Job Details

Job Description

Job Description

Country Partnerships Manager – USAID Transforming Financial Markets for Ag SMEs in Africa

About Palladium:

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 governments, businesses, and investors to solve the world’s most pressing challenges. With a team of more than 3,000 employees operating in 90 plus countries and a global network of over 35,000 experts, we help improve economies, societies and, most importantly, people’s lives.

This Proposal Opportunity:

Palladium is seeking a Country Partnerships Manager for an anticipated USAID-funded program across Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia which is anticipated to begin in 2025. The USAID Transforming Financial Markets for Agriculture SMEs is likely to be a 5-year program focused on mobilizing private capital for agricultural small-and-medium enterprises (SMEs) strengthen agriculture value chains. The activity will leverage results-based tools used in USAID’s finance and investment mechanisms – supporting a range of agricultural firms to expand investments and operations via a blended finance approach.

Duration: 5 years (anticipated start in 2025)
Location: Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, or Zambia

Primary Role and Responsibilities:

• Develop a country-level partnership strategy to maximize both private capital mobilization and development impact and oversee implementation of it, making adaptation as needed
• Oversee the administration, compliance, and implementation procedures of contracts and subawards, and ensure compliance with USAID contract and grant regulations including procurement regulations
• Design and conduct contracts, subaward and consulting assignment solicitations and advertisements.
• Facilitate and coordinate technical design of innovative grant, partnership and subcontracting approaches to meet the technical strategies of the program
• Support designing and conducting grants solicitation and advertisements utilizing Palladium’s Pay for Results methodologies
• Support the design, planning, outreach, implementation, and maintenance of partnerships for the program, including with internal and external partners
• Manage grants commitments, taking into account probability-weighted pipelines and other tools to manage grant agreements against obligated amounts
• Ensure design of grants and partnerships are aligned with the project’s technical strategy and results-based methodology and in compliance with USAID rules and regulations
• Facilitate pre-award risk assessments and due diligence checks
• Develop and execute all aspects of the GUC process, including development of the GUC manual utilizing Palladium’s approved GUC manual templates and guidelines
• Support designing, preparing, and negotiating partner strategies with internal staff and potential partners
• Assist in negotiating, in collaboration with Palladium HQ, grant terms and agreements, with potential grantees
• Lead negotiations with contractors and applicants on awards, processes, and execution.
• Facilitate and manage grants and subcontracts close out and final reporting
• Other tasks as deemed necessary

Key Competencies Required:

• Knowledge of USAID grants policies, procedures, and reporting requirements
• Knowledge of USAID subcontracts regulations
• Bachelor’s degree in business administration, finance or a related field in international business management, finance, accounting and/or auditing experience.
• Experience in managing grants under contract for USAID-funded programs of a similar size
• Experience in managing innovation grants, performance-based grants, or other mechanisms to algin performance incentives with an activity’s strategic objectives
• Experience in managing partnerships, interacting with stakeholders, collaborating on meetings and workshops, and overseeing partnership activities
• Experience in designing and managing subcontracts, preferably under USAID-funded programs
• Prior experience in a management role on a USAID funded program highly desired
  experience managing staff
• Demonstrated experience coordinating and collaborating with various stakeholders and grant awardees
• Advanced knowledge of computers and MS Excel
• Local candidates are preferred
• Written and oral proficiency in English required

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 [email protected] 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.