Manager, Project Delivery 331 views

Manager, Project Delivery

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 and Role:

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

The Manager, Project
Delivery, plays a key role in leading day-to-day management activities of the
project team, harmonizing technical goals and compliance with our client
agreements, regulations, and internal policies. Through this experience and
working closely with their PMU, managers, project delivery, are expected to
gain the competencies and skills needed to progress to director level roles in
project delivery, or functional areas. This role also typically supervises one
or more Associate(s), Project Delivery, ensuring their training in project
management duties and best practices, while also promoting their development
and growth into future managers, project delivery or functional roles.     

 Primary Duties and Responsibilities: 

Project Management

• Plan and manage project start-up and closeout, supporting in-country corporate registration as needed;
  
• Serve as the project’s primary liaison with corporate services, Senior Managers, Project Delivery, and Compliance and Project Excellence Hub;
  
• Prepare and maintain project specific components of the project management manual;
  
• In collaboration with the Compliance and Project Excellence Hub and corporate services, provide training and 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 managements matters);
  
• Establish project offices and office infrastructure; facilitate field office leases;
  
• Participate in the development, implementation, and monitoring of project work plans, tracking project deliverables and monitoring project delivery against spending forecasts;
  
• Support development and presentation of internal and external reporting (for example: quarterly Internal Project Reviews, CPARs, project risk assessments, annual reviews, and client deliverables);
  
• Ensure project issues and risks are logged, reported on, managed and mitigated; and escalate risks and issues to Practice and Project Excellence and Compliance Hub leadership, as required;
  
• In collaboration with Risk Management, conduct spot checks on processes and internal controls including asset management procedures;
  
• Ensure all corrective actions for assigned projects are implemented and report back to confirm their completion via the risk register;
  
• Serve as a point of contact with service providers and address contractual matters as required;
  
• Support development of project subcontractor, grant management, and procurement procedures compliant with internal and client’s rules and regulations;
  
• Report monthly on the status of partner budgets/invoicing and grants;
  
• Manage planning and coordination of inputs from the company’s security team as needed;
  
• 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

• Monitor and maintain compliance with head/prime contracts including agreement action requests (i.e., travel, personnel changes, grant approvals, budget realignments, etc.);
  
• Liaise with C&C to communicate with contracting and agreement officers or other client representatives on any matters that make legal or financial commitments for Palladium;
  
• Monitor and report on overall progress against agreed targets, milestones, outputs and activities;
  
• Develop, manage and support contract amendments as required;
  
• Liaise with and respond to requests from clients in conjunction with the project’s director, including providing or giving inputs on reporting;
  
• Support project advocacy with internal and external stakeholders.
  

Financial Management

• Ensure company policies for financial management are implemented and are compliant with the client’s rules and regulations;
  
• Ensure that project levels of delegated authority issued are in accordance with Palladium’s Expenditure Approval and Signature Authority Policy and Guidelines and manage the process for higher-level approvals as required;
  
• Collaborating with Financial Management establish project charge codes, ensuring they meet client and project requirements for cost allocation, monitoring and evaluation, and reporting;
  
• In collaboration with Treasury, facilitate project bank accounts set-up with appropriate company and project signatories;
  
• Ensure the project financial calendar is adhered to including monitoring, reconciling, and reporting expense advances monthly;
  
• Leads monitoring budget progress against forecast as one metric to track project progress against its work plan; proactively seeks to solve shortages or overages against the frozen forecast as needed;
  
• Review monthly Funds Transfer Requests (FTRs) to ensure they reflect budget progress and forecasting and seek approval for them as needed;
  
• Review cashbooks / field vouchers and ensure supporting documentation is complete;
  
• Serve as a coordinator for service providers and approve (or obtain approval for) work orders and invoices; ensure the accuracy of client invoices (including monthly, milestone and performance based invoices);
  
• Monitor, reconcile and report expense advances monthly;
  
• 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

• Oversee project human resource planning, recruitment, contracting, with field teams and coordinate inputs from
• Compliance, HR, and Talent Acquisition teams (i.e. benefits, local labor law, etc.);
  
• Working with associate, maintain project data on relevant HR systems for short-term and long-term staff and consultants; is maintained accurately;
  
• Lead the mobilisation and demobilisation of all international staff (short-term and long-term) including contracting (in coordination with HR) and travel management;
  
• Serve as primary supervisor to one or more Associate(s), Project Delivery, or Senior Associate(s), Project Delivery;
  
• In conjunction with the PMU, and the Senior Manager, Project Delivery, engage in employee onboarding and training, educating new staff on policies, procedures, tools, and Palladium’s culture;
  
• Actively monitor, review, correct, and provide feedback on all supervisee’s work products, providing additional training and support where necessary;
  
• Take a proactive role in staff development, including working with supervisees to identify professional development opportunities, and holding monthly coaching sessions to advise them on project management best practices, core competencies, and general work skills and behaviors.
  

Business Development / Other

• Contribute to company growth by ensuring assigned projects are managed well, 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 Director. For multiple
projects, the role has dual reporting requirements to the various relevant
Project Directors. 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

• The role is part of the Practice Area,
  
• 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;
  
• The role may carry expenditure and/or signatory authority for project-related costs and documents;
  
• Oversee and manage Senior Project Associates and Project Associates as assigned;
  
• Contribute to process improvement through innovative and cost-effective ideas and suggestions.
  

Required Qualifications:

Essential Knowledge, Skills and Experience

• Works with respect and dignity for all colleagues and promotes a cooperative team working environment.
  
• Formal Project Management training and expertise is helpful.
  
• 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 mentor, coach, lead, develop and evaluate staff.
  
• Ability to travel and work in developing countries for extended periods of time if needed.
  
• Adaptability to work with a low level of supervision and as a part of a team as needed.
  

Desirable Knowledge, Skills and Experience

• Experience working in the international development sector.
  
• Prior experience with USAID contracts and cooperative agreements is helpful.
  
• Excellent English language communication skills and fluency in international language.