Localization Engineer jobs in District of Columbia

Director, Localization and Capacity Strengthening

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:

The Director, Localization and Capacity Strengthening will provide leadership in Palladium localization and capacity strengthening efforts in the Americas Regional Business Partnership. The Director will serve three primary functions: 1) provide localization and capacity strengthening support across Palladium's business cycle; 2) position Palladium as a thought leader in localization and capacity strengthening; and 3) oversee proposal development and successful implementation of localization and capacity strengthening specific projects.

Location and Compensation:

The position is based in Palladium's Washington D.C. office.

For our prospective employees in the United States, please note that the full-time equivalent annual base salary for this position is expected to range from $122,000 to $184,500, and successful candidates may also be eligible for additional, variable incentive compensation dependent on the role. For part-time employees, the salary will be prorated based on the actual number of hours worked.

Please be advised that a final salary offer will be based on various factors, including but not limited to your qualifications, education, experience, skills, seniority, performance, and Palladium's business or organizational needs.

If you have any questions or concerns regarding the compensation for this position, please do not hesitate to reach out to us. We value your interest in our company and appreciate the opportunity to discuss this opportunity with you.

You and Your Career:

If you are a collaborator, mentor, and doer, and you have passion and expertise in locally-led development and capacity strengthening, we are interested in hearing from you.

We are a learning organization and provide growth opportunities from the start. We pride ourselves on giving you the freedom, resources, and guidance to chart a fulfilling career!

Reporting and Supervision:

The Director Localization and Capacity Strengthening reports to the Senior Director, Technical Excellence and may be required to supervise one or more managers as the team grows. The role is required to work closely with stakeholders including but not limited to portfolio leads, practice area leads, project teams, and proposal teams.

Primary Duties and Responsibilities:

The primary responsibilities of the Director, Localization and Capacity Strengthening include:

Provide Support Across Palladium's Business Cycle

• Establish and maintain relationships with all practice area/portfolio leads - understanding their proposal and project needs for localization and capacity strengthening support. This includes identifying ways to assess and update those needs and track client satisfaction.
  
• Develop a workflow and prioritization process for providing support to proposal and project teams using a variety of methods (e.g., training, mentoring, coaching - either virtual or in-person) through a combination of staff and consultants.
  
• Over time, based on demand for services, the Director will manage capacity strengthening staff - this includes setting/monitoring service standards, implementing Palladium's Performance Excellence processes, providing oversight on certain tasks, managing staff utilization, recruiting new top talent, and orienting staff.
  
• Ensure SOPs, tools, guidance, trainings, templates, and examples are created, disseminated, and easily accessible by Palladium proposal and project staff.
  
• Develop or identify innovative approaches to localization and capacity strengthening and work with teams to help adapt innovations as appropriate.
  

Position Palladium as a Thought Leader

• Monitor donor and competitor trends in the localization and capacity strengthening space and ensure relevant Palladium staff are up to date on developments to ensure cutting-edge and appropriate capacity strengthening approaches in proposals and projects.
  
• Oversee engagement strategy around localization and capacity strengthening with donors at HQ, Mission, and IP levels; identify relevant conferences to attend.
  
• Manage knowledge around core localization and capacity strengthening areas by updating capes, documenting resources, adapting/maintaining Sharepoint sites, and communicating updates proactively.
  
• Oversee execution of Palladium's Localization Strategy - ensuring adequate Localization governance, working with Palladium's localization co-chairs on implementation of the action plan, reporting on select indicators to ARBP leadership and staff, directly implementing select localization activities and providing technical quality on others, and facilitating the process of updating the strategy on a semi-annual basis.
  
• Producing an annual set of localization and capacity strengthening related thought leadership pieces based on Palladium project work, ensuring Palladium is known by priority clients across relevant sectors.
  
• Collaborate with the to-be-hired Knowledge Exchange Manager in the Center of Technical Excellence on developing internal and external learning events related to localization and capacity strengthening - with specific emphasis on sharing innovative practices that can be applied in different settings/sectors.
  

Oversee Successful Project Implementation and Proposal Development

• For localization and/or capacity strengthening projects, oversee high quality project implementation that achieves or exceeds results, minimizes risk, and meets/exceeds financial targets.
  
• Ensure successful localization and/or bid submissions that optimize partnerships, meet client needs, and ensure Palladium's value proposition is well articulated. This involves either directly capturing or writing proposals or mentoring staff throughout the bid development cycle.
  
• Work with the Senior Director, Technical Excellence and other technical teams to contribute to the development of a pipeline of opportunities.
  

Leadership and Staff Management

• Build effective relationships with colleagues at all levels and across all practice areas through open communications and constructive feedback.
  
• Implement Palladium's Process Excellence framework with direct reports - this includes bi-monthly meetings with staff, providing constructive feedback, monitoring performance, holding staff accountable for their KRAs, including improvement of predetermined capabilities.
  
• Cultivate a positive and supportive, yet accountability-focused, team culture.
  
• Empower staff in decision-making and leadership opportunities. Actively mentor and develop staff to the next career level.
  
• Model Palladium's Guiding Principles and leadership behaviors.
  

Professional Expertise/Competencies Required:

• Significant relevant work experience - living or working in international settings providing technical assistance in the localization and capacity strengthening space.
  
• Candidate must have demonstrated successful field-based implementation experience, including development and implementation of capacity strengthening plans.
  
• Demonstrated successful client engagement and thought leadership in the localization or capacity strengthening space.
  
• Strong ability to solve problems logically, plan and strategize.
  
• Proven experience in adapting approaches for different clients and contexts. Willingness to work across sectors.
  
• Expertise and proven success in implementing client-centered approaches (internal and external).
  
• Excellent communicator - confident in initiating, leading and managing discussions (and potential conflicts) that explore difference. Ability to successfully work in many settings.
  
• Proven ability to lead effective teams, including building consensus and addressing discontent.
  
• Experience in proposal development as capture manager, lead writer, reviewer, and strategy development.
  
• Strong management skills with ability to mentor, coach, lead, develop and evaluate staff.
  
• Financial acumen and the ability to interpret and analyse financial reports for direct bill and indirect funding.
  
• Exceptional verbal, interpersonal, and written communication skills in English. Working proficiency in at least one other language (e.g., French, Spanish, Kiswahili) a plus.
  
• Proven expertise in working in one or more of the following sectors (health, humanitarian response, finance and investment, environment, economic growth).
  
• Ability to work effectively and thrive in a demanding environment.
  
• Strong time management and organizational skills; demonstrated ability to work well independently and in teams.
  
• Ability and willingness to travel internationally about 25% of the time.
  

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.