Activity Lead (Project Director), CATALYZE Peru 226 views

Activity Lead (Project Director), CATALYZE Peru

Company
Overview:

Palladium
is a global leader in the design, development and delivery of Positive Impact –
the intentional creation of enduring social and economic value. We work with
foundations, investors, governments, corporations, communities and civil
society to formulate strategies and implement solutions that generate lasting
social, environmental and financial benefits. 

For
the past 50 years, we have been making Positive Impact possible. With a team of
more than 2,500 employees operating in 90 plus countries and a global network
of more than 35,000 technical experts, Palladium has improved – and is
committed to continuing to improve – economies, societies and most importantly,
people’s lives. 

Palladium
is a child-safe organization, and screens applicants for suitability to work
with children. We also provide equal employment to all participants and
employees without regard to race, color, religion, gender, age,
disability, sexual orientation, veteran or marital status. 

Project
Overview and Role:

To
serve as the Activity Lead (equivalent responsibilities to a Project Director)
for CATALYZE Peru, a $15M, cost-plus award fee “buy-in” project under the
CATALYZE umbrella of projects with a three-year timeline and a mandate to
mobilize $106M in financing for micro, small and medium-sized businesses
(MSMEs) in the Peruvian Amazon.  CATALYZE
is a $250M, USAID-funded project managed by Palladium’s U.S. Business Unit out
of Washington, D.C. which intends to mobilize a billion U.S. dollars in capital
for underserved communities globally using blended finance from mostly private
sector actors over an eight-year period. 

The
role will be to serve as the overall responsible party to deliver the stated
objectives and targets in the Performance Work Statement under this
performance-based contract activity.  The
role reports to the CATALYZE Chief of Party/Executive Director Amanda Fernandez,
supervises the field team in Lima and Activity Management Unit in Washington,
D.C., and closely liaises with the donor, the USAID mission in Lima, Peru.

Primary
Duties and Responsibilities: 

Technical
Leadership:

• Provide technical, operational, and financial leadership and supervision to CATALYZE Peru home office and field teams to promote successful design and implementation of project activities including quality assurance and risk mitigation. Decentralize project management to the extent possible to the field team in line with Palladium’s management model
  
• Provide guidance and facilitated required technical assistance and training when appropriate to technical team members and implementing partners to develop and execute a robust pipeline of innovative financing transactions together with financial institutions, large corporations and investors that can serve as “anchors” in business models and facilitate access to technology and finance, and Business Advisory Services Providers (BASPs) to identify and close transactions
  
• Conduct and/or oversee technical assignments on topics such as inclusive finance, digital platform development, supply chain traceability, risk management, market systems development, private sector engagement/development,BASP and FI training, among other relevant topics
  
• Engage with entrepreneurs, investors, large corporations with interests in investing in Peruvian companies, USAID, financial institutions and other commercial actors to generate interest and action in expanding innovative and blended finance solutions, to meet CATALYZE’s ambitious financing goals
  
• Identify, build, and maintain positive working relationships with international consultants and partners who can provide technical expertise to CATALYZE Peru
  
• Contribute to research, analysis, writing and publication of technical studies, case studies, and program approaches, and analysis of results and lessons learned to inform CATALYZE Peru’s learning agenda, to demonstrate thought leadership, and support adaptive management.
  
• Provide consistent management guidance and oversee the completion of the annual performance review processes for the AMU, the Executive Director and the Lima-based project team.
  Project
  Management:
  
• Serve as the Activity Team Lead (equivalent to Project Director) on the CATALYZE Peru project, overseeing the Lima-based project team and a two-person home office activity management unit (AMU)
  
• Advise the project team on work planning, budgeting, progress, and financial reporting internally and for our client, USAID, and ensure quality control of all CATALYZE Peru deliverables
  
• Provide guidance on management of partner organizations on the contractually compliant delivery of agreed inputs and achievement of agreed outputs/outcomes
  
• Support appropriate utilization of U.S. Government resources in line with U.S. Government and Palladium rules and regulations. Identify project performance and contract management issues and lead or support their timely resolution as appropriate
  
• Use an adaptive management approach to advise project senior management to quickly adopt and scale cost-effective strategies and activities related to CATALYZE in target countries
  
• Conduct field visits and participate in project events and conduct public speaking inside and outside Peru as required
  
• Lead the process by which Palladium develops annual requests to USAID to invoice the results-based fee associated with CATALYZE Peru.
  

Required
Qualifications:

• Written and
  spoken fluency in English and Spanish
  
• Proven
  professional experience in inclusive finance or impact investment.
  Additional experience in any of the following areas is a plus: climate finance,
  micro, small, medium enterprise development, private sector partnerships, agricultural
  value chain development/finance, microfinance, traceability systems,
  digital finance, economic empowerment of marginalized groups and
  communities
  
• Demonstrated
  familiarity with relevant ecosystem actors in the inclusive finance realm,
  including DFIs, impact investors, transaction advisors and other technical
  specialists.  Experience in Peru is
  a plus.
  
• Minimum of
  five years of successful experience managing international development
  programs and teams overseas with budgets over $5M, and using innovative
  grants and subcontracts as a development tool 
  
• Proven,
  positive client relationship management skills
  
• Excellent
  written and oral communication skills, including a track record of report
  writing, public presentations (moderator, panelist, keynote) and published
  blogs or articles
  
• Financial
  acumen and the ability to interpret and analyze financial reports, develop
  and evaluate financial projections, and match programmatic objectives/work
  plans to costs/budgets
  
• Experience
  developing theories of change, results frameworks, logic models, and other
  elements of adaptive programming for impact
  
• Sound
  problem-solving and decision-making skills demonstrated in challenging or
  fluid circumstances
  
• Demonstrated,
  high level of professionalism, respect and integrity operating within a
  multi-cultural, values-based organization.

Diversity,
Equity & 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. 

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.