Senior Associate, Project Delivery, CATALYZE APEP Accelerator Activity (Spanish Speaking)

Senior Associate, Project Delivery, CATALYZE APEP Accelerator Activity (Spanish Speaking)

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.

Within CATALYZE, the Americas Partnership for Economic Prosperity (APEP) Accelerator Activity is a three-year initiative focused on promoting the inclusive growth of social and impact startup enterprises within the Americas Partnership countries, which include Barbados, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Mexico, Panama, Peru, and Uruguay. The Activity aims to facilitate socioeconomic and climate impacts, improve employment, and increase incomes in the target region.

The CATALYZE APEP Accelerator Activity will facilitate resources to strengthen startup enterprises, strengthen regional networks, and establish market linkages to address current gaps in the ecosystem, providing these enterprises with a range of capacity building and investment readiness support and building links to markets, investors, other entrepreneurs, and other stakeholders. Through these resources, startup enterprises will be better able to improve business productivity and access new markets and financing to scale their businesses, leading to financial returns alongside positive socioeconomic and climate impacts in the region.

Palladium is seeking a Spanish speaking Senior Associate, Project Delivery, to support the CATALYZE APEP Accelerator Activity. The Senior Associate, Project Delivery position supports the management of effective and efficient operational, financial and compliance activities to deliver work in accordance with contractual obligations, company policies, local country settings, and client rules and regulations.

Location and Compensation:

The position is based in Palladium's Washington D.C. office. For our prospective employees in the United States, please note that the full-time equivalent annual base salary for this position is expected to range from $64,000 to $72,000, and successful candidates may also be eligible for additional, variable incentive compensation dependent on the role. For part-time employees, the salary will be prorated based on the actual number of hours worked.

Please be advised that a final salary offer will be based on various factors, including but not limited to your qualifications, education, experience, skills, seniority, performance, and Palladium's business or organizational needs.

If you have any questions or concerns regarding the compensation for this position, please do not hesitate to reach out to us. We value your interest in our company and appreciate the opportunity to discuss this opportunity with you.

You and Your Career:

If you are a problem-solver, collaborator, and doer, and you have expertise in project management, finance, and attention to detail, 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 Lines:

The role reports directly to the CATALYZE APEP Accelerator Manager.

Primary Roles and Responsibilities:

Project Management

• Learn to review procurements, budgets, reports, and other documents to ensure compliance with relevant policies and procedures; may conduct spot checks on processes and internal controls including reviewing asset management procedures and updated asset registers for each project.
• Work towards anticipating project needs and providing compliant, flexible recommendations on processes, or assigned responsibilities, such as suggesting adequate timelines for reviews and coordination between HQ and field offices, proactively handling PMU administrative tasks, etc.
• Learn and contribute to training of project staff on company policies, procedures and guidelines, client rules and regulations (covering for example: security, occupational health and safety, risk management, planning, human resource management, monitoring, reporting, finance, procurement, logistics, IT, communications, audit support and all other such implementation matters).
• Support the development and presentation of internal and external reporting, (quarterly reports, annual reports, and client deliverables) and ensure these outputs are fit for purpose.
• Help coordinate events and meetings with partners to further the Activity's goals and assist with follow-up to maintain effective relationships.
• Support in reviewing documentation received from transaction advisors to mobilize financing.
• Conduct follow-up with transaction advisors and entrepreneurs to receive necessary documentation and help identify needs of each.
• Assist with internal PMU administration, including drafting weekly meeting agendas, updating trackers, managing the project registry, and maintaining calendars and deadline reminders.
• Support the monitoring and maintenance of compliance with head/prime contracts.
• Provide inputs and support to other PMU members on any client communication or reporting needs.
• Help coordinate service providers and process work orders and invoices.
• Support preparation of contract action requests (i.e., travel, personnel additions/changes, subcontracts, grants, budget realignment, etc.).
• Support audit processes and ensures retention of project records is compliant with company policy.
• Provide support to other CATALYZE buy-ins on an ad hoc basis.

Financial Management

• Support monitoring expenditure against budgets and forecasts, including staff costs, operating expenses and procurements; reconciles & reports on all advances monthly.
• Assist with project financial and cash-flow planning, process monthly Funds Transfer Requests and payments for assigned projects.
• Review cashbooks / field vouchers and ensure supporting documentation is complete.
• Help coordinate service providers and process work orders and invoices.
• Assist with internal financial reporting and tasks including accruals and reviewing client invoices.
• Support preparation of contract action requests (i.e., travel, personnel additions/changes, subcontracts, grants, budget realignment, etc.).
• Support audit processes and ensures retention of project records is compliant with company policy.

Human Resource Management and Recruitment

• Coordinate input and support from HR for recruitment and contracting staff and consultants.
• Coordinate project staff recruitment and due diligence (i.e., posting job descriptions, due diligence, compliance spot checks, biodata verification, record retention, and contract preparation and onboarding).
• Maintain project data on relevant systems for short-term and long-term staff and consultants.
• Support the mobilization and demobilization of all international staff (short-term and long-term) including contracting, travel management, security, approvals, payments and induction.

Essential Criteria:

• Previous experience with project and financial management on government contracts and grants and completing tasks where high quality organizational, financial, or managerial skills are needed.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English and Spanish.
• Experience with procurements and oversight of consultants, vendors, and other partners.
• Sound problem-solving and decision-making skills.
• Ability to work both independently and as a part of a team when required.
• Demonstrated competence to assess priorities and manage a variety of activities in a time-sensitive environment and meet deadlines with attention to detail and quality.
• Demonstrated ability to manage and protect confidential information.
• Proficiency in Excel.

Desirable Criteria:

• Experience implementing USAID-funded programs.
• Experience with monitoring and reporting processes and reporting of key indicators.
• Experience with entrepreneurship or impact investment in Latin America and the Caribbean.

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. 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 and expression, 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 for any other circumstance, please email our team at and we will be in touch to discuss.

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.