Senior Manager

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:

Palladium’s Inclusive Growth and Natural Capital Practice (IGNC) is seeking multiple outstanding professionals to join us as Senior Managers, namely within the Inclusive Growth and Finance and Investment Portfolios. As a senior-level professional in the Practice, the Senior Manager(s) will bring project management experience and technical acumen to both project delivery and business development. The Senior Manager(s) will play a key role in the technical delivery, strategic oversight, and management of projects and, through business development and contributions to thought leadership, contribute to Palladium Americas’ growth and impact around the world.

The Senior Manager(s) will support project delivery, business development, and other initiatives across the Practice. This may include technical areas as diverse as finance and investment, financial and digital inclusion, market systems, business enabling environments, agriculture, climate change and green economy, enterprise development and entrepreneurship, competitiveness, export and market development, e-commerce, and innovation. Across activities, the Senior Manager(s) will lead advancement of IGNC approaches in private sector engagement (PSE), localization, youth and gender inclusion, and working with and through local business ecosystems to achieve scaled and sustainable development outcomes.

Palladium professionals at all levels work extensively and collaboratively with others in the company (including in other Practices/Portfolios and in other regions) to advance firm-level growth and impact goals; build relationships and visibility; develop innovative approaches and methodologies; and manage effective, dynamic teams.

Experienced Senior Managers will have opportunities to support other units within the firm in our collaborative and agile environment, as well as to travel for project oversight or business development pursuits. Typically, Senior Managers serve as thought leaders, proposal champions, and Project Directors; they also may have opportunities to fill short- and long-term assignments overseas.

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 $93,000 to $140,000, 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 economic growth, private sector engagement (PSE), inclusive growth, sustainable market systems development, green economy, agriculture and enterprise competitiveness 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:

This role will report to a Director, Inclusive Growth or Finance and Investment, depending on project assignment.
Sr. Managers typically supervise one or more Associates, Sr. Associates, or Managers.
The position is based in Palladium’s Washington, D.C. office with an expectation to be physically present 3 days per week. The position may entail overseas travel, at approximately 20% time and for periods averaging 2 weeks.

Primary Duties and Responsibilities: 

Project Management

Serves as Project Director on one or more Palladium home office project management unit(s)
Manages complex components of large projects, or series of smaller projects, with responsibility for work planning, budget management, project deliverables, client relations, and staff supervision
Manages project changes including project scope, schedule, and costs to keep the project plan accurate and updated
Oversees and ensures quality of the development of reports, budgets, workplans, proposals and other outputs for internal and external stakeholders, paying attention to the quality of results and project delivery and helping teams make adjustments as needed
Manages relationship with partner organizations on compliant delivery of inputs and the achievement of agreed upon outputs and outcomes

Business Development

Identify new markets and sales opportunities, lead or contribute to sales and proposal efforts, and engage existing and potential partners to expand Palladium’s technical expertise on existing lines of business
Provide a capture lead role and/or write technical proposals for USAID and other donor funded opportunities based on best practices applied to specific country/regional contexts
Take part in reconnaissance or positioning trips as part of priority new captures and bids to engage with potential partners, including private firms and sources of finance within a target sector or value chain.

Technical & Thought Leadership

Leads technical work in topic area including: research, analysis, and publication of technical reports, case studies, policy and program approaches, and technical tools on related topics to expand existing lines of business
Maintains an industry presence as a thought leader by publishing regularly in peer reviewed journals and/or by presenting at annual conferences and meetings
Collaborates with peers to identify new research approaches and potential markets for those services
Identifies, builds, and maintains relationships with partners and consultants that provide technical expertise to both proposals and/or projects within their respective technical topic area(s)

Leadership/Other

Contributes to efforts at the portfolio to build team cohesiveness, lead, mentor, train, and motivate staff to ensure cooperation, project efficiency, and boost morale
Leads teams to implement new work including assignment and management of staff to new activities, initiatives, or projects
Acts as main point of contact for regular communication for all relevant technical subject matter stakeholders, both internal and external to Palladium
Performs other duties as assigned

Key Competencies Required:

Substantial work experience in one or more of the following topic areas: economic growth, private sector engagement, agriculture/agribusiness and/or finance and investment
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 in developing country contexts
Extensive experience implementing USAID and/or other donor funded projects
Demonstrated success with USAID-funded business development, as shown by experience writing, leading, and/or significantly contributing to winning proposal efforts
Leads problem solving initiatives and implements new ways of working and processes
Experience networking across the development community, including donors, implementing partners, and cooperating country organizations, private sector stakeholders, 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
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:

Experience working in a developing country contextExperience with private sector-led development, market systems and supply chain developmentExperience designing and managing pay-for-results (P4R) subcontracts and grants under contract is a plusProfessional working proficiency in another language, with priority given to Spanish, French, Portuguese, and Arabic

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 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.