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.
Palladium Americas:
Our Americas’ business team has brilliant and passionate colleagues working in Asia, Africa, Europe, the Middle East, and North and South America as well as the Caribbean, fulfilling projects and assignments for clients from institutions, corporations, governments, and foundations based in the Americas. We have offices in Washington, DC, New York City, and Raleigh-Durham, NC.
Project Overview:
The USAID Enterprises, Employment, and Enabling Environments (E4) Activity aims to increase employment and jobs through increased private sector productivity and competitiveness. The theory of change is: “For the number of jobs to increase, businesses must grow; and for businesses to grow, constraints preventing growth must be removed.” Following this logic, Palladium will focus on removing obstacles to growth at the firm level and will work to develop skills identified by employers or develop entrepreneurial expertise. Additionally, Palladium will work to address legal and regulatory constraints if they are determined to be significant inhibitors of firm growth. These efforts will result in the creation of new firms, the growth of existing firms, and new job creation.
Work performed under the E4 IDIQ is divided into three components:
Component 1: Enterprises – Fostering Competitive Industries
Component 2: Employment – Developing a Capable Workforce and Entrepreneurship
Component 3: Enabling Environments – Creating Conditions for Jobs and Investment
USAID/Central Asia’s Future Growth Initiative is designed to spur productive economic activity across Central Asia, including Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan, by increasing the competitiveness of high-growth industries and providing jobs and incomes for Central Asia’s growing workforce, propelling the region toward self-reliance. Target sectors include Information and Communications Technology (ICT), Light Manufacturing (Apparel/ Garments/ Textiles), Tourism and Food Processing and Beverages. FGI will transform market systems in ways that help high-potential firms, leading organizations, and sectors grow, foster market linkages to match the demand for workforce skills with training offered to youth and women, link entrepreneurs to high-growth markets, and build more business- and worker-friendly policy environments and institutions to sustain private sector-driven growth. USAID FGI will address legal and regulatory constraints if they are determined to be significant inhibitors to growth.
This Opportunity:
In Component 1, in selected sectors, Palladium is facilitating partnerships with “anchor” firms in the selected sectors, i.e., firms with significant capacity to stimulate economic growth through developing large numbers and vertical chains of demand and supply sides of the market and enhance horizontal sector alliances of private sector firms including anchor firms, industry associations, and training and education providers. Activities concerning partnership facilitation will include building a pipeline of prospective anchor firms, understanding their main constraints to growth, identifying opportunities on addressing their investment and advisory needs, building and maintaining strong anchor firms relations, drafting concept notes for program engagement, follow up and other activities as arise in the course of implementation Activities in regard to facilitating collaborative alliances will complement anchor firm partnerships to tackle horizontal or cross-sectoral challenges that cannot feasibly be addressed by a single firm. Stakeholders in collaborative alliances may be formed and structured in different variations and sizes depending on the issue to be addressed.
Location:
This position is based in the USAID/FGI Tajikistan office, but the consultant can work remotely.
Reporting and Supervision:
The Consultant will work in close cooperation with FGI Tajikistan, FGI Component 1 team lead, M&E and Communication Directors. The Consultant will report directly to the Tajikistan Country Manager. The Consultant will be responsible for maintaining successful anchor firm partnerships and collaborative alliances and support project’s communication and reporting activities.
Primary Duties and Responsibilities:
- Support FGI Tajikistan office to maintain a strong pipeline and portfolio of anchor firm partnerships and collaborative alliances.
- Develop and draft concept notes and other related material of Palladium engagement for work with partners and alliances.
- Manage partnership engagements and ensure their successful implementation aiming at contribution to achievement of goals and objectives of Component 1
- Perform monitoring and evaluation (track, monitor, evaluate and report on results ) and related to Component 1 partnerships ( with private sector firms, associations, alliance, business incubators and accelerators )
- Support the development of communication materials (video, visual images, social media messages, PPT presentations, press releases, success stories, impact statements, factsheets, flyers, etc)
- Other duties as assigned.
Key Competencies Required:
- Master’s degree in relevant discipline (business, administration, finance, etc.)
- At least 10 year experience working with private sector (including 3 years in the field of ICT, tourism or textile.)
- Demonstrated skills and understanding of the private sector development, investment facilitation and access to finance.
- Experience developing public private partnerships with large firms and business associations.
- Experience working with women and youth programs.
- Experience working with startups, business incubators and accelerators.
- M&E experience with donor funded projects (USAID funded projects is preferred)
- Experience developing communication materials such as press releases, success stories, social media messages, etc.
Application Closing Date:
This application will close on July 20, 2023.
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.