Senior Manager,
Project Delivery, CATALYZE
About Palladium:
Palladium is a global
company working to design, develop and deliver positive impact on the lives and
livelihoods of people around the globe; broaden access to health, water, power,
and infrastructure; build enduring, sustainable, and transformative
institutions and market systems to address global challenges; and conserve the
natural world. We operate in over 90 countries and have a workforce of 3,000
talented, motivated, and diverse staff of all religions, races, languages, and
gender identities.
This Opportunity:
The CATALYZE Portfolio
based out of Palladium's Washington, D.C. office is currently seeking a Senior
Manager, Project Delivery to provide dedicated project management and
implementation support across CATALYZE activities but focusing principally on
CATALYZE Ethiopia Market Systems for Growth (MS4G).
CATALYZE is a $250
million 8-year program, designed to mobilize $2 billion in private capital,
especially to underfinanced social sectors (such as education) and higher risk
countries (especially low-income and post-conflict countries) around the globe,
complemented by a cross-cutting inclusion of gender-lens investing. CATALYZE
serves as a "platform of platforms" that provides services to many missions and
bureaus that "buy in" to tap the CATALYZE investment and pay-for-results
project management expertise. Our aim is for investors to explore and
find commercially viable opportunities and approaches to creating jobs,
developing sustainable social services, tightening, and rationalizing supply
chains, and advancing inclusive growth - ultimately, reducing the need for
development institutions to provide donor funding.
Global CATALYZE teams
and USAID missions have spent the last two years co-designing and implementing
a series of activities to significantly mobilize private capital for
development that make up the CATALYZE portfolio, also known as Buy-Ins:
- Asia Social Protection: Improving access to financial and social protection for vulnerable women in Asia. Focus countries: Bangladesh, Indonesia, Philippines. Partners: TBD.
- CATALYZE Peru: Catalyzing investment and access to finance for SMEs in the Peruvian Amazon.Focus country:Peru.Partners:Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), Business Advisory Service Providers (BASPs), Financial Intermediaries, Private Sector Anchor Firms.
- EduFinance: Mobilizing capital for non-state education, early child care development, training and workforce development, and improving and sustaining learning outcomes for children and youth, particularly those who are the most marginalized and vulnerable.Focus countries:Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia, Kenya, Latin America and the Caribbean.Partners:Kaizenvest, UBS Optimus Foundation, PEAS, EPG, Opportunity International.
- Ethiopia Market Systems for Growth (MS4G): Fostering private enterprise growth primarily in agricultural markets to boost food security, make improvements to water, hygiene and sanitation and support COVID relief.Focus country:Ethiopia.Partners:Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), Business Advisory Service Providers (BASPs), Transaction Advisory Service Providers (TASPs), Consultants, Associations.
- Sahel Finance for Resilience (F4R): Increasing financing to support capital investment in the agricultural sector and in youth-led enterprises.Focus countries:Burkina Faso, Niger.Partners:ICDE (Burkina Faso) and SINERGI SA (Niger). Financial Facilitators/Business Advisory Service Providers (BASPs), Financial Intermediaries, USAID Implementing Partners Yalwa, Yidgiri, Bridge Youth Connect, Sahel Collaboration and Communication Activity.
- Sri Lanka Private Sector Development (PSD): Promoting economic diversification and employment opportunities for SMEs, principally women.Focus country:Sri Lanka.Partners:Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), Business Advisory Service Providers (BASPs), Financial Intermediaries, Consultants, Business Associations.
- Western Balkans Engine of Growth: Increasing SME access to private capital and using finance to drive enterprise growth. Focus countries: Albania, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia.Partners:Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), Business Advisory Service Providers (BASPs), Financial Intermediaries.
- Women's Economic Empowerment: Mobilizing private capital to create economic opportunities for women.Global focus.Partners: U.S. Development Finance Corporation, BAC El Salvador, Banco LAFISE Dominican Republic.
You and Your
Career:
If you are a
problem-solver, collaborator, and doer, and you have expertise in implementing
USAID projects, overseeing project financial management, or managing field
teams, we are interested in hearing from you.
We are a learning
organization and provide growth opportunities from the start. We pride
ourselves on giving you the freedom, resources, and guidance to chart a
fulfilling career!
Reporting and
Supervision:
The Senior Manager, Project Delivery, plays a key role
in leading day-to-day management activities of the project team, harmonizing
technical goals and compliance with our client agreements, regulations, and
internal policies. Through this experience and working closely with their PMU,
managers, project delivery, are expected to gain the competencies and skills
needed to progress to director level roles in project delivery, or functional
areas. This role also typically supervises one or more Associate(s), Project
Delivery, ensuring their training in project management duties and best
practices, while also promoting their development and growth into future
managers, project delivery or functional roles.
Reporting requirements
include:
Oversee and manage Senior Project
Associates and Project Associates as assigned
As delegated, the role liaises with
clients, technical area specialists, corporate services, professional
service providers, and other stakeholders as required
- The role carries a degree of autonomy on
project management with appropriate consultation
- The role is required to analyze and make
sound recommendations to the line manager
- The role may carry expenditure and/or
signatory authority for project-related costs and documents
Primary Duties and Responsibilities:
Project
Management
- Under the leadership of the Activity
Director, lead the Activity Management Unit (AMU) in the execution of
required financial administration and management, contract compliance,
procurement, reporting and other operational obligations to comply with
USAID and Palladium requirements
- Serve as Activity's primary liaison
with CATALYZE CORE team, corporate services, Project
Delivery, Field Team Leadership and Process
Excellence teams to ensure effective and efficiency project delivery
- Manage project delivery
and changes including project scope, schedule, and costs to keep the
project plan accurate and updated
- Support development and
execution of project subcontractor, grant management, and procurement
procedures compliant with internal and client's rules
and regulations
- Engage and coordinate with field teams to
develop, execute and monitor procurement pipelines through out the
procurement and project cycle
- In collaboration with Process Excellence
and corporate services, ensure compliance with, company policies and
client rules and regulations (covering as required risk management,
project planning, human resource management, monitoring, reporting,
finance, procurement, logistics, IT, communications, audit support and all
other project managements matters), providing training and mentorship to
AMU and field staff as required
- Participate in the development,
implementation, and monitoring of project work plans, tracking project
deliverables and monitoring project delivery against
spending forecasts
- Ensure project issues and risks
are identified, logged, reported on, managed and mitigated; and
escalate risks and issues to Practice Area and Process Excellence
leadership, ensuring corrective actions are fulfilled, as required
Contract and Client
Relationship Management
- In coordination with the CATALYZE CORE
Team, monitor and maintain compliance with head/prime contracts including
agreement action requests (i.e., travel, personnel changes, grant
approvals, budget realignments, etc.)
- Monitor and report on overall progress
against agreed targets, milestones, outputs
and activities
- Liaise with and respond to requests from
clients in conjunction with the Activity Director and field
team Country Director, including providing or giving inputs
on reporting
Financial
Management
- Ensure company policies and
processes for financial management are implemented and are compliant
with the client's rules and regulations
- Leads monitoring budget progress against
forecast as one metric to track project progress against its work plan;
proactively seeks to solve shortages or overages against the frozen
forecast as needed
- Serve as a coordinator for service
providers and approve (or obtain approval for) work orders and invoices;
ensure the accuracy of client invoices (including monthly, milestone
and performance-based invoices)
- Support the external audit process as
needed and ensure retention of project records is compliant with company
and client policy
Human Resource
Management and Recruitment
- Oversee project human resource planning,
recruitment, contracting, and mobilization with field teams and
coordinate inputs from Compliance, HR, and Talent Acquisition teams
(i.e. benefits, local labor law, etc.)
- Lead the mobilization and demobilization
of international staff (short-term and long-term) including contracting
(in coordination with HR) and travel management
- Serve as primary supervisor to one or more
Associate(s), Project Delivery, or Senior Associate(s), Project
Delivery; or Manager (s)
Project Delivery
- Take a proactive role in staff
development, including working with supervisees to identify professional
development opportunities, and holding monthly coaching sessions to advise
them on project management best practices, core competencies, and general
work skills and behaviours
Technical
delivery
- Coordinate with the Activity Director and
field team Country Director(s) to identify workstreams requiring Home
Office technical delivery support
- Provide technical advice in the design,
structuring and implementation of partnerships and procurements with both
international and local partners
- Play lead or supporting role in the
implementation of activity workstreams, as assigned
- Collaborates with field team and home
office peers to ensure lessons learned from across Palladium and
development community are integrated into task design and implementation
- Leads teams to implement new work
including assignment and management of staff to new activities,
initiatives or projects, as required
- Oversees and ensures quality of the
development of technical reports, workplans, proposals and
other outputs for internal and external stakeholders
- Performs other duties as
assigned
Business Development /
Other
- Contribute to company growth by ensuring
assigned projects are managed well, ensuring Palladium is seen positively
by clients for consideration in future business development
- Participate in capture planning, providing
inputs on implementation requirements
- Provide input and support business
development of the company as required
- Complete other duties as assigned
Key Competencies
Required:
- Substantial work experience in one or more
of the following topic areas: project management and implementation,
financial management, inclusive finance, blended finance and/or impact
investing in developing and emerging markets
- Substantial work experience managing
multiple complex projects/assignments in a time-sensitive environment
- Excellent written and oral communication
skills (in English) as demonstrated by speaking engagements and/or written
documents
- Ability to meet multiple deadlines with
exceptional attention to detail and to quality
- Experience on developing country issues
and/or contexts
- Leads problem solving initiative and
implements new ways of working and processes.
- Experience networking across the
development community, including donors, implementing partners, and
cooperating country organizations and governmental institutions
- Excellent team management skills in a
complex and fast-paced environment
- Excellent interpersonal skills and
demonstrated ability to interact professionally with culturally diverse
staff, clients, and consultants
- Extensive experience with conceptualizing
and making presentations to small and large groups (over 30 individuals),
both in-person and virtually
- Excellent problem solving and
decision-making skills
- Demonstrated strong financial skills for
generating, interpreting, and analyzing financial reports and forecasts
- Extensive experience implementing USAID
and/or other donor funded projects
- Proven experience identifying and applying
complex program management processes
- Ability to travel and work in developing
countries for extended periods of time (20-30%)
Professional Expertise/Competencies Preferred:
- PMP
certification
- Experience
working in a developing country
- Professional
working proficiency in another language, with priority given to Amharic, Spanish,
French, Portuguese, and Arabic
Equity, Diversity & Inclusion -
We welcome applications from all sections of society and actively encourage
diversity to drive innovation, creativity, success and good practice. We
positively welcome and seek to ensure we achieve diversity in our workforce;
and that all job applicants and employees receive equal and fair treatment
regardless of their background or personal characteristics. These include: (but
are not limited to) socio-economic background, age, race, gender identity,
religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability, nationality, veteran,
marital or Indigenous status.
Should you require any adjustments or accommodations to be made due to a
disability or you are a neurodivergent individual or any other circumstance,
please email our team at accessibility@thepalladiumgroup.com
Safeguarding -
We define Safeguarding as "the preventative action taken by Palladium to
protect our people, clients and the communities we work with from harm". We are
committed to ensuring that all children and adults who come into contact with
Palladium are treated with respect and are free from abuse. All
successful candidates will be subject to an enhanced selection process
including safeguarding-focused interviews and a rigorous due diligence process.