“Vijaya has been helpful to the whole team, often offering assistance and has good relationships with our staff and our external partners.”
Nigel Kershaw, CEO, The Big Issue

Big Issue Invest

Part of the Big Issue Group, Big Issue Invest was established in 2005 and is one of the UK’s leading UK social impact investors currently managing or advising £150m of impact-oriented funds. It does this through social impact investment: investing in charities and social enterprises to generate a social and financial return. Within this the Big Issue Invest fund management team manage three social impact investment funds totaling £45m that make debt and equity investments across a range of social impact areas, including a new fund dedicated to outcomes-based investments such as social impact bonds. Our first Social Enterprise Investment Fund (SEIF I) launched in 2010, and is now fully committed having invested over £8 million into 21 social enterprises. Its successor Fund, SEIF II, currently supports ambitious social enterprises and charities with sustainable business models looking to grow and extend their social impact. The Fund has £23.8 million available to invest and is currently 40% invested. Our Outcomes Investment Fund (OIF) provides finance to charities and social enterprises delivering payment-by-results contracts into the public sector, a growing source of revenue for many social sector organisations. The OIF investment terms are aligned with the contract being financed, including flexible repayment profiles and a variable financial return linked to the success of the contract. BII is an experienced outcomes-based investor and provides support to investees before and after a contract launches. The role will be varied and the Associate will be expected to support the fund management activities of Big Issue Invest, with exposure to all areas of the team’s work. The role will give exposure to the full investment lifecycle: sourcing and developing new investment opportunities for both SEIF II and OIF; managing the current portfolio of investments; and ad hoc project work to support the team’s development. We also anticipate an opportunity to be involved in fund raising opportunities.