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:
Launched in 2020, CATALYZE: Market Systems for Growth (MS4G) drives private enterprise expansion to contribute towards Ethiopia’s future economic growth and prosperity. MS4G intends to foster enterprise-driven growth, especially among private enterprises that have high growth potential and the capacity to catalyse job creation throughout market systems. MS4G’s goal is to address systemic challenges, including building business development services capacity, creating a more conducive business environment, building the financial sector infrastructure and capability within private finance providers, and expanding the digital economy. MS4G catalyses private sector growth by improving access to finance and facilitating transactions through targeted interventions across market systems (demand, supply, and enabling environment). Expanded access to finance will also drive change across the market system by increasing business revenue and necessitating job creation. The program is expected to operate through September 2024.
For its second year of implementation, project activities in the agriculture and WASH sectors will take a larger priority. MS4G is required to coordinate closely with other USAID and US Government (USG) activities. Across all initiatives, there will be a cross-cutting focus on women and youth, as well as a focus on ensuring that disparate ethnic groups and regions equitably benefit from interventions.
Primary Duties and Responsibilities
The CATALYZE: MS4G Deputy Country Director, Technical will report to the CATALYZE: MS4G Country Director. (This position is comparable to a Deputy Chief of Party position.) S/he will provide technical direction to MS4G, particularly supervising program activities in the regions and ensuring they are carried out in alignment with the workplan. The Deputy will stand in for the Country Director as needed.
- Advise Country Director on technical approach of the project.
- Serve as part of the Senior Management Team (SMT) in country, working under the Country Director and with the Deputy Country Director, Operations and Compliance, to provide project leadership to ensure project objectives are met in a compliant and timely manner.
- Ensures project activities conform to project requirements, including cost, schedule, and quality.
- Monitors subcontractors/grantees for timely delivery.
- Ensures agile program implementation in line with monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL) findings.
- Liaises with project counterparts as requested by the Country Director and supports the development of strategic partnerships designed to deliver impact at scale and transform market systems.
- Works with compliance, procurement and technical staff to develop innovative grants and performance-based subcontracting platforms that leverage local ecosystem actors to deliver services that produce impact at the firm, sector and market system level at scale.
- Serves as a technical liaison as part of the MS4G team, across private sector partners, the government, USAID, and other key stakeholders.
- Directly supervises Regional Managers, (Tigray, Amhara, SNNPR), and the Gender Advisor.
- Other duties as required.
Required Qualifications
- Extensive USAID project management experience preferred in fields related to the successful implementation of this project such as financial services and investment advisory expertise, private enterprise development, workforce development, and public and private sector engagement.
- Proven knowledge and understanding of Ethiopian finance, private enterprise, investment, business environment and trade issues; with a sound understanding of specific challenges and barriers facing women and youth entrepreneurs, business owners, and job seekers.
- Strong ability to manage and deal with diverse stakeholders.
- Evidence of strong communication skills, both interpersonal and written with professional fluency in English required.
- Experience supervising teams, preferably in a remote manner (i.e., regional managers).
- Knowledge of USAID programming, approaches, and policy.
- Advanced computer skills including fluency with Microsoft 365 applications (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.).
- Sound problem solving and decision-making skills.
Preferred Qualifications:
- A bachelor’s degree or post-graduate degree in Finance, Business Administration, Economic Policy, Enterprise Development or other related fields is preferred.
- Ten years or more of professional experience successfully overseeing large, complex projects (or components therein) and diverse teams focused on financial services and investment advisory expertise, private enterprise development, workforce development, and public and private sector engagement.
- Five years the international development field including experience in a management role for a USAID-funded contract of similar scale ($40M+ / 5 years) highly desirable.
- Amharic written and verbal fluency are a plus.