Technical Director: Localization

Job Description

Technical Director – Localization (multiple sectors)

Kaizen – A Tetra Tech Company (Kaizen) seeks candidates for full-time Technical Director positions with the Washington, DC home office team – though the physical location of work can be outside of the Washington, DC area with approval. Technical Directors at Kaizen serve as senior technical leaders of the work we do. The role has three functions:

• Lead business development activities from identifying and prioritizing opportunities, to leading capture and research efforts, to designing and writing proposals
• Ensure Kaizen’s projects deliver innovative, efficient, and impactful development results. They work closely with project teams to develop innovative solutions, creatively navigate challenges, ensure exceptional implementation, and drive financial performance
• Serve as senior leaders at Kaizen helping us develop outside the box solutions to development challenges that combine multiple disciplines and models. In this role Technical Directors can initiate and execute strategic initiatives that improve operations, technical areas, culture, and other areas at Kaizen

Successful Technical Directors at Kaizen typically have a technical focus area, but are dynamic, highly flexible, and energized by working across multiple sectors. Much of Kaizen’s work integrates organizational development and Localization approaches into sectors as diverse as health, education, democracy and governance, stability and transitions, economic growth, agriculture, security, and climate change. We are looking for Technical Directors who have a strong commitment to Localization, and who thrive to infuse that expertise across multiple sectors.

Kaizen is an incubator for innovative, scalable solutions that address emerging market challenges and opportunities. Kaizen implements projects both abroad and in the United States with partners such as USAID and the U.S. Department of State. Kaizen has an award-winning team that has been recognized three times by Fast Company Magazine for World Changing Ideas (2017, 2019, 2020), and was named USAID’s Small Business of the Year.

Kaizen is led by a diverse group of leaders who have backgrounds leading development and private sector consulting companies. Their collective experience and vision provide a solid foundation for Kaizen’s continued rapid growth. In 2021 Kaizen joined Tetra Tech and we continue to fulfill our mission as part of one of the largest development sector organizations in the world.

Going forward, Kaizen sees Localization needs and opportunities proliferating across multiple sectors. Our work has diversified substantially as a result, and we are enthusiastically pursuing Localization-related opportunities across the USAID portfolio.

A team of creative and dedicated professionals drive the company’s success. Kaizen’s culture is energetic, collegial, and fun; and places strong emphasis on industry-leading performance at all levels. Team members thrive in a fast-paced and dynamic work environment that is flexible and encourages innovation. Team members are rewarded for their performance including seeing the direct impact of their work on lives and communities around the world. Kaizen provides the right opportunity for professionals looking for a dynamic, creative, and energetic work environment with dedicated colleagues who thrive on our mission-driven work and making outsized impacts.

Scope and Objectives

The three most important cross-cutting capacities Kaizen is looking for are:

1. Leading successful proposal teams and efforts, ideally in multiple sectors
2. Supporting local organizations to improve technical and operational performance in achieving development objectives (i.e., Localization)
3. Conceiving of, developing, and implementing innovative development approaches that achieve more impact and greater efficiency

Regardless of technical background Technical Directors who most enjoy working with Kaizen have deep curiosity about new technical areas and are eager to stretch in new directions for proposals and projects.

Initially, the Technical Director will serve a central role in positioning for and writing proposals as they build out their practice. They will also serve as a home office technical lead for a portfolio of work composed of selected current Kaizen projects and new ones that the Technical Director helps win. Functions of this position include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Designing, developing, and writing technical approaches for proposals
• Serving in the lead technical role for proposal positioning, preparation, and submission
• Serving as the home office technical lead for Kaizen prime and sub contracts in the US and abroad
• Managing portfolio financial performance including regular reporting and budget analyses
• Providing technical instruction, guidance, and strategic direction to Kaizen personnel in the field, including Chiefs of Party on prime contracts and Kaizen staff working on subcontracts
• Providing technical oversight and quality control on project deliverables, workplans, and activities
• Serving as the senior point of contact in the home office for clients (e.g., USAID) of our field-based work
• Identifying and resolving any implementation or other challenges that may arise during project implementation
• Acting as a field-based Chief of Party based on project needs
• Recruiting organizational development and localization staff for projects and the Kaizen home office
• Liaising with project management staff to ensure full integration of Kaizen’s technical and administrative support
• Mentoring and supervising staff for activities related to organizational development, localization, and areas of technical expertise
• Initiating and managing internal Kaizen strategic initiatives such as process improvements, strategy definition, operational efficiency improvements etc.
• Contributing to Kaizen’s thought leadership in applying organizational development and localization capacity to development challenges in innovative ways

Qualifications and Experience

Required:

• Demonstrated business development success winning USG-funded contracts
• A Bachelor’s degree in business administration, international relations, organizational behavior, organizational development, human resources, change management, or related field
• Minimum of seven years of experience as a specialist delivering services in organizational development, management consulting, or related fields
• Experience living and working in developing country environments
• Demonstrated ability to apply organizational development and localization principles and approaches in multiple technical fields and in different types of organization
• Experience leading US government-funded projects internationally
• Exceptional written and spoken communication skills
• Professional experience helping organizations and/or networks improve performance in development contexts
• Fluent in both spoken and written English

Desired:

• Masters degree or higher in business administration, international relations, organizational behavior, organizational development, human resources, change management, or related field
• Demonstrated skills in building, mobilizing, and working in multidisciplinary teams
• Professional certifications relevant for organizational development (e.g., Certified Performance Technologist)
• Fluency in one or more languages other than English

About the Organization

Kaizen, A Tetra Tech Company, (www.thekaizencompany.com) is an incubator for innovative, scalable solutions that address emerging market challenges and opportunities. Our proven solutions catalyze locally driven organizational and institutional performance improvements and establish communities of practice that facilitate peer-to-peer learning and the achievement of shared goals.

We leverage existing knowledge, technology, and new media, and local peer networks to support local reforms. Since our inception, we have provided support to more than 100 government, private-sector, and non-profit organizations in markets worldwide. We have created solutions that achieve outcomes across a broad range of sectors including education, governance, economic growth, environment and water, energy, and global law enforcement.