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CHIEF EXECUTIVE March 2021
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About the Shell Foundation Shell Foundation (SF) creates and scales business solutions to enhance access to energy and affordable transport. We exist to serve the low-income communities most affected by these issues. Since our inception in 2000, our programmes have benefitted over 180m people, created and maintained 540K jobs, reduced 46m+ tonnes carbon and leveraged over USD$8bn to further this work; but this is not enough. SDG 7 gives us a target of ‘access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all by 2030’ with 1 in 10 having no current access. However, even where energy may be accessed, it is often unreliable and unaffordable. Affordable transport to access essential services and employment remains out of the reach of many of the world’s citizens. • SF is an independent charity that catalyses enterprise-based solutions to these global development challenges. • SF supports innovators to test new technology and enterprise models that can contribute towards the SDGs, achieve financial independence through raising commercial capital, and operate at scale.
• SF co-creates supply chain intermediaries, blended funds, and non-profit institutions to support replication and market growth. • SF uses grant funding and non-grant instruments, alongside extensive business support, and allocates a third of its budget to build a stronger enabling environment for social enterprises in target countries. Shell Foundation (SF) is an independent UK-registered charity founded by Shell in 2000. Shell Foundation’s independence from the Royal Dutch Shell Company is key to its ability to work across public and private sectors to deliver its charitable objectives. The Foundation’s independence is enshrined in its governance mechanisms and pipeline independence and yet it can leverage knowledge, experience, staff skills, networks and value-adding support from the founding organisation. SF's work is funded through an endowment from Shell and funding agreements with FCDO, USAID and other donors.
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The Role Chief Executive Location:
London, United Kingdom
Status:
Legal right to live and work in the UK preferred. Sponsored work permit may be considered. Potential candidates should highlight in their application if this would be required.
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Job Summary The Chief Executive (CEO) has responsibility for all strategic, financial, operational, compliance, reputational and performance-related aspects of the Shell Foundation. In addition to the effective management of existing activities and resources, the CEO will have significant focus on system-shifting ways to accelerate the achievement of the Foundation’s strategic objectives and the identification of new, disruptive, and catalytic enterprise solutions in SF’s focus areas, with the potential for scale of impact and long-term financial viability. It is essential that the CEO understands, and identifies with, an enterprise approach to development and its potential for scale and sustainability in contributing to the SDGs, as well as the importance of building a facilitating ecosystem in which these enterprises can thrive. This is the focus of SF and the CEO needs to show an appropriate track record with relevance to sustainable development and preferably energy or mobility and in poorly served markets.
Shell Foundation - Chief Executive
Commercially minded, the CEO will have the ability to ensure delivery and strong financial performance within tight budgetary constraints and will report on activities, annual targets, and milestones to the Board of Trustees. The CEO will represent the Foundation with all key internal and external stakeholders and have the personal authority and credibility to influence and build stakeholder relationships at senior levels in the public and private sector (not least in emerging markets) and within the international development finance community. The CEO will have strong leadership, interpersonal and communication skills, with a successful track record leading and coaching talent and entrepreneurs in a global, complex organisation of comparable scale.
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Job Responsibilities Specifically, the Chief Executive has lead responsibility for: Strategic leadership
• Preparing SF’s 5-year strategy and annual SF Business Plans, based on defined targets and objectives, and for reporting transparently to Trustees on progress in achieving these goals. • Setting, updating, and overseeing the execution of SF programme strategies for Access to Energy and Sustainable Mobility, as well as country/regional strategies (e.g., West Africa, East Africa, India and China). • Ensuring compliance with all UK charitable law, particularly with respect to statutory reporting, approving actions in line with maximising public benefit, and managing appropriate links with Shell in line with the SF Business Principles and principles of independence. • Developing and implementing SF’s Diversity and Inclusion strategy, to be embedded in all areas of SF’s operations, including portfolio development, funding decisions, operations, and staffing. • Maintaining effective high-level relationships with key external stakeholders (including Foundations, donors, investors, and corporations).
Budget management
• Effective planning and management of the USD 25-30 million annual SF budget. • Establishing co-funding partnerships with aligned concessionary fund providers, leveraging SF’s own funds by a factor of 3 during the next five years • Achieving the SF target to leverage over USD 3 billion by 2025 in commitments by later stage funders to support the scale up of SF portfolio companies • Mobilizing substantially additional climate-first investment into the energy access and sustainable mobility sectors and coordinating SF’s input into ensuring energy access is part of the energy transition.
Shell Foundation - Chief Executive
Partner and portfolio management
• Ensuring the balance and shape of the SF portfolio reflects SF’s strategic objectives, including delivery of scaled businesses, co-creation of new, disruptive, and innovative businesses, effective market enablers and cutting-edge action research. • Ensuring SF’s portfolio includes adequate focus on current global priorities, including energy for health and refugees and migrants. Effectively leveraging corporate and government resources to accelerate progress towards its energy access and mobility goals. • Participating at the governance/Board level for SF partners relevant regional/global institutions.
Staff management
• Managing, developing, and inspiring the SF team and ensuring appropriate local representation in India and Africa. • Line management of SF Deputy CEO, CFO, Operations Director and Theme Leads
Effective linkages with Shell
• Ensuring independence of SF from Shell is maintained and can be evidenced. • Establishing and implementing effective linkages with Shell that add value to the achievement of SF charitable objectives. • Maintaining effective high-level relationships within Shell including Country Chairs, senior business leaders and the EVP Safety, Environment and Social Performance. • Raising the profile of SF within Shell to enhance awareness; help identify experts from Shell who can assist SF/partners; and support talent attraction to SF.
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Candidate Profile Experience
• The successful candidate will possess a primary degree preferably in science, engineering and/or business. • 10-15 years’ business experience, with significant general management experience with demonstrable evidence of strategic innovation, with exposure to energy, mobility, and sustainability issues. • Strong track record in leadership or senior management roles in business, foundations, or international development organisations, including strategic vision, stakeholder engagement and people development, balanced with an entrepreneurial and delivery/ execution focus. • Insights and understanding of impact investing, development finance and venture philanthropy; and preferably blended experience of working within the private sector, international development organisations and SMEs. • Experience of living and working in emerging market and low-income economies. • Experience of developing credible and sector-leading thought leadership to partners, stakeholders, and collaborators, including governments and development finance institutions. • Experience of overseeing a portfolio of partners with a degree of technical knowledge to consult and advise partners to drive impact in their portfolios. • Knowledge of UK charity law and ensuring systems are in place to meet governance, fiduciary and compliance requirements of a UK based charity.
Competencies
The successful candidate will have a keen intellect along with high ethical and personal standards. A palpable enthusiasm for the mission and purpose of SF, the candidate will have a sense of urgency, an excellent command of the English language and knowledge of additional languages would be an advantage.
Business Acumen
• A practical understanding of the challenges faced by entrepreneurs and start-up businesses in emerging markets. • A practical understanding of the approaches and expectations of the range of investors in early-stage businesses in emerging markets. • The ability to balance the provision of a broad range of patient/flexible support to SF partners with varying levels of business management/budgetary planning capacity. • A results-based approach to delivering organizational objectives. • The ability to translate strategy into a clear and compelling vision of where s/he wants to take the people and the organization.
Management and Leadership
• A proven ability to manage, inspire and lead small, international teams of highly qualified professionals, take executive decisions, balanced with an approach that is non-hierarchical and collaborative. • A coaching style that encourages people to take charge of their own development, goal-setting skills, and a bias to action. • The ability to translate vision into feasible, quantifiable plans and achievement of results in ambiguous and changing environments.
Building relationships and using influence
• Ability to build trust and confidence with sector stakeholders, including funders, investors, governments, businesses, and academia. Understanding of the importance of respecting and valuing SF links to Shell in dealings with external stakeholders, while emphasizing SF’s independence. • Excellent verbal and written communication skills and equally impressive interpersonal skills, including the ability to resolve disputes and observe confidentiality.
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How to Apply All correspondence, at this stage, should be via Oxford HR. To apply for this post, click on the “Apply” button on the job advert page, complete our online application form, and submit your CV and cover letter. Please provide a CV and cover letter in two different documents.
Selection process
The cover letter should be no more than two pages long and explain why you are interested in this post and how your skills and experience make you a good fit. The document should be saved in MS Word in the following format: Your First Name-Your Last Name-Document Name-Date (mmyyyy) e.g., Malika Cook-CV-032021ShellFoundation.
Queries
Timeline
Closing Date: First stage interviews: Final interviews:
Monday, 5th April 2021 May 2021 May 2021
Applicants will receive an update regarding their application after the closing date. We advise applicants to add the role email to their safe senders list and regularly check their spam folder. Queries on any aspect of the appointment process, additional information, or an informal discussion, please email shell.foundation@oxfordhr.co.uk in the first instance.
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About Oxford HR Oxford HR operates globally - mainly within the international development and charity sectors. We carry out retained executive search mandates at board and senior management levels. We also offer human resource and organisational development consultancy. Oxford HR has many years of experience in search as well as an extensive network of international development, social sector, corporate, public sector, and academic contacts from across the world. We carry out comprehensive and often international searches designed to meet the specific needs of our client.
Shell Foundation - Chief Executive
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