Manager, Process Excellence

Job Description

Purpose of Position:

The Manager, Process Excellence plays a key role in managing the Americas’ Team and overall partnership resources. With experience in managing complex international development projects, the Manager, Process Excellence works closely with Project Delivery Teams and Senior Leadership roles to support project delivery, business development, and special projects.
In addition to their core job description, this Manager will complete specific Scopes of Work (SOWs) for a variety of assignments, requiring them to use their expertise in a variety of ways that support the company. The specific SOW for this assignment is incorporated into this job description.

​Primary Duties and Responsibilities:​

All Managers, Process Excellence are expected to:

• Act in the capacity of subject matter expert to provide staff with guidance on the area of expertise designated for their role leading Partnership-wide activities, initiatives, and special projects.
  
• As delegated, establish and maintain clear and effective communications with PMUs and Project Directors.
  
• As delegated, negotiate trainings and assistance requests in consultation with and Senior Manager, Training and Coaching.
  
• Provide appropriate guidance to ensure Palladium policies and procedures are followed and/or amended to coincide with the prevailing requirements. Continuously develop knowledge by monitoring internal news, trends, and information to synchronize activities with corporate initiatives, and identify opportunities to streamline internal processes.
  
• Proactively supervise multiple Analysts or Associates, identifying professional development opportunities, and providing consistent coaching and feedback on performance as measured by assignment metrics, core competencies, and general work skills and desired behaviors.
  
• Apply critical thinking to advise PMUs on all project management issues (financial management, compliance, staffing, or process and policy clarifications, etc.), drawing on different perspectives and previous experiences with projects of varying size and complexity.
  
• Serve as part of the support bench, conducting spot checks, reviews, and other special projects to help PMUs and project teams solve problems, and to support Palladium’s Risk Management Framework by conducting internal reviews and investigations.
  

As their initial assignment, this Manager serves as the Americas’ primary expert in starting and closing projects, as well as in internal coordination across all teams. They serve as an expert line of defense, helping teams to overcome obstacles and work independently using Palladium’s tools and resources, and to alert management to where intervention is needed to ensure projects open and conclude successfully. Specific duties may include:

Strategic Support and Monitoring of Start-ups and Closeouts

• Serve as the partnership’s primary expert to PMUs on project startup and closeout matters by engaging in team meetings, sharing lessons learned, and educating teams on available tools and resources with the goal of ensuring project start-ups and closeouts are executed well and on time;
  
• Enforce compliance with established best practices for starting projects for Americas’ clients. This includes compliance with client rules and regulations, and internal practices, policies, and guidance;
  
• Advise and guide teams to find solutions for problems encountered during start-up including liaising with other internal teams or experts as required, and escalating concerns with serious repercussions for the company’s reputation or finances to senior leaders;
  
• Facilitate continuous improvement of start-up and closeout tools and resources including associated workbooks. Identify and create updates and improvements to make PMUs’ work during the beginning and end of the project life-cycle more efficient;
  
• Ensure start-up performance is tracked against relevant corporate-level key performance indicators that are to be completed within 90 days of award; and against client requirements;
  
• Monitor business development updates and engage portfolio leads and assigned PMU staff for new projects to ensure start-up presentations are scheduled and happen as a regular part of the start up process;
  
• Communicate and track closing projects to ensure closeout process begins at least six months before the end of the project;
  
• Review and approve all project specific project management manuals drafted during start-up, and create specialized policies, procedures and tools based on approved templates and approaches;
  
• Contribute to building a culture that positively values and recognizes the importance of a disciplined approach to project management, and in particular starting and closing projects;
  
• Serve as primary point of contact on start-up and closeout questions, advising teams on best practices in these areas, and carrying out start-up and closeout assignments on location as needed.
  

Coordination and Project Management Support

• Collaborate with Senior Managers, Process Excellence on global coordination and maintenance of the Project Management Manual, liaising with other partnerships to collect and organize suggestions for improvements or changes and have them approved per the Manual governance structure;
  
• In close coordination with the Senior Manager, Training and Coaching, facilitate the roll out a standard training curriculum for project teams, including training related to PM Manual;
  
• Advise PMUs on project management issues and questions. This could include a variety of tasks PMUs face such as financial management, compliance, project office, or process and policy clarifications;
  
• Facilitate provision of feedback on new systems or initiatives from stakeholders across the partnership as needed;
  
• Serve as part of the support bench, conducting spot checks, reviews and other special projects to help PMUs and project teams solve problems, and to support Palladium’s Risk Management approach including conducting internal reviews and investigations;
  
• Contribute to business development and proposal teams on project design, working with subcontractors, preparing cost proposals and other tasks as needed;
  
• Facilitate change management for corporate and partnership wide initiatives and special projects as needed;
  
• Complete other duties as assigned.

Supervisory Responsibilities

• Serve as primary supervisor to at least one or multiple Analysts or Associates, Project Delivery as delegated;
  
• In conjunction with assignment supervisors and the Senior Managers of the Agile Team, engage in employee on-boarding and training for educating new staff on tools, systems, resources, and the Agile Team model as needed;
  
• For direct supervisees assigned to the Project Excellence team, actively monitor, review, correct, and provide feedback on all supervisee’s work products, providing additional training and support where necessary. For direct supervisees working on assignments for other teams, liaise closely with assignment supervisors to ensure consistent feedback is provided and acted upon;
  
• Take a proactive role in staff development, including working with supervisees to identify professional development opportunities; provide consistent on-the-job coaching and/or regular coaching sessions as appropriate to advise on core competencies, and general work skills and behaviors.

Reporting requirements

The line manager for the role is the Senior Manager, Process Excellence. The reporting requirements include:

• Attendance at all regular management team meetings,
  
• Provision of regular updates (and any other reporting as requested) to the line manager,
  
• Monthly updates on the status of personal KRAs and any other material matters and/or areas of concern, and provide inputs reporting as required.

Relationships

• The role is part of the overall Agile Team
  
• As delegated, the role liaises with external clients, PMUs, other Senior Managers, Business Management Services Teams (such as Human Resources, Talent Acquisition, and Finance), Practice Area staff, Partners, and other stakeholders as required.
  
• Other reporting as requested by the line manager.

Authority levels

The role carries a degree of autonomy on project management with appropriate consultation. The role is required to:

• Analyse and make sound recommendations to the line manager;
  
• This role may carry expenditure or signatory authority for indirect costs as delegated by the Senior Manager, Process Excellence;
  
• Contribute to process improvement through innovative and cost-effective proposals/ideas/suggestions.

Person specification:

• Excellent team player, ability to develop trust and leverage communication among colleagues, stakeholders and collaborators, and ability to guide and motivate others.
  
• Ability to deal with a lack of clarity in role definition, work processes, and decision-making and to create clarity for others when little exists.
  
• Previous experience in managing international development projects or working for an international development implementing partner, or the United States Agency for International Development is required.
  
• Background in managing, starting, and/or closing complex international development projects is required.
  
• Strong ability to adapt quickly to changes in strategy and priorities.
  
• Strong management skills with ability to mentor, coach, lead, develop and evaluate staff.
  
• Excellent attention to detail and organization.
  
• Aptitude to create and produce excellent written content.
  
• Sound problem solving and decision-making skills.
  
• Professional working proficiency in multiple languages is desirable.

About the Organization

Company Overview:

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.

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion - 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, 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 any other circumstance, please email our team at accessibility@thepalladiumgroup.com

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.