Senior Associate, Project Delivery 112 views

Senior Associate, Project Delivery

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 3,000 talented,
motivated, and diverse staff of all religions, races, languages, and gender
identities. 

Palladium Americas

Our
Americas’ business team has brilliant and passionate colleagues working in
Asia, Africa, Europe, the Middle East, and North and South America as well as
the Caribbean, fulfilling projects and assignments for clients from
institutions, corporations, governments, and foundations based in the Americas.
We have offices in Washington, DC, New York City, and Raleigh-Durham, NC.

This Opportunity

For assigned projects, the Senior Associate, Project Delivery
serves as part of the Project Management Unit (PMU). This team is responsible,
under the leadership of Practice Area Lead and the management of the Director,
Project Delivery, for the management and delivery of projects. The specific
purpose of the position is to support and facilitate the management and
implementation of effective and efficient financial and compliance activities
to deliver projects in accordance with contractual obligations, company
policies and client rules and regulations.  

The Senior Associate, Project Delivery uses their experience in
completing substantive and administrative tasks to enhance management of
Palladium’s projects as a member of one or more PMUs. Knowledgeable in the
basics of project management, this role works closely with the Manager, Project
Delivery, to take on increasingly complex duties and challenges in project
delivery. They may begin to practice their management skills by overseeing one
or two small projects with close coaching from their supervisor. Staff in this
role work closely with their PMUs to regularly demonstrate knowledge in all
aspects of project management, in preparation to take on manager-level
positions in project delivery or functional areas.

You and Your Career

If you are a problem-solver, collaborator, and doer, and you have
expertise in supply chain and logistics, above, 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!

Primary
Duties and Responsibilities

Project
Management

• Contribute to planning and managing project start-up and closeout including assisting with registration, and establishing project offices and facilitating finalized leases
  
• Serve as the project’s liaison between corporate services, Senior Managers, Project Delivery, and the Compliance and Project Excellence Hub, and the project
  
• Help draft and maintenance of project specific components of the project operations manual
  
• In collaboration with the Compliance and Project Excellence Hub and corporate services, support training and giving guidance to project staff on and ensure compliance with company policies, and client rules and regulations (covering as required, risk management, project planning, human resource management, monitoring, reporting, finance, procurement, logistics, IT, communications, audit support and all other project management matters)
  
• Participate in the development and monitoring of project work plans
  
• Support drafting and development of internal and external reporting (for example: quarterly Internal Project Reviews (IPRs), CPARs, project risk assessments, annual reviews, and client deliverables) and ensure these outputs are fit for purpose
  
• Ensure project issues and risks are reported on, managed and mitigated, and escalate risks and issues to practice, project, or Compliance Hub leadership, as required
  
• In collaboration with Risk Management, conduct periodic compliance checks on processes and internal controls, including asset management procedures
  
• Manage service providers and address contractual and payment matters as needed
  
• Support development of project subcontractor, grants management, and procurement procedures compliant with internal policies and client rules and regulations
  
• Assist in monitoring quality of field procurement; ensuring compliance with company anti-corruption and due diligence processes
  
• Draft monthly reporting on the status of partner budgets/invoicing and grants
  
• Draft and obtain approval for contract action requests (i.e., travel, personnel additions/changes, partner, grant, budget realignment, etc.)
  
• Support the planning and coordination of inputs from the company’s security team as needed
  
• Leads internal PMU administration, including drafting weekly meeting agendas, tracking tasks, maintaining calendars and deadline reminders
  
• Contribute to technical assistance through reviews, engaging in work planning and discussions with the field team, etc. to build skills with the goal of taking on a more senior role, such as director of project delivery or a functional area
  

Contract and
Client Relationship Management

• Support the monitoring and maintenance of compliance with head/prime contracts
  
• Manage and support contract amendments as required
  
• Prepare regular or ad hoc reporting and communications with clients
  
• Support project advocacy with internal and external stakeholders
  

Financial
Management

• Advise field teams on company policies for financial management to ensure they are implemented in compliance with the client’s rules and regulations
  
• Support efforts to ensure project levels of delegated authority issued are in accordance with Palladium’s Expenditure Approval and Signature Authority Policy and Guidelines and facilitate the process for higher-level approvals as required
  
• Collaborate with Financial Management to establish the project charge codes, ensuring they meet client and project requirements for cost allocation, monitoring and evaluation, and client reporting
  
• Collaborate with Treasury to facilitate set-up of project bank accounts with appropriate company and project signatories
  
• Emphasize adherence to the project financial calendar including monitoring, reconciling, and reporting on expense advances monthly
  
• Support monitoring of expenditures against budgets and forecasts, including staff costs, operating expenses and procurements; as a metric to track the project’s progress against its work plan
  
• Support project financial / cash-flow planning, review and approval for funding requests from the field, and review and obtain approval for monthly Funds Transfer Requests (FTRs)
  
• Review cashbooks / field vouchers and ensure supporting documentation is complete
  
• Serve as a coordinator for service providers and obtain approval for work orders and invoices; assist in ensuring accuracy of client invoices (including monthly, milestone and performance based invoices)
  
• Support the external audit process as-needed and ensure retention of project records is compliant with company and client policy
  

Human
Resource Management and Recruitment

• Support project human resource planning, recruitment, contracting, and coordination of inputs from the company’s Compliance, HR, and Talent Acquisition teams (i.e., benefits, local law,etc.)
  
• Maintain project data on relevant HR systems for short-term and long-term staff and consultants
  
• Support the mobilisation and demobilisation of all international staff (short-term and long-term) including contracting (in coordination with HR), and travel management
  

Business
Development / Other

• Contribute to company growth by supporting well-managed projects, ensuring Palladium is seen positively by clients for consideration in future business development
  
• Participate in capture planning, providing inputs on implementation requirements
  
• Provide input and support business development of the company as required
  
• Complete other duties as assigned
  

Reporting
requirements

The role reports to the Project Manager (or Project Director in teams
that do not have a Project Manager). Reporting requirements include:

• Attendance at all regular management team meetings
  
• 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
  
• Monthly submission of financials and forecasts, and contributions to Practice and corporate reporting
  
• Other reporting as requested by the line manager
  

Relationships

• As delegated, the role liaises with clients, technical area specialists, corporate services, professional service providers, and other stakeholders as required.
  

Authority
levels

The role carries a degree of autonomy on project management with appropriate consultation. The role is required to:

• Analyse and make sound recommendations to the line manager
  
• Oversee the work of interns or associates as assigned
  
• Contribute to process improvement through innovative and cost effective proposals/ideas/suggestions
  

Essential
Knowledge, Skills and Experience

• Works with respect and dignity for all colleagues and contributes to a cooperative team working environment
  
• Previous experience with managing projects or activities, using customer service skills, and/or completing tasks where high quality organizational, financial, or managerial skills was needed
  
• 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 train and develop staff
  
• Ability to travel and work in developing countries for extended periods of time if needed
• Ability to work with a low level of supervision and as a part of a team when required

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. 

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

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.