Chief of Party, USAID Feed the Future - Bangladesh

  • Senior-level, Full-time staff position
  • Posted on 29 June 2023

Job Description

Chief of Party, USAID Feed the Future - Bangladesh

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 is seeking a Chief of Party for the anticipated USAID Feed the Future (FTF) Bangladesh Inclusive Access to Finance Program, which is anticipated to begin in 2024. The inclusive access to finance program will increase access to finance for small- and medium-sized agribusinesses, smallholder farmers, and the rural poor. The activity will support agribusinesses and farmers to become more creditworthy, and stimulate increased lending from banks, microfinance institutions, and other lenders through the use of blended finance.

The Chief of Party will provide overall strategic leadership, technical leadership, and oversight to the program, ensuring an integrated vision among different components and actors, and a focus on achieving program results. This individual must identify issues and risks related to program implementation in a timely manner and suggest appropriate adjustments. This individual must act as the key liaison with USAID/Bangladesh and all other counterparts, implementing partners and stakeholders. The position requires significant coordination skills, broad general and technical knowledge, an ability to cope with multiple interests and challenges, experience in developing countries, and skills to ensure coherence and consistency in the face of urgent deadlines.

Primary Duties and Responsibilities:

  • Provide overall responsibility for project management and implementation of project activities;
  • Provide overall leadership to all project areas, especially experience accelerating private investment, agricultural firm growth, and agricultural outgrowth schemes;
  • Manage project partners and project staff, ensuring they are fully engaged and participating in program implementation;
  • Serve as the main interface between the project, Government of Bangladesh, United States Government (USG) entities,
  • Palladium senior management, and other relevant stakeholders;
  • Oversee the project budget and finances, including budget projections, project spending, and financial performance reporting;
  • Represent the project at relevant professional meetings, working groups, and seminars;
  • Prepare, contribute to, and provide oversight of analyses, recommendations, briefing notes, white papers, assessments, workplans, and reporting materials for internal and client use;
  • Lead strategic development and support of programming in collaboration with USAID and key stakeholders;
  • Develop and maintain effective partnerships with development partners such as government institutions, private sector, other programs in Bangladesh, civil society, and media;
  • Communicate and implement an integrated vision among different components and actors;
  • Comply with USAID and Palladium reporting requirements on program impact and implementation

Key Competencies Required:

  • Extensive international work experience, particularly in Bangladesh and/or other countries in the region, implementing financial sector or private sector development programs with demonstrated strong management and coordination skills;
  • Significant management experience, including direct supervision of professional and support staff and assembling teams working on multifaceted, complex international development programs;
  • Experience with USAID and other USG funding agencies;
  • Extensive experience working in the financial sector, comfort with a wide range of financial instruments (debt, equity, blended finance), private sector investments in agriculture, out-grower schemes, and agricultural corporates in Bangladesh;
  • Extensive experience facilitating investments and mobilizing inclusive agricultural finance through blended and supply chain financing mechanisms;
  • Proven track record liaising with investors, financial institutions, SMEs, government, USAID, and other key project stakeholders;
  • Microsoft office suite proficiency and the ability to operate spreadsheet and word-processing programs at a highly proficient level;
  • Proactive problem-solving, decision-making, and good judgment skills; attention to detail and ability to perform multiple tasks and balance competing priorities effectively and efficiently;
  • Communication, organizational, and interpersonal skills that demonstrate leadership, problem solving, and team building;
  • Written and oral proficiency in English required

Bangladeshi and South Asian nationals are encouraged to apply

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.

About the Organization

Palladium develops and delivers solutions that create positive impact for communities, businesses, societies and economies. We transform lives and create enduring value by working with governments, corporations and non-profit organisations.


Palladium is built on the idea that progress will be supported by four key pillars: • International Development • Strategy Execution Consulting • Impact Investment • Training and Events We create positive impact through more than 100 current projects with more than 2000 employees operating in over 90 countries.

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