Senior Manager, Digital Solutions & Transformation
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 4,000 talented, motivated, and diverse staff of all religions, races, languages, and gender identities.
This Opportunity:
Palladium's Digital Solutions and Transformation Portfolio (DST) accelerates and delivers positive impact by transforming institutions through digitally enabled strategies, innovations and investments, while simultaneously advancing inclusive digital ecosystems and enabling environments. Our team is developing a portfolio of projects that aim to strengthen the digital ecosystem so that digital technologies enable social and economic progress. We do this by working with clients, both internal and external, to understand the ecosystem and operating context, advising on how to integrate appropriate and responsible digital technologies that unlock insights and facilitate effective and efficient program delivery.
Palladium is currently seeking a Senior Manager within the Digital Solutions and Transformation team who will lead activities to grow our emerging portfolio through business development and cross-cutting support to other portfolios at Palladium. As a mid-level professional in the Portfolio, the Senior Manager will bring project management experience and technical acumen to both project delivery and business development. Our Digital Solutions and Transformation teammates are problem-solvers, technology evangelists, designers, analysts and connectors; they manage and provide technical expertise related to digital transformation and inclusion including business analysis, ecosystem shaping, project design and digital solution development across a wide array of thematic areas. These areas may include digital government, digital economy, digital finance, digital inclusion, digital agriculture and digital for other social sectors. Across activities, the Senior Manager will advance DST approaches in inclusive digital transformation through private sector engagement, responsible technology and data, localization, youth and gender inclusion.
Location and Compensation:
The position is based in Palladium's Washington, DC office with an expectation to be physically present 3 days per week. The position may entail overseas travel, at approximately 20% time and for periods averaging 2 weeks. For our prospective employees in the United States, please note that the full-time equivalent annual base salary for this position is expected to range from $93,000 to $140,000, and successful candidates may also be eligible for additional, variable incentive compensation dependent on the role. For part-time employees, the salary will be prorated based on the actual number of hours worked.
If you have any questions or concerns regarding the compensation for this position, please do not hesitate to reach out to us. We value your interest in our company and appreciate the opportunity to discuss this opportunity with you.
You and Your Career:
If you are a problem-solver, collaborator, and doer, and you have expertise in digital health project implementation, technical writing, or digital system design, 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!
Reporting and Supervision:
This role will report to the Director, Digital Solutions and Transformation Portfolio and will not have any supervisory responsibilities initially, however there will be opportunities for increased responsibilities as our work continues to grow.
Primary Duties and Responsibilities:
The Senior Manager will lead activities to grow the portfolio of activities related to global digital transformation and development through direct contributions to proposals and through concept generation and implementation activities. The Manager will also contribute to organizational learning and capacity development activities aimed to increase awareness of and competencies for digital development, as well as contribute to team coordination and management activities.
Strategic growth and business development (50%):
- Conduct market landscape activities, monitor funding priorities and stay abreast of digital development advancements in order to develop a pipeline of business development leads and cultivate partnerships.
- Serve as the capture manager and/or lead technical contributor on proposals for USAID and other donor funded opportunities based to specific country/regional contexts.
- Take part in reconnaissance or positioning trips as part of priority new captures and bids to engage with potential partners and project collaborators, including local implementing partners, local tech companies and public sector stakeholders.
- Identify opportunities to advance digital development objectives through Palladium's existing portfolios by developing concept notes, new activity proposals and co-design workshops.
- For assigned business development opportunities outside of the Portfolio, serve as the digital focal point providing advisory and strategies for digital enabled projects approaches, leading both technical and financial contributions to proposals as required.
- Stay up to date on advancements in global digital transformation and development, attending events and fora to help align and communicate Palladium's digital transformation strategy.
Technical advisory and project implementation (25%):
- Collaborate with Palladium project teams to identify opportunities and develop activities to integrate and implement digital solutions and transformation approaches that expedite digital public infrastructure, investments, partnerships and platform integration while strengthening digital enablers like literacy, skills, policy and inclusion.
- Serve as Activity Manager on assigned portfolio or projects, primarily comprised of developing digital strategy and implementation activities that advance country level digital transformation efforts.
- Collaborate with technical counterparts to ensure quality of the digital strategy, product or other digital intervention so that the results of the projects fully satisfy the needs articulated through the requirements.
- Support and in some cases provide technical backstopping to country activity teams, acting as a conduit between clients or project leadership and field implementation teams.
- Manage and collaborate with partners and subcontractors responsible for implementing digital development activities.
- Be an advocate and develop strategies to operationalize digital public goods, the Principles for Digital Development, digital public infrastructure approaches and other industry standards.
Learning and coordination (25%):
- Lead research, analysis and the development of technical reports, case studies and other thought leadership pieces that build on and expand existing lines of business.
- Develop and deliver capacity strengthening activities that improve digital literacy and adoption, from both an individual and organizational perspective.
- Package project learnings and document successes used to inform future digital development activities through Portfolio technical collaboration mechanisms for adaption within future Palladium project mechanisms and new business development opportunities.
- Support the establishment of coordination and collaboration mechanisms between Palladium portfolios and communities of practices.
Key competencies and professional expertise required:
- Experience conceptualizing and operationalizing USAID or other donor-funded programs focused on advancing the responsible use of technology to advance social and economic development outcomes.
- Strong analytical and conceptual skills, with understanding of the interconnected components of the digital ecosystem to put systems-thinking into action to advance digital transformation at the sector and country-level.
- Good understanding of global development priorities and challenges, including experience within access to finance, agriculture, market systems, trade, climate, health, humanitarian response or social protection programs in a developing country context.
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills with the ability to translate complex technical concepts into easy-to-understand considerations in order to support clients, project teams and technical teams in designing and implementing solutions that meet the specified requirements and are appropriate given the implementing environment.
- Change management experience with the ability to use informal power to influence, advocate and drive organizational change.
- Curious mindset with a passion for learning how technology is shaping the world and how we can use current and emerging technologies to address social, environmental and economic challenges.
- Knowledge of and experience applying the Principles for Digital Development and adapting Digital Public Goods in service of cross-cutting, reusable and sustainable digital investments.
- Demonstrated ability to work effectively as a member of a fast-moving and multicultural team while maintaining a client-centered focus.
- Experience working with the private sector on public-private partnerships is a plus.
- Professional working proficiency in another language, with priority given to Spanish, French, Portuguese, Russian or Arabic.
- Willingness to travel and work abroad 20% of the time in developing countries and elsewhere.
Equity, Diversity & Inclusion - Palladium is committed to embedding equity, diversity, and inclusion into everything we do. We welcome applications from all sections of society and actively encourage diversity to drive innovation, creativity, success and good practice.
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.
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