Chief of Party, Acceleration and Competitions Execution Support (ACES)

Chief of Party

Acceleration and
Competitions Execution Support (ACES)

To be considered, applicants must submit their resume/CV to yaniv@headgloballlc.com with the
subject line “ACES – Chief of Party”

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 organisation, 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

The ACES Mechanism would help USAID’s Missions, Bureaus, and
Operating Units to effectively implement innovative program design; Grand
Challenges for Development, challenges, and prizes; and support the scaling of
proven innovative solutions. This mechanism will assist USAID in identifying
challenges and co-creating new solutions to complex development challenges via open
innovation competitions that draw on human-centered design.

This is a unique opportunity to lead one of the largest
USAID Innovation programs, with a prime contractor that has a track record of
innovating dynamic, scalable advancements and in response to grand challenges
and direct institutional support to USAID.

Primary Duties and Responsibilities: 

The candidate’s responsibilities will include:

• Set vision for the project in partnership with USAID and build consensus around that vision internally and externally
  
• Lead project team in setting and achieving project lifetime and annual goals, in collaboration with USAID
  
• Engage USAID, consortium Partners, and Palladium senior advisors through regular meetings and communications, to drive priorities and build consensus in alignment with ACES objectives
  
• Engage with USAID bureaus, USAID missions, and other USG agencies to promote project activities, successes, collaboration, and learning
  
• Manage Challenge Management teams and processes, ensuring team members have appropriate technical capacity and work adheres to USAID and Palladium quality standards
  
• Ensure gender-sensitive and socially inclusive project activities, including the active participation and integration of vulnerable populations and full equity into innovation design
  
• Develop and manage a growing network of partners able to contribute (technically or financially) to open innovation initiatives and/or deliver a variety of acceleration and innovation support to innovators across sectors.
  
• Coordinate effectively with other donors supporting parallel innovation programs to ensure efficient resource use and leverage
  
• Champion a results-driven ethos built on effective Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning and methodologies to promote Collaboration, Learning, and Adaptation that ensures relevance and responsiveness as program needs and opportunities arise
  
• Ensure effective communication of project successes and results to broad audiences

Candidate Profile:

We are seeking a visionary and strategic leader to lead
innovative solutions and impactful partnerships in close collaboration with
USAID Missions, Bureaus, and Operating Units. The candidate will lead and implement an
iterative and creative designing, programming, and communications strategy that
will advance innovative approaches across various sector areas. An ideal
candidate will have past experience in open innovation initiatives and grand
challenge management, with a proven track record of working with a combination
of donor, foundation and corporate counterparts who are funding or
participating in open innovation programs. Previous program leadership in a USAID context
is preferred, as is knowledge of USAID grants and award management systems.

Our company provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability or genetics.