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.

Project Overview

The goal of the USAID UMST Activity is to enhance sustainable and inclusive economic growth by strengthening businesses and the business-enabling environment in targeted sectors, while addressing the barriers faced by women, youth, and underrepresented groups. This Activity has the following specific objectives:

• Objective 1: Reduced barriers to private sector growth in the ICT, tourism, and textiles sectors and green economy sub-sectors.
• Objective 2: Increased private sector investment and access to finance in ICT, tourism, and textiles sectors and green economy sub-sectors.

Purpose of Position

Palladium seeks an Objective 1 Lead who will provide technical assistance, partnership management, and implementation oversight to project activities.

Duration

The USAID UMST Activity is projected for 5 years (September 30, 2023, to September 29, 2028)

Location

This position is located in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

Reporting and Supervision

This position will report to the Deputy Chief of Party (DCOP).

Responsibilities

• Provide technical and managerial leadership, overseeing all technical activities and grant awards under Objective 1: Reduce barriers to private sector growth in the target sectors.
• Collaborate with the Chief of Party to ensure Sector Leads are working together to identify and address sector challenges. Lead Objective 1 work planning and implementation to ensure the program meets targets.
• Support initial sector and firm- and partner-level assessments, including understanding market demand and business constraints. Ensure findings on sector assessments are integrated into project approaches and grantee partnerships.
• Facilitate linkages between high-impact firms and buyers in target markets, create local platforms, and strengthen systems to support sustainable Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) growth and commercial relationships.
• Work with ecosystem actors to remove policy and regulatory constraints to competitiveness and increase the frequency and quality of public-private dialogue.
• Coordinate and mobilize investments for SMEs in targeted sectors to access new markets.
• Facilitate regional sector-specific public-private dialogue events.
• Participate in the review of concept notes and selection process of grantees.
• Provide necessary input for Objective 1 related monitoring, evaluation, and learning; gender and youth inclusion strategy; communication; and budgets.
• Oversee all Objective 1 activities and staff ensuring compliance and delivery of results.
• Any other activities assigned by the DCOP.

Required Qualifications

• Degree in business, trade, economics, international development, or other relevant fields.
• Minimum of five years’ experience in private sector and SME development and creating enabling environments.
• Proven experience creating opportunities for women and youth internationally and/or in Uzbekistan.
• Proven experience in market systems methodologies and designing and implementing sector strategies and partnerships.
• Proven experience with programs promoting standards, SME development, and private sector development projects.
• Technical expertise in two or more sectors.
• Experience in establishing and strengthening productive and collaborative partnerships with international and local private sectors actors.
• Demonstrated leadership, strategic thinking and planning, management, and presentation skills.
• Advanced communication and relationship building skills.
• Fluency in the English language and strong written and spoken communication skills.

Application Deadline

This application will close on January 12, 2024.

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. 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 and expression, 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 for any other circumstance, please email our team at accessibility@thepalladiumgroup.com and we will be in touch to discuss.

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.