We are hiring: Director, Climate Smart Fund – Abler Nordic

Key Role Information

Reports to: CEO, Abler Nordic

Contract type: Consultancy through December 2026, with clear pathway to Fund Director role.

Start date: As soon as feasible. 

Location: Flexible (Indonesia, Oslo, or remote), with regular travel to Indonesia.

The Opportunity

We are seeking a senior investment leader to scale Abler Nordic's Climate Smart Fund from pilot to institutional platform. This is an execution-focused role with direct responsibility for delivering the fund’s scale-up phase. Reporting directly to the CEO of Abler Nordic, you will lead:

Structuring and execution of financing and operational partnerships.
Scaling of the lending model across cooperatives, banking partners, and commodity types (including palm oil, cocoa, and coffee).
Overall fund performance during the seed deployment phase.

This role is a rare opportunity to work at the intersection of private credit, climate finance, and agricultural value chains, scaling a commercially viable platform that delivers measurable environmental and social impact.

Upon successful deployment of the seed capital, the role is expected to evolve into Fund Director, with full responsibility for managing the fund going forward.

About the Climate Smart Fund

The Climate Smart Fund (CSF) is a blended finance platform that provides affordable credit to Indonesian smallholder farmers, so they can replant and improve production on existing land rather than clearing new forest.

CSF is developed by Abler Nordic, with seed funding from Norway’s Ministry of Climate and Environment (via Norfund, the Norwegian DFI) and catalytic guarantees from partners including the Temasek Foundation.

The model aims to increase farmer incomes, reduce deforestation, and deliver sustainable financial returns. It does so through a combination of financing, technical assistance, and value chain partnerships that address key constraints faced by smallholder farmers. The model integrates:

Short-term (seasonal/fertilizer) and long-term (replanting) loans to farmers.
Partnerships with cooperatives to identify eligible farmers, distribute farming inputs, and control quality of the harvest.
Off-taker payments for farmers' harvests as the primary repayment channel (with cooperatives deducting instalments before remitting the balance to farmers) to reduce credit risk.
Lending that is restricted to land that is eligible for sustainability certification (e.g., RSPO), with farmers committing not to encroach into nearby forest.
Non-financial support for farmers, including: agricultural training, land titling, crop traceability, certification, village planning (to secure community buy-in), and satellite / drone monitoring to monitor deforestation.

Following a successful pilot phase with strong early results (including double-digit crop yield increases and strong loan repayment performance), the fund is now entering a scale-up phase focused on growing lending volumes through new cooperative channels and bank partnerships.

The Team You Will Work With

You will work closely with the Indonesia Team Leader and the local team of seven full-time staff, who have developed and piloted the fund’s business model over the past five years with cooperatives, input providers, and off-takers. You will also have the support of the Abler Nordic team in Oslo for fund modelling, IT systems, accounting, and other back-office functions.

Key Responsibilities

Negotiating & Structuring

Lead structuring of partnerships with financial institutions, guarantee providers, off-takers, and cooperatives.
Negotiate term sheets and oversee execution of legal agreements.
Identify and onboard additional lending partners.
Design and implement risk-sharing mechanisms across stakeholders.

Scaling the Lending Model

Scale the lending model, ensuring it operates effectively end-to-end across cooperatives, field operations, and banking partners.
Support the implementation of IT systems and develop SOPs for loan underwriting, disbursement, and portfolio management.

Leadership & Delivery

Oversee overall fund performance during the seed phase.
Ensure strong commercial discipline, with robust lending volumes, portfolio quality, and profitability alongside measurable environmental and social impact.
Provide direction to the Indonesia Team Leader regarding the fund’s technical assistance activities: farmer training and certification, land titling, village planning, etc.

Stakeholder Management and Reporting

Manage relationships with key stakeholders, including funders, guarantee providers, banking partners, and supply chain partners.
Oversee financial and impact performance reporting (to Abler Nordic's board, Norfund, the Norwegian Climate and Environmental Ministry, Temasek Foundation, etc.)
Represent the fund externally at events and conferences.

Platform Development

Strengthen the operational and financial foundations of the fund.
Build a robust track record to support long-term scalability and future institutional investor participation. (Institutional fundraising will not be a focus during the next 12–24 months. The priority is to deploy seed capital, prove the model at scale, and build a track record for future fundraising).
Contribute to the evolution of the platform as it transitions beyond the seed phase.

What Success Looks Like

Lending volumes scaled efficiently.
Robust banking and operational partnerships established and performing.
High portfolio quality and repayment performance across short-term and long-term farmer loans.
Demonstrable environmental and social impact.
A strong foundation laid for long-term fund sustainability and growth.

Required Experience

15+ years in private equity or private credit fund management. Candidates from top-tier investment banking or consulting backgrounds will also be considered.
Strong track record of executing complex, multi-party transactions.
Experience negotiating legal and financial agreements.
Experience leading teams in emerging markets, particularly in Southeast Asia.

Preferred experience

Experience working in Indonesia.
Exposure to agriculture, commodities, or supply chain finance.
Familiarity with impact investing and climate finance.
Experience working with DFIs or development partners.
Experience structuring investment platforms and blended finance vehicles.

Personal Attributes

Strong commercial judgment in ambiguous environments.
Proven deal-making and negotiation capability.
High ownership and execution focus.
Pragmatic and solution oriented.
Genuine balance of commercial rigor and impact orientation.
Cultural awareness and ability to work across diverse stakeholders.

Compensation

Compensation will be competitive and commensurate with experience.

Application Process

Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis. Please submit a CV and cover letter to:
hiring@ablernordic.com

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