Chief of Party, USAID/Ecuador Youth Employment

About Palladium:
Palladium is a global company working to design, develop, and deliver a positive impact on the lives and livelihoods of people around the globe; broaden access to education and training, employment and entrepreneurship opportunities, 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 Proposal Opportunity:

Palladium is seeking a Chief of Party (COP) for an anticipated USAID-funded Youth Employment project in Ecuador.  The Activity will support youth economic initiatives to reduce the risk of illegal recruitment into illicit activities by creating pathways for employment and entrepreneurship. This approach aims to lower the likelihood of social tensions, protests, and crime while fostering economic stability and opportunity. The project may include initiatives such as youth skills development for formal employment; incentivizing private sector employment generation through private sector partnerships; and facilitating legal labor pathways abroad for temporary employment.

Position Summary:

The Chief of Party will provide overall leadership, management oversight, and technical direction for the project, ensuring an integrated vision across components and stakeholders. The COP will take a leadership role in coordination among the project team and local public and private sector stakeholders, as well as directly liaise with USAID as a representative of Palladium and the project. The COP will have a firm understanding of the programmatic aspects of the project in an evolving context and contribute to a continuous adaptative management approach. The COP will work with Palladium headquarters (HQ) to ensure compliance with USAID rules and regulations. The COP will report to the Palladium HQ Project Director.

*This is an anticipated project, and this position is contingent upon award from USAID. *  

Primary Duties and Responsibilities:

 Provide overall leadership and strategic, technical, programmatic, financial, and management guidance and support for project activities. Plan, direct, and coordinate technical and operational activities to ensure that project goals and objectives are met, and prescribed timeframes and funding parameters follow USAID regulations and Palladium’s policies. Serve as the primary point of contact for USAID/Ecuador and other stakeholders, ensuring alignment and harmonization with other programming where appropriate.  Provide technical expertise and leadership to the project implementation team, including the development of strategies; budgets; work plans; Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) plans; and reporting. Ensure the strategic and functional integration of all technical areas as well as strong collaboration with donors and local public and private stakeholders.Ensure that project objectives, outcomes, and deliverables are met and that financial, operational, and USAID reporting requirements are followed.Provide strategic vision on program sustainability and resilience.

Key Competencies Required:

Extensive experience in youth employment, youth economic initiatives, reducing the risk of recruitment into illegal activities, pathways to employment and entrepreneurship, youth skill development for formal employment, partnering with the private sector to develop employment opportunities, and facilitating legal labor pathways abroad for temporary employment. Experience in developing effective partnerships with local stakeholders, including the private sector, education and training institutions, youth, the public sector, and others as needed. Demonstrated experience in the administration of similar-sized ($10-$25 million) international donor-supported programs. Knowledge of donor-funded contract management, policies, procedures, regulations, and reporting requirements. Demonstrated familiarity with relevant policies, including Youth in Development Policy, Economic Growth Policy, Local Capacity Strengthening Policy, Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment Policy, Private Sector Engagement Policy, and the Agency Learning Agenda. Attention to detail and ability to perform multiple tasks and balance competing priorities effectively and efficiently within a required timeframe. Proven ability to develop and communicate a common vision among diverse partners and the ability to lead multi-disciplinary teams. Ability to anticipate, respond, and adapt quickly to changing requirements and competing demands.Ability to take initiative and respond independently to situations.
Evidence of strong interpersonal and written communication skills to fulfill the project's diverse technical and managerial requirements.
Professional and diplomatic demeanor and conduct, especially during interactions with the client and its constituents.
Fluent writing, reporting, and presentational skills in English and Spanish.

Professional Expertise/Competencies Preferred:

Extensive relevant experience in Ecuador and/or the region. Ecuadorian nationals are strongly encouraged to apply.USAID program experience as a Chief of Party on a USAID-funded project or other donor-funded development projects.

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 accommodation to be made due to a disability or you are a neurodivergent individual or for any other circumstance, please email our team at accessibility@thepalladiumgroup.com 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.