Manager, Project Delivery, CATALYZE

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 4,000 talented, motivated, and diverse staff of all religions, races, languages, and gender identities.

This Opportunity:
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.

Palladium is seeking a Manager, Project Delivery, to support the CATALYZE project. The 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.

Location:
The position is based in Palladium's Washington D.C. office.

Reporting and Supervision:
The role reports to the Project Director. For multiple projects, the role has dual reporting requirements to the various relevant Project Directors. Reporting requirements include:

1. Attendance at all regular management team meetings
2. Provision of regular updates to the line manager, including updates on Key Result Areas (KRAs) and any other material matters and/or areas of concern
3. Monthly submission of financials and forecasts, and contributions to Practice and corporate reporting
4. Other reporting as requested by the line manager

Primary Duties and Responsibilities:

Project Management

• Plan and manage project start-up and closeout, supporting in-country corporate registration as needed
• Serve as the project's primary liaison with corporate services, Senior Managers, Project Delivery, and Compliance and Project Excellence Hub
• Prepare and maintain project specific components of the project management manual
• In collaboration with the Compliance and Project Excellence Hub and corporate services, provide training and guidance to project staff on, and ensure compliance with, company policies and client rules and regulations
• Establish project offices and office infrastructure; facilitate field office leases
• Participate in the development, implementation, and monitoring of project work plans, tracking project deliverables and monitoring project delivery against spending forecasts
• Support development and presentation of internal and external reporting
• Ensure project issues and risks are logged, reported on, managed and mitigated; and escalate risks and issues to Practice and Project Excellence and Compliance Hub leadership, as required
• In collaboration with Risk Management, conduct spot checks on processes and internal controls including asset management procedures
• Ensure all corrective actions for assigned projects are implemented and report back to confirm their completion via the risk register
• Serve as a point of contact with service providers and address contractual matters as required
• Support development of project subcontractor, grant management, and procurement procedures compliant with internal and client's rules and regulations
• Report monthly on the status of partner budgets/invoicing and grants
• Manage planning and coordination of inputs from the company's security team as needed
• Contribute to technical assistance through reviews, engaging in work planning and discussions with the field team

Contract and Client Relationship Management

• Monitor and maintain compliance with head/prime contracts including agreement action requests
• Liaise with C&C to communicate with contracting and agreement officers or other client representatives
• Monitor and report on overall progress against agreed targets, milestones, outputs and activities
• Develop, manage and support contract amendments as required
• Liaise with and respond to requests from clients in conjunction with the project's director
• Support project advocacy with internal and external stakeholders

Financial Management

• Ensure company policies for financial management are implemented and are compliant with the client's rules and regulations
• Ensure that project levels of delegated authority issued are in accordance with Palladium's Expenditure Approval and Signature Authority Policy and Guidelines
• Collaborating with Financial Management establish project charge codes
• In collaboration with Treasury, facilitate project bank accounts set-up with appropriate company and project signatories
• Ensure the project financial calendar is adhered to
• Leads monitoring budget progress against forecast
• Review monthly Funds Transfer Requests (FTRs)
• Review cashbooks / field vouchers and ensure supporting documentation is complete
• Serve as a coordinator for service providers and approve work orders and invoices
• Monitor, reconcile and report expense advances monthly
• Support the external audit process as needed

Human Resource Management and Recruitment

• Oversee project human resource planning, recruitment, contracting
• Working with associate, maintain project data on relevant HR systems
• Lead the mobilisation and demobilisation of all international staff
• Serve as primary supervisor to one or more Associate(s), Project Delivery, or Senior Associate(s), Project Delivery
• In conjunction with the PMU, and the Senior Manager, Project Delivery, engage in employee onboarding and training
• Actively monitor, review, correct, and provide feedback on all supervisee's work products
• Take a proactive role in staff development

Business Development / Other

• Contribute to company growth by ensuring assigned projects are managed well
• Participate in capture planning
• Provide input and support business development of the company as required
• Complete other duties as assigned

Key Competencies Required:

• Works with respect and dignity for all colleagues and promotes a cooperative team working environment
• Formal Project Management training and expertise is helpful
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Financial acumen and the ability to interpret and analyse financial reports
• Sound problem solving and decision-making skills
• Strong management skills with ability to mentor, coach, lead, develop and evaluate staff
• Ability to travel and work in developing countries for extended periods of time if needed
• Adaptability to work with a low level of supervision and as a part of a team as needed

Professional Expertise/Competencies Preferred:

• Experience working in the international development sector
• Prior experience with USAID contracts and cooperative agreements is helpful
• Excellent English language communication skills and fluency in international language

Equity, Diversity & Inclusion - Palladium is committed to embedding equity, diversity, and inclusion into everything we do. We welcome applications from all sections of society and actively encourage diversity to drive innovation, creativity, success and good practice.

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.