Vice President, Catalytic Capital

Job description

About Food System Innovations

Food System Innovations (FSI) is a philanthropic organization dedicated to building, funding, and investing in market-based solutions that accelerate the transition to sustainable proteins. The organization works across the entire spectrum of alternative protein technologies, including plant-based proteins, fermentation-derived proteins, cell-cultivated proteins, and balanced protein solutions. FSI's mission extends beyond investment to encompass broader charitable and educational objectives aimed at developing and advancing innovative solutions that benefit people, animals, and the food system as a whole. FSI operates at the intersection of science, technology, markets, philanthropy, and finance to identify and address barriers to adoption of sustainable protein technologies. The organization believes that the sustainable protein sector is currently experiencing a significant capital reset, with valuations declining, investor participation contracting, and promising companies facing financing constraints despite continued scientific advancement and commercial opportunities. FSI positions itself as a source of patient, mission-driven capital capable of deploying flexible funding structures where conventional capital sources are unable or unwilling to invest. The organization leverages deep expertise across scientific assessment, technology evaluation, market analysis, and financial structuring to support the sustainable protein ecosystem. FSI's approach combines rigorous investment discipline with the flexibility to pursue catalytic outcomes, allowing the organization to invest across diverse risk profiles, time horizons, and capital structures including equity, debt, guarantees, recoverable grants, and other innovative financing mechanisms. This unique positioning enables FSI to identify and finance opportunities that conventional venture capital, private equity, and other traditional investment sources may overlook or be unable to support.

About this Role

Food System Innovations is seeking an experienced principal investor to build and lead its catalytic investment function. The Vice President, Catalytic Capital will be responsible for developing FSI's investment strategy and pipeline, sourcing and evaluating potential investments, structuring and executing deals, and managing the organization’s investment portfolio following investment close. This role offers a unique opportunity to combine deep investment expertise with a mission-driven approach to financing sustainable protein innovation. The sustainable protein sector is undergoing a significant capital reset characterized by falling valuations, contracting investor participation, and financing constraints affecting even the most promising companies and technologies. FSI recognizes this environment as presenting an unusual opportunity for patient, mission-driven capital deployment. Unlike traditional investment mandates constrained by conventional risk-return frameworks, FSI can invest across a wide range of risk profiles, time horizons, and capital structures tailored to specific opportunities and needs. The VP will bring deep principal-investing experience and judgment to identify opportunities where FSI's capital can have an outsized catalytic effect, particularly in situations where conventional capital is not well positioned to meet the financing need. The initial investment strategy will emphasize balanced proteins, advanced fermentation, and cultivated meat, with a broader mandate to identify and address capital constraints limiting the sustainable protein transition more broadly. For an experienced investor, this represents an opportunity to build an investment function within a philanthropic organization, combining rigorous investment discipline with the flexibility to pursue catalytic and mission-driven outcomes. The VP will draw on FSI's capabilities across science, technology, markets, philanthropy, and finance to develop strong investment theses, challenge assumptions, and identify opportunities that conventional capital may overlook.

Responsibilities

Refine FSI's investment theses across priority areas and translate them into a robust pipeline of companies, technologies, infrastructure projects, and other investment opportunities

Proactively source and cultivate high-quality investment opportunities through FSI's network and the VP's own relationships across the sustainable protein and investment ecosystems

Identify financing gaps where patient, flexible, or catalytic capital from FSI could unlock progress that conventional sources of capital are unlikely to finance

Develop portfolio-level perspectives on how FSI should allocate capital across technologies, stages, risk profiles, and financing structures

Lead comprehensive diligence and underwriting of potential FSI investments, including assessment of management teams, technologies, markets, business models, commercialization pathways, unit economics, capitalization, valuation, financing needs, and key risks

Develop and oversee financial models and scenario analyses, assessing expected financial performance, catalytic impact, additionality, and mission alignment

Work with FSI's scientific and technical experts to assess technology readiness, scale-up challenges, techno-economics, manufacturing feasibility, and pathways to cost competitiveness

Translate diligence into clear investment recommendations and rigorous investment memoranda for FSI leadership

Lead the structuring, negotiation, and execution of FSI's mission-aligned investments, in coordination with FSI leadership, counsel, and external advisors

Design investment structures that appropriately balance financial risk and return, catalytic impact, additionality, and FSI's charitable objectives, including equity, debt, guarantees, recoverable grants, blended finance, and other structures where appropriate

Maintain relationships with portfolio company leadership and monitor financial performance, operating milestones, mission impact, financing needs, and emerging risks

Develop recommendations regarding follow-on investments, restructurings, exits, and other portfolio decisions, while maintaining rigorous documentation of FSI's investment and charitable rationale

Work across FSI's scientific, market, philanthropic, and capital capabilities to inform investment strategy, diligence, and portfolio decisions

Collaborate closely with FSI's Capital Solutions function on opportunities requiring infrastructure finance, structured capital, blended finance, or other specialized approaches

Advise FSI leadership on when investment capital is the appropriate tool relative to grants, research, market interventions, or other philanthropic activities

Build and maintain relationships with founders, investors, corporate partners, scientists, advisors, and other senior stakeholders that strengthen FSI's sourcing, diligence, market intelligence, and portfolio support

Represent FSI externally and, where appropriate, share FSI's general research and ecosystem insights through public reports, presentations, convenings, and other educational resources consistent with FSI's charitable mission

Requirements

10+ years of relevant investment experience, including significant principal investing experience in venture capital, growth equity, private equity, corporate venture, special situations, or related investment roles, with experience operating at the Principal, Partner, VP, or equivalent level

Demonstrated track record across the full investment lifecycle, including sourcing opportunities, developing investment theses, leading diligence and underwriting, building financial models, preparing investment memoranda, negotiating transactions, and managing investments following close

Strong financial and investment judgment, with deep capabilities across valuation, financial modeling, capitalization, unit economics, scenario analysis, and financing structures

Experience evaluating technology-driven businesses with significant commercialization, scale-up, financing, or execution risk, particularly at the early and growth stages

Exceptional analytical and communication skills, with the ability to synthesize complex scientific, technical, commercial, and financial information into clear investment recommendations

Judgment and credibility to work effectively with founders, investors, scientists, corporate executives, philanthropists, and other senior stakeholders

High intellectual independence, including the ability to challenge assumptions, develop a well-supported point of view, and make decisions under uncertainty

Entrepreneurial, hands‑on approach, with comfort operating in a small, mission-driven organization and personally owning work from investment strategy through detailed analysis and execution

Direct investment or operating experience in the alternative protein ecosystem is strongly preferred

Investing experience in adjacent science‑and‑capital‑intensive sectors, such as food and agriculture, industrial biotechnology, fermentation, life sciences, climate technology, or advanced manufacturing is preferred

Experience evaluating technologies and businesses through commercialization and scale-up, including B2B models, complex enterprise sales cycles, manufacturing, and progression from pilot to commercial scale is preferred

Strong relationships across the alternative protein ecosystem, including founders, investors, scientists, strategic companies, and other industry participants is preferred

Experience with nontraditional and catalytic financing structures, including debt, structured capital, project finance, guarantees, blended finance, recoverable grants, special situations, or distressed transactions is preferred

Experience deploying patient, catalytic, or impact‑oriented capital where financial performance, risk, additionality, and mission impact must be considered together is preferred

Legally able to work in the United States

Benefits

Full medical, vision, and dental coverage

401(k) plan

Work phone and internet reimbursement

Companion animal benefits

Unlimited paid time off

11 paid holidays

Paid sick leave

Flexible work hours

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