We are looking for a Head of Platform to join our team.

We are hiring! Our Head of Platform is a guardian of the value-added capital and best-in-class experience that we offer to the founders in our portfolio.

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Firm Overview

Hillfarrance Venture Capital has the one goal-to be the highest performing early-stage venture capital fund in New Zealand. We believe the pathway to this through a relentless commitment to our core values - Curiosity (Manawa Reka), Growth (Whakatupu) and Collaboration (Kotahitanga).

Our job is to live three years in the future and predict the following significant trends in technology. A deep-rooted Curiosity (Manawa Reka) and a genuine passion for our asset class enable us to remain ahead of the curve.

We know that the most valuable lessons come from understanding why certain things didn’t work instead of those that do. As failure is not a word in our vocabulary, we call these moments Growth (Whakatupu), and we relish opportunities to sprout new shoots and grow upwards.

Collaboration (Kotahitanga) is at the heart of our market proposition and derived from our very name, Hillfarrance, which is the name of our Founder’s ancestral village. Drawing from experiences where a community worked together to enhance the lives of everyone in the village, this ethos is the bedrock of our firm.

Introduction to the role

The Head of Platform role is an integral strategic role at Hillfarrance. It is the guardian of the value-added capital and best-in-class experience that we offer to the founders in our portfolio. You will have unlimited access to the very best people and knowledge within the Hillfarrance Village and will use it to build out our platform to support our startups throughout their journey. It is a unique, dream role for someone who wants to build a career at the frontiers of modern venture capital and an offering that exponentially increases positive outcomes for our founders.

We strive to bring unrivalled value to the table and design our support services to help startups get to product/market fit faster, overcome critical growth barriers and drive transformational, sustainable, and replicable outcomes internationally. From support to get-investment-ready to piloting new products and services to forging right-fit revenue growth opportunities to leveraging the global resources and reach of a leading Aotearoa, New Zealand venture capital firm, the Hillfarrance Platform is all about increasing value for our Village members and business resilience.

The Head of Platform will collaborate intensely with the Hillfarrance team. Working with the team across a number of areas including strengthening the investment thesis, generating ideas, and a series of content. The Head of Platform will create processes and opportunities to pull out learnings from support engagements and help turn them into actionable insights for Hillfarrance and the broader New Zealand startup ecosystem.

Working alongside the Managing Partner, the Head of Platform will be a guardian of our brand and the values it represents, pushing it hard to remain at the very frontiers of startup venture capital.

Essential Responsibilities

Growth (Whakatupu)

  • Manage the Hillfarrance Platform, delivery of services and all operations.

  • Create a compelling vision and strategy for expanding the Hillfarrance Platform and its partnerships, services and impact.

  • Lead the refinement, design and execution of Hillfarrance’s core range of post-investment services.

  • Ensure Hillfarrance portfolio companies have effective impact measurement and management systems and processes.

  • Recruit and manage advisors and operating partners to generate value for portfolio companies.

  • Build a network of potential customers for our portfolio companies’ products from across the globe.

  • Manage our growing community of founders, advisors, and partners.

  • Design best practice playbooks and processes that allow our companies to gain an unfair advantage in scaling.

  • Oversee reporting for all Platform initiatives to internal and external stakeholders, including funders, investors, the Board of Directors, and the HF team.

Curiosity (Manawa Reka)

  • Contribute to our collective and evolving theses around financial resilience and climate resilience through the Hillfarrance Platform learnings.

  • Provide critical, valued input on new investment opportunities.

  • Lead the Hillfarrance team to generate thought leadership content across critical themes, and disseminate insights externally.

  • Develop and manage partnerships with ecosystem partners to drive insights, learnings and best practices.

  • Participate in speaking opportunities at influential forums, including conferences, working groups, round tables, media etc.

  • To generate proprietary and valuable deal flow for Hillfarrance.

Collaboration (Kotahitanga)

  • Collaborate with Hillfarrance leadership to pursue new opportunities in artificial intelligence solutions, the future of media and gaming, climate change alleviation and other frontier technologies.

  • Contribute to concept development, design, and implementation of new initiatives.

  • Collaborate with the Hillfarrance team to coordinate pilots with portfolio companies, thought leadership, and design new initiatives.

  • Collaborate with other start-up ecosystems on initiatives that raise the outcomes for New Zealand startups.

Reports Directly To: Managing Partner, Hillfarrance Venture Capital

Works Directly With: Hillfarrance Venture Capital leadership and team, partner organisations, consultants and Hillfarrance team members.

Minimum Qualifications & Transferable Skills

  • 4+ years working with startups, in a startup, in a startup support organisation, at a venture fund, or design firm, or in management consulting. Ideally, you have been in the trenches pioneering solutions in frontier markets, and maybe you have moved around a start-up ecosystem, so you have seen first-hand how great operators do their mahi.

  • We are open to all types of educational backgrounds. We believe the strength of our team comes from having a highly diverse and inclusive workplace.

  • Having an entrepreneurial mindset is essential. You need to be able to navigate complex and roughly defined situations and develop clear, focused, audacious plans of action.

  • Someone who never takes "because that is the way it is" and seeks to challenge the modus operandi.

  • Design-thinker obsessively focused on world-class user experience and customer-centric approaches.

  • An inquisitive individual who embraces the unknown consumes as much content as possible and constantly asks questions.

  • A team-oriented, low-ego individual who works collaboratively in a high-performance, fast-paced, creative environment.

  • You are driven to measure the effectiveness of your approach and adjust/adapt as needed.

  • Experience in working effectively with multicultural and remote teams.

  • Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.

  • Fluent in written and spoken English (Te Reo Māori is a plus).

  • We are looking for an opportunity to grow within a multi-generational firm that operates like a fast-paced startup but still feels like a family business. 

If This Is You, We Would Love To Connect

  • The ideal candidate will have a proven ability to problem-solve, manage complexity, and execute.

  • You think like a startup founder. Perhaps you have been one, or you are just wired that way. You run in a circle of startup founders; you always know what is happening now and who is doing what.

  • You have a strong network in the early-stage founder community. You are somebody founders like and relate to.

  • You are the connector. You love people -- what they are doing, who they engage with, what they are interested in. You are passionate about bringing the right people together (founders, investors, angels, accelerators, talent).

  • You are a builder. You want to create extraordinary from the ground up.

  • You're courageous. And by that, we mean not just “we can do it” courageous but also “we will figure it out” courageous.

  • You are not afraid of having tough conversations where clarity, honesty and compassion drive better outcomes for all.

  • You are a solid, 24-carat gold hustler. The founders within our Village are our primary customers, and they require moving fast whilst still exercising great judgment & care.

  • You like being on a team. You care more about learning than being right. No question is too ridiculous. You say “we” far more frequently than “me”.

Living Conditions/Environmental Conditions

The position can be based anywhere in Aotearoa, New Zealand, requiring up to 30% travel to multiple domestic and global locations. This position is expected to travel unaccompanied often, including some weekends. Constant communication is essential where infrastructure allows it.

Compensation & benefits 

Hillfarrance offers a highly competitive salary for this role, a % share of carried interest and unlimited, flexible holiday.

We will also consider applications from international candidates with skillsets that are closely aligned with this role.

Ongoing Learning

In supporting our belief that learning organisations are more effective, efficient and relevant to the communities we serve, we empower all team members to dedicate 5% of their time to learning activities that further their personal and professional growth and development.

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Achieving our mission begins with how we build our team and work together. Through our commitment to enriching our organisation with people of different origins, beliefs, backgrounds, and ways of thinking, we are better able to leverage the collective power of our teams and solve the world’s most complex and significant challenges. We strive for a culture of trust, honesty, and respect. Everyone contributes their perspectives and authentic selves to reach their potential as individuals and teams and collaborates to do the best work of their lives.

We recognise that diversity and inclusion is a journey, and we are committed to learning, listening and evolving to become more diverse, equitable and inclusive than we are today.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Hillfarrance is an equal opportunity employer that does not tolerate discrimination. We actively seek out diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and skills so that we can be collectively stronger and have a sustained global impact.

We are committed to providing an environment of respect and psychological safety where equal employment opportunities are available to all. We do not engage in or tolerate discrimination based on race, colour, gender identity, gender expression, religion, age, sexual orientation, national or ethnic origin, disability (including HIV/AIDS status), marital status, military veteran status or any other protected group in the locations where we work.

Safeguarding & Ethics

Hillfarrance is committed to ensuring that all individuals we contact through our work, whether team members, community members, program participants or others, are treated with respect and dignity. We are committed to the core principles regarding the prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse laid out by the UN Secretary-General and IASC. We will not tolerate child abuse, sexual exploitation, abuse, or harassment by or of our team members. As part of our commitment to a safe and inclusive work environment, team members are expected to conduct themselves professionally, respect local laws and customs, and adhere to Hillfarrance Venture Capital Code of Conduct Policies and values. 

Covid-19 Vaccine Policy for Employees

Hillfarrance has determined that to protect the health, safety, and well-being of all Hillfarrance employees working within the business must be fully vaccinated for COVID-19, regardless of prior COVID-19 infection status. This policy is necessary to ensure the safety of our workforce and the ongoing functionality of the organisation.

This policy will be revised as needed to comply with local requirements and respond to public health authorities' changing guidance.

This requirement goes into effect for new employees within ten business days of employment. Failure to comply may impact your employment. Proof of vaccination or exemption must be provided.

How to apply

Please send the latest copy of your CV and a 2-4 min video about why you would like to be considered for this role to: careers@hillfarrance.com.