DAI is a global development company with corporate offices in the USA, the UK, the EU, Nigeria, Pakistan, and Palestine, and project operations worldwide. DAI tackles fundamental social and economic development problems caused by inefficient markets, ineffective governance, and instability: it works on the frontlines of global development, transforming ideas into action-action into impact. DAI is committed to shaping a more liveable world.
DAI is seeking an organized and proactive Project Manager to work as part of its Delivery Unit team providing excellent management of international development projects. Become part of the thriving DAI business, located in spacious, bespoke offices, 30 minutes out of Euston - with excellent rail and motorway links to London and region. The position will be based in Apsley, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire – with a requirement to spend up to two days per week in a London-based project office located near Bank/Cannon Street.
This will be a full-time role based with DAI’s Evidence, Learning and Technical Assistance Facilities Team (ELTAF). The role is a fixed term contract until June 2025 although there may be potential for the role to be permanent.
The ELTAF team manages rapid response services for the UK Government (especially the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, FCDO) and other donors, that provide technical assistance (TA), research and evidence, and evaluation teams and experts to clients worldwide. Working on diverse development and humanitarian challenges and needs, at fast pace, together we deliver portfolios of short to medium term assignments in support of improving security, resilience and opportunity for some of the world’s poorest and most vulnerable communities, and we analyse, synthesise and share learning and evidence from this portfolio with key stakeholders and policy and research communities.
Within the ELTAF portfolio, it is expected that this role will initially be focused on providing project design and management support for the Centre for Disaster Protection (CDP), a world-leading, impartial centre of expertise for disaster risk finance, for which DAI acts as Managing Agent under contract with the FCDO. The UK established the Centre for Disaster Protection in 2017 to provide a single, trusted, and impartial source for disaster risk finance advisory support, quality assurance, training, and learning. The Centre aims to strengthen resilience of countries to disasters through better preparedness and planning backed by risk-based financing arrangements. To do this, the Centre provides advisory services, training, knowledge and evidence generation, and innovative policy solutions that leverage partnerships across the development, humanitarian, and financial sectors..
The Centre has a dedicated multidisciplinary team with shared commitment to the values of quality, impartiality, creativity, and challenge, and it strives to be a diverse, inclusive, collaborative, and empowering organisation. While supporting the Centre the post holder may be expected to spend up to two days a week at the Centre’s offices, based in a WeWork serviced office in the City of London.
Read more about the Centre’s work at www.disasterprotection.org .
Key tasks, duties and responsibilities:
· Responding to new requests for support from our clients and helping define and operationalize new projects. This includes:
o thinking through workplans and approaches for delivering the required support
o searching for the right expertise and teams
o co-ordination with potential team candidates and external partners
o preparing budgets
o assisting in completing important compliance and vetting processes to ensure we engage only fully qualified and eligible experts and partners in the work we do
· Contractual, budget and project management of assignments. This may include support on:
o set-up of new projects in company financial and project management systems
o initiating request to our Commercial Team to issue contracts for team members and partners
o monitoring progress against plans, working with Project Leads to ensure timely progress
o financial checks, reviewing invoices from teams, partners, and monitoring spend against budget
o reviewing reports and other outputs produced by teams on assignment, and assistance with formatting, copy edit and presentation
o supporting technical activities such as workshops or small research tasks.
o travel bookings and planning for the Centre’s team.
· Applying ELTAF and corporate systems to the projects under the post holders care, keeping relevant registers and databases, and programme specific management information systems up to date (NB, this is with respect to content/data maintenance rather than technology/IT maintenance)
· Participation in CDP programme team and ELTAF team learning and development activities, where we draw together technical and process learning from delivery of the multiple assignments and services to help us improve, and share with other CDP and DAI colleagues or wider audiences.
A key feature of the role will be managing multiple small projects and initiatives in parallel, and so good organizational approaches for tracking and prioritizing across different activities, and agility are key requirements for the post holder.
Qualifications, knowledge, skills and experience:
Essential:
· Undergraduate degree in relevant discipline e.g. international development; international relations; humanitarian; social policy; politics and economics, languages, business; management or similar discipline.
· Project management experience and/or qualifications.
· Demonstrable understanding of and interest in, international development and working in an international / multi-cultural environment.
· Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal. Fluency in English (written and spoken).
· Strong initiative and vision for taking projects from idea to practical implementation.
· Pro-active and action-oriented.
· Systematic approach, with good organisational skills and attention to detail.
· Strong numeracy skills to enable effective budget management and forecasting.
· Ability to work as part of a team and to tight deadline.
Desirable:
· Advanced degree in relevant field.
· Ability to work in other languages (French, Spanish, Arabic or Portuguese, other others)
The salary offered will be commensurate with relevant experience. DAI offers a generous benefits package and there are several day-to-day perks of working at DAI that help keep us happy and motivated! Please clearly state your salary expectations at application.
Candidates must be eligible to live and work in location the role is based within the UK.
All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, colour, age, religion, sex, disability status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or national origin.
This job description details the key elements of the role and is not an exhaustive list of duties. Job roles evolve over time and job-holders may be required to complete additional tasks in line with business needs.
You will be pleased to know that we strive to uphold the highest ethical standards and that we are working with our clients to reduce the opportunity for people who are known to have breached ethical standards to work in our field. Any staff and/or consultant contract with DAI, therefore, will be subject to satisfactory reference checking and vetting.
If you require any reasonable adjustments to the interview or recruitment process, please contact Victoria_Tres@DAI.Com
(Please do not send applications directly to this inbox).
If this role sounds interesting and you would like to be part of DAI’s growing business, bidding for and managing donor-funded projects round the world, we look forward to hearing from you!
DAI works on the frontlines of global development. Transforming ideas into action – action into impact. We are committed to shaping a more liveable world. We tackle fundamental social and economic development problems caused by inefficient markets, ineffective governance and instability. We work with a wide range of clients, including national and local governments, bilateral and multilateral donors, private corporations and philanthropies.
