investor Relations & Capital Formation to lead fundraising strategy, deepen LP relationships, and expand the institutional investor base. The role requires travel to meet investors, conferences, and industry events, with a hybrid work arrangement from the Oakland office.

You will originate and close commitments, translate Illumen’s bias-focused research into compelling narratives, and collaborate with teams to scale across asset classes.

Qualifikationen

• Significant experience building and managing relationships with institutional investors.
• Proven track record originating and closing capital commitments.
• Ability to translate research-backed investment philosophy into investor narratives.
• Strong communication, presentation, and fundraising process management.

Aufgaben

• Lead the capital formation strategy across Illumen’s offerings.
• Originat e and close commitments from institutional investors, consultants, OCIOs, and family offices.
• Manage the full fundraising journey from first meeting to subscription.
• Act as senior relationship manager with current limited partners and co-investors.
• Develop forecasts, pipelines, and disciplined operating systems for fundraising.

Kenntnisse

Fundraising

Investor relations

Capital formation

Relationship management

Multi-asset experience

Tools

Affinity

PitchBook

Jobbeschreibung

Illumen Capital is a multi-strategy investment firm based in Oakland, California, engaged in direct investments, fund-of-funds investments, and public equities. The firm’s core mission centers on addressing bias in investing through research-informed strategies and tools. Through its diverse investment approaches, Illumen Capital works to help fund managers, investors, and founders better identify, evaluate, and invest in overlooked and underestimated entrepreneurs, with the aim of driving outperformance and unlocking returns. The firm invests in leading impact funds across venture capital, growth equity, and private equity, with a strategic focus on health and wellness, education, climate and sustainability, and technologies that advance financial and social inclusion. Illumen Capital’s investment thesis is grounded in peer-reviewed research, including work published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in 2019, which validated that race influences professional investors’ decision-making. This research foundation distinguishes the firm’s approach to bias mitigation in the investment industry. Illumen Capital partners with Stanford SPARQ, a behavioral science “do tank” at Stanford University, to design and apply research-informed tools that address bias in investment decision‑making. The firm also collaborates with Impact Experience to deliver experiential learning opportunities for founders, fund managers, and investors. More recently, Illumen launched a new U.S. public equities impact strategy in collaboration with T. Rowe Price, expanding its investment platform and capabilities. As the firm scales toward a one billion dollar investment platform, it continues to attract institutional investors and strengthen its market position as a leader in impact investing and bias-focused research.

About this Role

As Illumen Capital scales toward a one billion dollar investment platform, the Head of Investor Relations & Capital Formation will lead the firm’s fundraising strategy, deepen relationships with existing limited partners, and specifically expand Illumen’s institutional investor base. Reporting to the Managing Director and working closely with the investment team and firm leadership, this executive will be charged with hands‑on execution: originating and closing commitments, translating Illumen’s research‑backed approach into an even more compelling investor narrative, and working with the Illumen team to enhance systems and improve the operating cadence required for sustained growth. This is a full‑time role that will require meaningful travel to meet with investors and attend conferences, firm events, and industry gatherings. The position is hybrid, based out of Illumen’s Oakland, California office, with approximately 50% travel requirements. The successful candidate will build and lead a high‑performing investor relations and capital formation operation, establishing the systems, processes, institutional knowledge, and capabilities required to scale the firm’s fundraising efforts across multiple asset classes and investor channels.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute a comprehensive capital formation strategy across Illumen’s investment offerings for progress toward one billion dollars in assets under management
• Originate, qualify, cultivate, and close capital commitments from institutional investors, consultants, OCIOs, family offices, foundations, endowments, pension plans, wealth platforms, and high-net-worth individuals
• Lead prospective investors through the full fundraising journey from first meetings and qualification through diligence, negotiation, Investment-Committee approval, and signed subscriptions
• Serve as a trusted senior relationship manager for current limited partners; strengthen re‑ups, referrals, co-investment relationships, and cross-strategy engagement across Illumen’s private-market and public-equities offerings
• Develop fundraising goals, probability-weighted forecasts, conversion metrics, and a disciplined operating system with clear ownership and accountability
• Effectively communicate Illumen’s investment performance, its research addressing bias, and its impact thesis for sophisticated investors across private and public markets
• Position Illumen effectively across impact-investing, emerging-manager, consultant, institutional, and private-wealth channels; monitor allocation trends, investor sentiment, and competitive fundraising dynamics
• Provide actionable market intelligence to firm leadership, including insights that inform fundraising priorities, product development, investor segmentation, and potential new structures or strategies consistent with Illumen’s mission
• Lead high-quality investor communications and experiences, including limited partner meetings, quarterly and annual reporting, impact communications, advisory engagement, conferences, regional campaigns, and relationship-building events
• Oversee pitch books, fact sheets, due-diligence questionnaires, data-room content, customized investor requests, website and newsletter content, and other external materials, ensuring accuracy and consistency
• Partner effectively with Illumen investment, finance, operations, legal, compliance, and impact colleagues, fostering a collaborative, accountable, and team-first culture
• Build and lead a high-performing investor relations and capital formation operation, including the systems, processes, institutional knowledge, and capabilities required to scale

Requirements

• Demonstrated passion for building a more equitable world, grounded in the belief that addressing bias in investment decision-making can unlock stronger performance and deeper impact
• Significant experience in institutional fundraising, investor relations, and capital formation with a record of personally originating relationships and closing meaningful commitments
• Active relationships across relevant investor channels, particularly consultants and OCIOs, foundations, endowments, pensions, family offices, wealth platforms, and mission-aligned investors, that can be successfully activated
• Experience in multi-asset class strategies preferred
• Strong investment fluency and the ability to communicate with high conviction portfolio strategy, performance, attribution, risk, impact, and Illumen’s differentiated approach to addressing bias to sophisticated investment committees
• Judgment and presence to represent Illumen as a trusted senior external face, with excellent writing, speaking, facilitation, and relationship-management skills
• Highly organized, data-driven approach to pipeline management, forecasting, meeting preparation, follow-up, diligence, and reporting; fluency with Affinity, PitchBook, or comparable systems
• Builder’s orientation and the ability to operate both strategically and hands‑on as a senior executive at an entrepreneurial, growing investment firm
• Proven team player who collaborates across functions, shares information and credit, supports collective decisions, and contributes to shared outcomes
• High integrity, discretion, resilience, curiosity, self-awareness, and a commitment to continuous learning and self-improvement
• Leadership attributes including ability to create strategy and systems, close complex deals, tell compelling stories about investment performance and mission, build credibility with sophisticated investors, focus on pipeline quality and conversion metrics, understand shared accountability, and demonstrate high emotional intelligence

Benefits

• Discretionary bonus based on individual and team performance
• Employer-covered health insurance plans
• 401(k) retirement plan
• Financial support for professional development opportunities
• Opportunity to work in a mission-driven environment with access to a distinguished network of investors, fund managers, researchers, leaders, and mentors