Job Description
Project Overview and Role
The goal of the USAID Enterprises, Employment, and Enabling Environments (E4) Activity is to increase employment and jobs through increased private 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 and jobs and the growth of existing firms.
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
The E4 IDIQ regional office is located in Almaty, Kazakhstan, and country offices are located in Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.
This Opportunity
Over the last four years, Palladium has been successfully implementing the Future Growth Initiative (FGI) Task Order of the E4 Activity in all five Central Asian countries. This task order works to increase the competitiveness of high-growth industries to provide jobs and incomes for Central Asia’s growing workforce, propelling the region toward self-reliance. FGI is transforming market systems in ways that help high-potential firms and sectors grow, fostering market linkages to match the demand for workforce skills with training offered to youth and women, linking entrepreneurs to high-growth markets, and building more business- and worker-friendly policy environments and institutions to sustain private sector-driven growth.
The program has recently been extended until 2026 through the awarding of the FGI 2.0 Task Order. By building on FGI’s success and lessons learned, FGI 2.0 will work to increase the competitiveness of high-growth industries through a market systems approach that incentivizes private and public sector behavior change. The new task order will facilitate the regionalization of business advisory and enabling environment ecosystems, harmonize policies and regulations, foster trade and market linkages, and align the skills of women, youth, and vulnerable populations with private sector needs.
FGI 2.0 will take a partnerships-based approach, facilitating firm-level assistance, industry association capacity building, and regulatory reform under:
- Objective 1: Drive national-level, private sector-led economic growth and inclusivity in the five Central Asian Republics (CARs).
- Objective 2: Support competitiveness and job creation in each country, serving as the foundation for regional growth and integration.
- FGI 2.0 will also facilitate domestic and regional public private dialogue (PPD), policy reform and harmonization, and investment attraction efforts to support Central Asia’s integration into the global economy of the future.
Palladium seeks a Partnerships & Operations Specialist for the Turkmenistan office of the FGI and FGI 2.0 Task Orders under the USAID E4 Activity. The Partnerships & Operations Specialist is responsible for (a) developing strategic partnerships and providing advisory, technical, and project management support and (b) providing operational and administrative assistance to technical and operational staff by performing a variety of coordination and budget administration duties.
Location
This position will be located in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan.
Duration
The performance period of the USAID E4 IDIQ Activity will end on September 30, 2026.
Reporting and Supervision
The Partnerships & Operations Specialist will report to the Country Manager in Turkmenistan.
Primary Duties and Responsibilities
Partnerships Specialist (50%)
- Build and maintain a strong pipeline and portfolio of partnerships and collaborative alliances with MSMEs and NGOs.
- Define investment and advisory needs of partner firms and NGOs and propose solutions to address them as part of co-creating their grant applications.
- Develop and draft concept notes and budgets of Palladium engagement for work with partners and alliances.
- Manage partnership engagements and ensure their successful implementation, aiming to contribute to the achievement of goals, objectives, and indicators.
- Cooperate with partner firms, business advisory service providers (BASPs), and NGOs in regard to workforce development and social inclusion activities, as well as to the identification of and development of solutions to obstacles in the business enabling environment (BEE) area and ensuring successful accomplishment of relevant objectives and indicators.
- Perform monitoring and evaluation activities related to partnerships and collaborative alliances, including through internal, project-wide information management systems.
- Identify local BASPs and build successful relationships with them; seek their active participation in selected sector development.
- Identify access to finance providers able and willing to address partner firms’ investment and other financial needs.
- Identify prospective start-ups and innovations, build and strengthen linkages among industry experts, buyers, and investors that can provide business plan feedback, and link them to markets and capital aimed at rewarding innovations that can be scaled up to improve sector competitiveness.
- Identify business incubators and/or accelerators in the country to host sector-specific programming and scale the outreach necessary to achieve programmatic results.
- In partnership with incubators and accelerators, sector alliances, and anchor firms, identify innovation challenges and grant opportunities to address those challenges.
- Liaise with other donor programs, international organizations, government institutions, professional bodies, NGOs, and private sector initiatives to facilitate inclusive market systems building activities and expand market linkages.
- Track, monitor, evaluate, and report on results after each activity with partner firms and alliances to Palladium.
- Identify opportunities for publicizing FGI activities with partner firms and alliances; draft, translate, publish, and disseminate relevant articles.
Operations Specialist (50%)
Administrative Support
- Assist in the administration of human resource functions, such as recruitment of project staff, processing Independent Consultants agreements, performance appraisals, and administration of employee benefits and allowances.
- Assist in the orientation of new staff, interns, and consultants by providing them with the necessary documents and materials.
- Update inventory records in the assets registry and issue and distribute property in accordance with policy and procedures.
- Administer and manage petty cash; perform micro-purchases.
- Assist in drafting solicitations and technical specifications to ensure completeness, accuracy, and competitive qualities; generate bid matrix and compile procurement documentation.
- Other duties as assigned.
General Responsibilities
- Liaise with the Home Office’s accounting department and Project Management Unit (PMU) to manage and troubleshoot project accounting issues as they may arise.
- Reconcile project accounting and provide back-up documentation of all financial transactions into monthly or bi-monthly accounting packages to the Home Office.
- Establish and maintain electronic accounting tracking mechanisms, per Palladium and USAID accounting standards.
- Conduct monthly audits of local expenditures as reported by the Field Office, including local bank reconciliation and US dollar expenses, as applicable.
- Review all local expenses for billing purposes.
- Produce accurate and timely financial reports.
- Maintain all accounting records.
- Act as a first point of contact with the local bank.
- Monitor vendor invoices and disburse payments upon approval of the Chief of Party (COP).
Budget Management
- Oversee finance and accounting procedures.
- Review monthly budget reports to ensure accuracy.
- Indicate project activity numbers for billing and expenses to be input into the budget tracking tool.
- Prepare monthly cash forecasts for the PMU’s and COP’s review and approval.
Key Competencies Required
Partnerships Specialist (50%)
- Degree in relevant discipline (business, administration, finance, economics, business law, etc.).
- At least three (3) years of experience working in the field of private sector development, export/trade promotion, business management, investment facilitation, and access to finance and/or one of the FGI and FGI 2.0 target sectors (ICT, food processing, light manufacturing, tourism).
- Demonstrated skills and understanding of private sector development.
- Experience developing public private partnerships with large firms and business associations.
- Demonstrated skills in project management.
- Experience working with programs focused on women, youth, and vulnerable populations.
- Experience working with multidisciplinary teams with a focus on social inclusion.
Operations Specialist (50%)
- One to three (1-3) years of experience in administrative support, operations, logistics, budget administration, or another relevant field.
- Experience with USAID policies and procedures preferred.
Both Roles
- Ability to work under pressure and meet hard deadlines.
- Experience managing several activities at a time.
- Proactive problem-solving, decision-making, and good judgment skills.
- Demonstrated ability and commitment to manage confidential information.
- Creativity, agility, and team spirit.
- Excellent communication skills.
- Microsoft Office Suite proficiency; ability to operate spreadsheet and word-processing programs.
- Proficient in English and Russian (written and verbal); Turkmen language proficiency is preferred.
About the Organization
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.
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.
